New Corruption Allegations Dog Philippine President Estrada

Philippine President Joseph Estrada faced new corruption allegations Friday that he received a $20-million kickback from the sale of the country’s largest telephone company and pocketed more than $16 million from a controversial stock sale.

The latest charges come as a dozen business groups are calling for a speedy resolution of a political crisis triggered by earlier allegations by a provincial governor that Estrada received more than $11 million from illegal gambling payoffs and tobacco taxes.

The Philippine House of Representatives is expected to take steps toward impeachment proceedings next week, and the case is virtually certain to be sent to the Senate for a trial since more than the required 73 House members have signed a resolution backing impeachment.

In the new allegations against the president, the former head of the government’s Securities and Exchange Commission accused Estrada of having received a $20-million kickback from the sale of a controlling stake in Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. to Hong Kong’s Metro Pacific Corp.

Estrada responded to the earlier allegations by saying he had been offered a $4-million bribe by Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson, who has accused him of receiving the gambling payoffs and tobacco money. Estrada insisted he had rejected the money.