November 4, 2000, Seattle Times / AP, Protesters urge Philippine president to resign, by Jim Gomez,

November 4, 2000, Seattle Times / AP, Protesters urge Philippine president to resign, by Jim Gomez, 

MANILA --Philippine President Joseph Estrada yesterday spurned demands by tens of thousands of protesters that he step down over allegations he received millions of dollars from illegal gambling.

"To those who are rallying, just wait for what will happen in Congress," he said.

"It is not necessary to hold a rally. No amount of rallies can make me resign. We have to follow the constitutional processes."

Tens of thousands of people crowded streets in Manila for a church-sponsored rally, held at a shrine commemorating the site where hundreds of thousands gathered in 1986 for a peaceful "people's power" revolt that ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Participants filled the shrine and three nearby overpasses.

"Erap resign," they chanted, using Estrada's popular nickname.

The scandal erupted early last month when a provincial governor, Luis Singson, testified he had arranged payoffs to Estrada totaling more than $8.6 million from illegal gambling and $2.8 million from provincial tobacco taxes. Estrada has denied taking any illegal gambling money.

Former President Corazon Aquino, who helped lead the 1986 revolt, joined others yesterday in urging Estrada to resign.

"History may treat you more kindly if you go peacefully and you go now," she said. "Even the best actor knows when it's time to take his final bow."

Scores of prominent lawmakers have deserted the president's LAMP party in recent days. More than 50 former LAMP congressmen have said they will support an impeachment motion in the House of Representatives, virtually assuring enough votes to send it to the Senate for a trial.

The impeachment complaint accuses Estrada of corruption, bribery and constitutional violations. The House Committee on Justice is to begin considering the complaint tomorrow, and lawmakers have agreed to expedite the process.

A vote of at least one-third of the House, or 73 members, is needed to send the impeachment complaint to the Senate for a trial. A vote by two-thirds of the 22-seat Senate is required to remove the president from office.

The once immensely popular president--a former action-movie star--spent part of the day distributing relief goods to victims of a typhoon in nearby Rizal province and predicted he would emerge victorious.

"It's like in the movies," he told villagers. "The hero is always beaten up in the beginning, but in the end he wins."

Estrada's chief political adviser, Angelito Banayo, who also resigned Friday, said the president could wait out the impeachment process if markets recover this coming week.

But "if protests continue and the financial markets deteriorate, the president will have to make a personal decision," implying resignation, he told DZMM radio.