Estrada faces impeachment as Congress meets Monday

Estrada told CNN he would like to speed up the impeachment proceedings

November 13, 2000
Web posted at: 9:41 a.m. HKT (0141 GMT)

MANILA, Philippines (Reuters) -- President Joseph Estrada appeared on Sunday almost certain to become the first Philippine president to be impeached when Congress starts a debates on Monday on charges that he took bribes from gambling syndicates.

An opposition alliance demanding Estrada's resignation voiced fears that pro-administration lawmakers might derail an impeachment vote in the House of Representatives by demanding a reorganization of the House leadership and installing a new Speaker.

"Many of the opposition groups fear that the process may be overwhelmed by political sabotage," the KOMPIL alliance said in a statement.

Barring procedural skirmishes, the 218-member House of Representatives is expected to vote to impeach the former actor on Monday and send the case to the Senate for trial, which could begin later this month.

ALSO Exclusive interview with Philippines Vice President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo 'I Will Follow My Father's Footsteps... I Am Prepared'     AUDIO Estrada rejects calls for his resignation 653K/31 sec. AIFF or WAV sound Estrada comments on the possible impeachment he faces 619K/29 sec. AIFF or WAV sound     RESOURCES Follow a timeline showing President Estrada's recent political crisis    VIDEO CNN's Maria Ressa speaks with the Philippines president about the upcoming impeachment proceedings Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     MESSAGE BOARD Share your thoughts on today's events in the Philippines     QUICK VOTE Do you believe Philippine President Joseph Estrada should step down, rather than face possible impeachment? Yes No View Results

"I am very sure to be acquitted. These are baseless charges," Estrada said in an interview on CNBC Asia television.

Passage of the impeachment resolution would mean formal indictment of the president.

The session is to begin at 4 p.m. (0800 GMT) and congressman said debate on the motion could last several hours.

Under the constitution, only the Senate, where the ranks of Estrada supporters have shrunk to precarious levels, has the power to convict and remove a president from office.

Impeachment vote definite

"We will definitely pass the impeachment resolution on Monday...before the day is over. You can have my word," Assistant House Majority leader Francis Escudero said, dismissing charges that Estrada's coalition would delay the vote.

The influential Roman Catholic Church, big business groups and Vice President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo have called for Estrada's resignation since provincial governor Luis Singson said he had handed Estrada about 400 million pesos ($8 million) from illegal gambling syndicates.

Estrada said he was offered money by Singson but did not take it. He said did not report the bribery attempt to the police because he was too busy.

Estrada flew on Sunday to Ilocos Norte, home province of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, and told thousands of cheering supporters he was determined to finish his six-year term, which ends in 2004.

Sharing the stage with former first lady Imelda Marcos and two Marcos children, one of whom is the provincial governor and the other a congresswoman, Estrada said the charges were fomented by an elite who had never accepted him as president.

"I will prove (them) wrong," he said.

The beleaguered leader showed he still had massive drawing power when a crowd of over one million people jammed Manila's Rizal Park on Saturday in a prayer rally in his support.

The show of support dwarfed a protest by over 100,000 people in Manila a week earlier demanding his resignation.

"Unrest in the country won't stop even with a million people gathering in Rizal Park to pray for the President," the Philippine Star newspaper said in an editorial on Sunday.

"In a scandal of this magnitude, only the guilty should fear the truth...The sooner his vindication comes, if he is truly going to be vindicated, the better for him and for the country."

Hundreds of thousands of Filipinos attend a government-organized prayer rally in Manila on Saturday. The administration called the rally political, but critics say it was intended to show Estrada's support

Defections imperil Estrada

Estrada's impeachment became all but inevitable when Speaker Manuel Villar and dozens of congressmen defected from his coalition and endorsed the impeachment case.

A vote by one-third of the House, or 73 congressmen, is needed to pass the motion. Opposition lawmakers said 115 had endorsed the impeachment case.

Votes from two-thirds of the country's 22 senators -- at least 15 votes -- are needed to remove the president.

The opposition believes it has the numbers in the Senate to oust Estrada, but he has some supporters left, even after recent defections.

At least eight opposition or independent senators were expected to vote for his removal.

Six of the 14 senators who comprised Estrada's loose coalition in the upper chamber have bolted. Five of the remaining eight were likely to back the president while three could go either way, analysts say.

Estrada says he is confident. "It's just like in the movies," he said last week. "The hero gets beaten up in the begining but still wins in the end."

Opponents plan to escalate their campaign on Tuesday when labour unions plan a nationwide strike halting public transport and factories.

The scandal has damaged investor confidence and severely battered the economy, with the peso hitting a record low of 51.95 to the dollar at one point. On Friday, it closed at 50.20.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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President Joseph "Erap" Ejercito Estrada
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's Website
Philippine House of Representatives

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