Archbishop Urges President to Resign

Manila’s archbishop urged President Joseph Estrada to resign, saying a payoff scandal had destroyed public trust in the president. “He has lost the moral ascendancy to govern,” said Roman Catholic Cardinal Jaime Sin, who helped lead the 1986 “people power” revolt that resulted in the ouster of former dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos. A provincial governor has said that Estrada received more than $11 million in payoffs, most of the money coming from illegal gambling. Estrada denied the charges, which involve a numbers game called jueteng, and rejected calls for his resignation. Opposition lawmakers said they would file impeachment complaints against the president.