Philippines Moves to Rein In Its Deposed President

The Philippine government Tuesday began freezing bank deposits belonging to ousted President Joseph Estrada, including the infamous account he allegedly opened under the name Jose Velarde.

The move, accompanied by an order prohibiting Estrada from leaving the country, is part of an effort to rein in the once-popular leader, who contends that he is still president and is merely on temporary leave.

New President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Estrada’s vice president, took office Saturday after the nation’s military leaders abandoned the disgraced Estrada and joined mass protests against him.

One longtime friend who visited Estrada said the deposed president had been chastened by events and has no intention of trying to return to power.

“President Estrada is tired,” the friend said. “He is humbled, and he is sorry for his mistakes. With this painful experience, he has become a new man. Before, he was in a fighting mood, but now he says, ‘OK.’ ”

Questions about Arroyo’s legitimacy continued to dog her presidency Tuesday, and rumors that pro-Estrada forces within the military would attempt to oust her swept through the capital.

The nation’s armed forces were on red alert, but Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado, who helped bring Arroyo to power when he withdrew his support from Estrada, said there was no immediate danger of a coup attempt against the new president.

“We can’t belittle what we’ve been hearing,” he said in a radio broadcast. “We have a responsible military establishment, and counterintelligence units must check those things out. I am confident enough to say there’s no such threat at the moment.”

Estrada was impeached in December on charges that he had received more than $11 million from illegal gambling proceeds and tax revenue. During his Senate trial, a bank official testified that she saw the president sign the name Jose Velarde on documents for a bank account.

Prosecutors contend that an additional $63.5 million was funneled to the president through the Velarde account. But last week, when prosecutors sought to present the account documents as evidence, Estrada loyalists in the Senate voted to keep them sealed.

The decision brought the impeachment trial to an abrupt halt, inspiring massive “people power” street demonstrations that helped Arroyo ascend to the presidency.

Estrada is believed to have emptied the Velarde account last year, but the Bureau of Internal Revenue said it would freeze the account and others owned by Estrada, his wife and family members while investigators look into charges of possible tax evasion.

Estrada contends that he did not resign and that Arroyo is only acting president--a claim that could help protect him from prosecution on corruption charges.

“He has not resigned, so he cannot be sued,” said Raul Daza, an attorney for Estrada. “He still has immunity.”

During the chaos of protests and rapidly changing political alliances, Arroyo emerged as the consensus choice to take over the government. But it appears that she and her backers failed to follow the constitutional procedure for removing her predecessor.

To get rid of a president who is incapacitated, the majority of the president’s Cabinet must inform the House and Senate in writing that he is no longer able to serve. Despite numerous requests over the past several days, no one has been able to produce such a letter.

Another way for a president to leave office is for him to write Congress that he cannot serve. Estrada did this Saturday before moving out of the presidential palace.

Whichever method is followed, the vice president becomes the acting president, leaving open the possibility that if the president recovers, he could return to the job, said attorney Oliver Lozano, an Estrada ally.

Arroyo took a different approach and asked the Supreme Court to rule on whether she could be sworn in as president.

The court quickly affirmed that she could. There was no public hearing, and lawyers for Estrada were not asked their opinion. Shortly after, Chief Justice Hilario Davide administered the oath of office to Arroyo.

Some Estrada supporters say the constitutional solution is for Estrada to retain the title of president while Arroyo, as acting president, governs the country.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher welcomed the peaceful transfer of power to Arroyo, which he said took place “in accordance with democratic procedures.”

The Bush administration, he said, is satisfied that Arroyo’s accession complied with the Philippine Constitution because it was endorsed by the Supreme Court.