Staunching a Philippines Crisis

Joseph Estrada, the president of the Philippines and a former B-movie action star, appears to be headed for the last fade-out of his political career, under fire on accusations of accepting kickbacks from illegal gambling enterprises.

Estrada denies the charges--as he did all the previous ones raised against him--but more than enough House members disbelieve him and are prepared to impeach.

After the collapse of the Marcos regime in 1986, the presidencies of Corazon Aquino and Fidel Ramos steadied the nation, made progress in cleansing its politics and bolstered the peso. Then Estrada, a popular mayor of San Juan, rode into town and Filipinos embraced him.

The most serious act Estrada is accused of is brazen, if true: accepting more than $8 million in gambling kickbacks. Of course he should be given the chance to defend himself, but he should also consider that most of his political allies have abandoned him, his government is crumbling and the growing political opposition is threatening to plunge the country into political chaos. Notwithstanding Estrada’s declaration Tuesday that resignation is “unthinkable,” his voluntary departure from the presidency surely would go a long way toward quelling the national crisis.

Estrada’s term has been plagued by allegations of corruption, cronyism and graft, and he has consistently responded to such charges by deflecting blame, not by taking corrective measures.

In Estrada’s latest scandal, Cardinal Jaime Sin, the leading churchman of the largely Roman Catholic Philippines, has demanded his resignation. Estrada, known by his nickname, Erap, has counted on the popularity he built on the screen, but the tide is turning against him now. The Times’ Richard Paddock, writing from Manila, quoted the president as saying, “This is just like the movies. In the movies, especially my movies, the good guy . . . fights to the end and eventually wins.”

Perhaps, but the ending in this script, unless Estrada decides to take an early bow, includes a lengthy period of political instability, continuing economic slide and the decline of the Philippines’ prestige in the Asia-Pacific region.