Philippine Leader Estrada Impeached

President Joseph Estrada of the Philippines was impeached Monday by his nation’s House of Representatives on charges of bribery and corruption. He has denied the accusations and said that a trial will prove his innocence.

Estrada, an actor turned politician, is the first Philippine president to be impeached. News of his pending trial sent the Philippine currency, the peso, plunging to a historic low against the dollar. The stock market fell 2.2% to a two-year low on fears that the proceedings could drag on for months.

However, despite the political turmoil, the emerging democracy in what is regarded as one of the freest countries in Asia appeared mature enough to survive.

The 218 members of the House did not take a full vote on the charges because Speaker Manuel Villar said that more than the required one-third of them had signed a petition in support of impeachment. Villar is one of 45 lawmakers who recently bolted from the president’s coalition along with Vice President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and joined the opposition.

Opponents of Estrada said 115 members of the House, or more than half, had endorsed the move.

Estrada’s lawyers are expected to challenge the absence of a formal vote, and the assistant majority leader of the Senate, Gilbert Teodoro, said that body might reject the complaint because of procedural flaws.

Estrada will be tried by the 22-member Senate under guidelines modeled after those used by the U.S. Senate during President Clinton’s impeachment trial. To avoid conviction, Estrada must convince at least eight senators of his innocence. The trial may start as early as this month.

There was political maneuvering as well Monday in the upper house, where the Senate president, who had demanded Estrada’s resignation, was removed. The Senate voted to replace Franklin Drilon with Sen. Aquilino Pimentel, who is viewed as being independent.

Before walking into the House chamber for the impeachment decision, opposition lawmakers wearing peach-colored ribbons prayed and lighted candles near a Philippine flag.

While Estrada supporters jeered the decision, foes jumped with joy and chanted “Erap resign,” using the president’s popular nickname.

They embraced one another and then surged toward Villar and hugged him.

In the mayhem, one legislator punched the House sergeant-at-arms.

Political analysts said that Estrada has support in the Senate and widespread backing among the Philippines’ poor and disenfranchised and that he may survive politically to serve out his term. Polls indicate that the majority of Filipinos do not think Estrada should resign and do not support street demonstrations similar to the “people power” movement that brought down dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos in 1986.

Already wealthy before taking office in 1998 with the largest mandate in Philippine history, Estrada has scoffed at demands that he resign. Although he has acknowledged being offered bribes, Estrada has said he turned down the money and has never taken a peso illegally.

The opposition to Estrada, led by militant labor unions, business organizations and the powerful Roman Catholic Church, called a general strike for today to press its demands that the president resign. On Saturday, hundreds of thousands of Filipinos rallied in Manila in support of Estrada.

Estrada’s troubles began last month when Luis Singson, governor of Ilocos Sur province and one of the president’s old friends, said he had paid Estrada millions of dollars from illegal gambling syndicates. In all, Estrada is accused of pocketing more than $10 million from corruption involving gambling and tobacco taxes. He faces four charges of bribery and corruption and betraying public trust.

Last week, Estrada replied directly to the charges for the first time. He told Philippine reporters that Singson had offered him $4 million but that he had turned the money down. Singson himself has frequently been accused of being corrupt.

Many scandals have beset Estrada’s administration, and he has been accused of cronyism and corruption on frequent occasions. He is a self-confessed drinker and womanizer, qualities that put him at odds with Manila’s archbishop, Cardinal Jaime Sin, even before his inauguration.

Manila’s elite have always looked down on Estrada, considering him a nice but incompetent man and resenting their loss of power. Estrada generally has ignored them and did not hand out lucrative business contracts to them as some past presidents did. Rather than turning to them for advice, Estrada clearly preferred to rely on the counsel of old friends known as the “Midnight Cabinet.”

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Estrada Charges

The impeachment charges against Philippine President Joseph Estrada carry accusations of:

* Bribery: Receiving $200,000 a month in payoffs from illegal gambling operators.

* Graft and corruption: Receiving $2.6 million from tobacco taxes and under-declaring his net worth.

* Betrayal of public trust: Intervening in the investigation of a friend by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

* Violation of the constitution: Participating in a family-controlled real estate business despite a prohibition against outside business interests while in office.

Source: Associated Press