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January 13, 2001 UNTIL the last minute, President Estrada's men urged former Finance Secretary Edgardo Espiritu not to testify against President Estrada at the Senate impeachment court. Espiritu disclosed yesterday that two hours before he was to testify on Thursday, newly appointed Executive Secretary Edgardo Angara phoned him around 12 noon to say the President had an urgent message that the financial case of his son will be fixed. "Pasensya na lang po at ako'y magte-testify ngayong hapon (Forgive me, but I will have to testify this afternoon)," Espiritu told Angara. Undeterred by the pressures, Espiritu told the impeachment court that at the behest of Mr. Estrada, BW Resources Corp. obtained a P600-million loan from the Philippine National Bank (PNB), although it did not have the collateral and capacity to pay. FULL STORY January 11, 2001 Sen. Renato Cayetano accused impeached President Estrada of intervening in the Vizconde massacre case to seek the acquittal of the son of former senator, Freddie Webb. Cayetano aired the charge during the Senate impeachment trial after BW Resources Corp. owner and presidential friend Dante Tan accused the senator-judge of making P70 million on BW shares at the height of the BW stock manipulation scandal last year. He said Tan's disclosure was part of Mr. Estrada's "black propaganda" campaign against him because he had rebuffed a request from the President to "intervene" in the celebrated Vizconde murder case. FULL STORY BUSINESSMAN Dante Tan, owner of BW Resources Corp., rushed to the defense of impeached President Estrada and went on the offensive against two former officials of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Philippine Stock Exchange. Tan, a close friend of the President, said he paid off former SEC Chair Perfecto Yasay Jr. and former PSE vice president Ruben Almadro who, according to the businessman, promised to help clear him in the country's biggest stock manipulation scandal. Tan said he used go-betweens to pay $50,000, P1 million and 200,000 BW shares to Yasay and P2.4 million to Almadro. Tan also said Sen. Renato Cayetano, one of the judges in President Estrada's impeachment trial, made about P70 million trading BW shares. FULL STORY January 10, 2001 PRESIDENT Estrada allegedly knew that his friend Dante Tan of BW Resources Corp. had bribed Perfecto Yasay, former chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, but did nothing about it. Yasay was then investigating Tan for insider trading and stock manipulation. Ruben Almadro, former chief of the compliance and surveillance group (CSG) of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), told the Senate impeachment court last night that he was present in Malacañang in February last year when the President nonchalantly revealed the bribery. "I was shocked!" Almadro said. "Here I was facing the President of the Republic, the chief executor, the chief enforcer of the laws and he was telling me that his friend had bribed a public official and yet he did nothing to take action against the bribe giver or bribe taker," Almadro said. FULL STORY Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson, who had a falling out with Ang over a "jueteng" turf dispute, yesterday said his erstwhile buddy had offered to testify against the President at his Senate trial in exchange for P500 million. Singson said the deal fell through even after Ang lowered his price to P50 million. But Ang, who according to Singson delivered P130 million in tobacco tax kickbacks to the President, said opposition congressmen were the ones who urged him to testify. Even so, Ang said he never had any intention to take the witness stand against the President. FULL STORY A MEMBER of the House prosecution team requested that bodyguards be provided to Jose Luis "Nonoy" U. Yulo, a former chair of the Philippine Stock Exchange, because he had been subjected to harassment. Yulo is a prosecution witness on allegations that President Estrada intervened in favor of Dante Tan in connection with the BW Resources scam. Prosecutor Raul Gonzales said the harassment occurred yesterday morning in two separate places – the Alabang supermarket and Yulo’s building on Shaw Boulevard. FULL STORY THE BROTHERS Fortun, both members of President Estrada’s defense team at his impeachment trial, are in very real danger of being cited for contempt because of what transpired at the court Monday. "There was misrepresentation from start to finish, and therefore we are seriously looking into the possible citation for contempt," Senator-Judge Franklin Drilon told reporters before the trial resumed yesterday afternoon. Drilon said he was looking into "a possible conspiracy" among Attorneys Sigfrid and Raymond Fortun, Alfredo Villamor, lawyer of the President’s friend Charlie "Atong" Ang, and four others including Delia Rajas to subject the impeachment court to "a futile and pointless exercise" of asking Landbank cashier Maria Caridad Rodenas to go around the gallery and look for Rajas. As it turned out, the Rajas whom Rodenas was looking for was not the one who appeared before her on Aug. 27 and 28, 1998, in connection with the opening of an account and withdrawal of P50 million. FULL STORY January 9, 2001 ANOTHER attempt at cover-up was revealed yesterday at the impeachment trial of President Estrada. Prosecution witness Maria Caridad Rodenas, a cashier of the Land Bank of the Philippines, told the court she received calls from Yolanda Uy, a sister of the President’s friend Charlie "Atong" Ang, asking her to expunge bank records pertaining to the accounts opened in August 1998 by three people -- Delia Rajas, Alma Alfaro and Eleuterio Tan -- who later withdrew P130 million. FULL STORY EVEN Senator-Judge Miriam Defensor-Santiago was outraged when a defense lawyer of President Estrada appeared to have pulled a "dirty trick" on a prosecution witness during the impeachment hearing yesterday. Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. said Sigfried Fortun should be given time to answer why he should not be cited for contempt. Fortun had claimed that Delia Rajas, who withdrew P40 million from the Shaw Boulevard branch of Land Bank of the Philippines, was present in the Senate gallery and asked the witness, cashier Maria Caridad Rodenas, to point her out. What Fortun did not tell the court was that the Rajas present in court was not the depositor whom Rodenas met at the bank. FULL STORY THE WOMAN claiming to be the real Delia Rajas used another name to enter the Senate impeachment court yesterday. Based on the ticket issued to Rajas, someone signed for her in the Senate logbook of visitors using the name Belen Piamonte/Biamonte with address at Cityland 11, Tower I, Makati City. The revelation came after journalists and members of the Senate security force traced Ticket No. 05831, the one used by Rajas who took the witness stand. FULL STORY January 8, 2001 TWO of President Estrada’s mistresses have much bigger bank accounts than that of First Lady Dr. Luisa "Loi" Ejercito, the alleged recipient of an P8.4-million check from Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson, according to Rep. Joker Arroyo. "They have bigger running balances," Arroyo said yesterday, referring to former starlets Laarni Enriquez and Guia Gomez. Reports on the bank accounts of the President’s mistresses came as a member of the House prosecution team revealed that Mr. Estrada kept another secret bank account containing a "huge" amount of money. The prosecutor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the account was on top of the President’s "Jose Velarde" accounts with Equitable PCI Bank and the "Kelvin Garcia" account with Allied Bank. "We have stumbled upon another account that uses another name in another bank but has the same beneficial owner. The name leads to Malacañang. We would be coming out with it . . . hopefully soon," the prosecutor said. FULL STORY January 6, 2001 FIRST Lady Luisa "Loi" Ejercito received two checks totaling P8.4 million from Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson in 1999. The money, according to the prosecutors in the impeachment trial of President Estrada, was not reflected in the joint statement of assets and liabilities that she and President Estrada had declared. The prosecutors submitted photocopies of documents on the undeclared income of the First Lady. "Where did the money come from, it will be known on Monday," Prosecutor-Rep. Joker Arroyo said. The First Lady reiterated her Oct. 14 statement on TV that she never received any money from Singson. FULL STORY January 5, 2001 THE PROCEEDINGS of the Senate impeachment court were suspended for more than an hour yesterday after Senator-Judge Miriam Defensor-Santiago blew her top and accused three spectators of disrupting the trial. Santiago demanded that the three people in the gallery be expelled and cited for contempt for going "out of their way to stand out of their seats . . . just to look at me in a provocative way." The senator-judges, after a closed-door meeting, ordered that anti-crime advocate Dante Jimenez and two scions of wealthy families, Betina Aboitiz and Rosanna Tuazon-Fores, be banned from attending the trial. Hours after the three were booted out, a GMA 7 microphone was ordered confiscated for allegedly capturing off-microphone conversations of senator-judges from their respective seats. FULL STORY THE INTEGRATED Bar of the Philippines yesterday deplored as "unconstitutional" the disciplinary action that the Senate court meted out to three spectators in the gallery whom Senator-Judge Miriam Defensor-Santiago accused of "looking at her in a provocative way." "It is to be deeply deplored that the Senate has apparently taken disciplinary action without benefit of any trial against the persons concerned," IBP national president Arthur D. Lim said. FULL STORY January 3, 2001 BUSINESSMAN Jaime Dichaves was the fall guy for President Estrada. Prosecution witness Clarissa Ocampo told the impeachment trial yesterday that then Equitable PCI Bank chair, George L. Go, directed her to draw up documents transferring the President’s P500-million trust account to Dichaves, a good friend of Mr. Estrada. Ocampo, senior vice president of Equitable PCI Bank, said she prepared a second set of bank documents that was signed last Dec. 13 at the Makati office of Estelito Mendoza, a member of the defense panel in the impeachment trial. FULL STORY THE PROFESSIONAL conduct of defense lawyer Estelito Mendoza was put in doubt yesterday after a senior bank official testified that businessman Jaime Dichaves signed bank documents in Mendoza’s office on Dec. 13 allegedly to cover up President Estrada’s P500-million trust account with Equitable PCI Bank. FULL STORY CHIEF Justice Hilario Davide Jr. yesterday upheld the ruling that prosecutors had to prove that the P500 million allegedly stashed by President Estrada in a secret bank account was ill gotten. Davide also rejected a prosecution motion for clarification of his Dec. 22 ruling on the issue. FULL STORY January 2, 2001 THE IMPEACHMENT trial resumes this afternoon with the prosecution saying that they are ready to prove that the P500 million placed in a Jose Velarde trust account is ill gotten. Senate President Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and Sen. Franklin Drilon said the bombings that killed 14 people in Metro Manila on Saturday would not deter them from pushing through with the trial. The defense panel also shared the view that the trial would proceed today as it prepared to counter the damage wrought to the President’s case by the testimony of Equitable PCIBank senior vice president Clarissa Ocampo on Dec. 22. FULL STORY January 1, 2001 THE BOMBINGS in Metro Manila the other day have prompted prosecutors pursuing the impeachment case against President Estrada to take precautions to ensure that the trial continues. This was revealed yesterday by two congressmen who noted that even before the bombings, they were already being warned against acts of reprisal and vengefulness. Quezon City Rep. Feliciano Belmonte, the head of the House prosecution team, said the prosecutors were working on the assumption that Saturday's bombings might bear some kind of "message" to the team. "This is too insane…very disturbing…what's the message?" the House minority leader said. FULL STORY 31 December COULD Jose "Bonito" Singson, estranged brother of Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson, be the defense's panel surprise witness at the impeachment trial of President Estrada? Or will the brothers reconcile on the occasion of the historic trial, with Bonito supporting the prosecution? Speculations were rife over the weekend that the defense planned to spring Bonito as its surprise witness in its bid to win acquittal for the President. FULL STORY PRESIDENT Estrada's lawyers will object to the prosecution's motion for Chief Justice Hilario Davide to clarify who between the contending parties should bear the burden of proving or disproving that Mr. Estrada's alleged secret bank account contains ill-gotten wealth. The defense panel had yet to receive a copy of the motion. But it will ``definitely object to it'' once the copy of the motion is received, lawyer Raymond Fortun said. 29 December PRESIDENT
Estrada's defense lawyers are trying to block the prosecution's move
to compel the Security Bank president to produce documents on an account
into which P5 million in suspected "jueteng" money was deposited.
The defense lawyers are also opposing the prosecution's motion to
inspect several mansions allegedly owned by the President on the ground
that the inspection would expose the President to further "scorn and
ridicule." 28 December NOT
TO BE outdone, defense lawyers in the Estrada impeachment trial said
yesterday they would also present their own "even more explosive witnesses"
that would exonerate the President. Jose Flaminiano, a former Manila
prosecutor, declined to identify the witnesses, saying the defense
was not in the habit of telegraphing its punches. Another defense
lawyer, Siegfried Fortun, asked the public to wait for the defense
to present its case. IS GEORGE L. Go or Jose "Sel" Yulo the mystery witness of the prosecution? The guessing frenzy continues. "It is probably George Go," Ernesto Maceda, President Estrada's spokesperson for the impeachment trial, said in a radio interview. Go is a banker who resigned as chair of Equitable PCI Bank and as treasurer of the Erap Muslim Youth Foundation after these organizations were linked to the alleged "jueteng" payoffs to President Estrada. Rep. Heherson Alvarez has said that Yulo, a former housing adviser of Mr. Estrada, may agree to testify in the impeachment trial against the President. FULL STORY 27 December ANOTHER
surprise prosecution witness, this time with a "bigger" exposé than
Clarissa Ocampo, will take the stand when the impeachment trial resumes
next week. Giving a hint, Quezon City Rep. Michael Defensor said the
new witness is "a close presidential friend" and someone involved
in the President's rackets. 26 December A DEFENSE lawyer in the Senate impeachment trial described yesterday as a biased witness the bank official who testified that President Estrada kept a multimillion-peso account under the name of "Jose Velarde.'' Lawyer Raymund Farsifal Fortun disclosed that Clarissa G. Ocampo, an Equitable PCI Bank senior vice president, was a second-degree cousin of the wife of Quezon Rep. Wigberto Tañada, one of the 11 House prosecutors. Before she took the witness stand last Friday, Ocampo was holed on the sixth floor of the Senate building with Tañada. While Ocampo's relationship with one of the prosecutors "may not be a big deal as far as the impeachment court is concerned," it could show Ocampo as a tainted witness, Fortun said. FULL STORY The controversial P500-million account in the name of "Jose Velarde" contains "legitimate money" deposited by businessman Jaime Dichaves, according to Jose Victor "JV" Ejercito following the bombshell unloaded Friday by Clarissa Ocampo, a senior vice president and trust officer at Equitable PCIBank. Ocampo testified that she saw the President repeatedly sign the name "Jose Velarde" on documents pertaining to the P500-million account. "My father is still OK. He is in high spirits. He remains confident," Mr. Estrada's son said yesterday. But despite JV's optimistic take on the situation, the President himself stayed out of the public eye yesterday, leaving to his top aides the business of quelling rumors that he was planning to resign. FULL STORY 25 December THE FIGURES keep getting bigger and bigger in President Estrada’s impeachment trial at the Senate. At first, it was just a P142-million check drawn on an account at the Equitable PCI Bank branch in Binondo, Manila, and used to fund the purchase of the so-called Boracay mansion. Then came a trust account that funded a P500-million loan to the Wellex group of companies owned by William Gatchalian, one of President Estrada’s friends. Now, House prosecutors are zeroing in on a P1.2-billion account at the Equitable PCI Bank branch at the Pacific Star building in Makati City to prove that the President had acquired ill-gotten wealth and should, therefore, be removed from office. FULL STORY EVERYTHING was quiet in Malacañang on the eve of Christmas, but the Internet and cell phones were abuzz with rumors that President Estrada would resign by mid-week because of the damaging testimony of a bank official at his impeachment trial. "Rumors about his resignation are totally untrue and could be part of the continuing disinformation drive waged by members of the political opposition who, despite the Christmas season, are not about to pause from their vicious campaign to oust him from power," a Malacañang statement said. The Palace was almost deserted two days after Clarissa Ocampo, senior vice president of Equitable PCI Bank, testified before the Senate impeachment trial on Friday that the President and Jose Velarde, who opened a P500-million account with the bank’s trust department, were one and the same. FULL STORY 24 December MAKATI Rep. Joker Arroyo yesterday said President Estrada had a lot of explaining to do on how he acquired P500 million in an Equitable PCI Bank trust account that Clarissa Ocampo, senior vice president of the bank, said belonged to him. At least two senator-judges--Franklin Drilon and Raul Roco--supported Arroyo’s position despite Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr.’s ruling that prosecutors had the burden of proving the P500 million represented ill-gotten wealth. FULL STORY 23 December "WHEN he signed Jose Velarde, I just couldn’t believe it. He did not sign his real name. So I decided not to authenticate the signature." So testified surprise prosecution witness Clarissa Emerita Grey Ocampo, a senior vice president of Equitable PCI Bank, last night in an emotionally charged Senate impeachment trial that put the entire country on edge. FULL STORY CLIFFHANGER tension, impassioned arguments and frantic calls to an out-of-town senator characterized the first time the senator-judges voted in the impeachment trial of President Estrada since the trial began Dec. 7. Voting 10-9, the senator-judges suspended yesterday’s trial to hold an informal caucus on the divisive issue of whether to allow the prosecution’s surprise witness, Clarissa Ocampo, to testify last night. FULL STORY 22 December PROSECUTION witness Yolanda Ricaforte introduced herself in different ways to five different branch managers of Equitable PCI Bank. In opening a total of 31 bank accounts in six branches of the bank that eventually held a total of P207 million, the "simple-looking" Ricaforte, alleged auditor of the reported "jueteng" payoffs to President Estrada, alternately passed herself off as someone in real estate, travel business or in the export of prawns. She even passed herself off as a partner of Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson in the construction business but she never admitted that she was an employee of the governor. The House prosecution panel tried to show how jueteng collections left over from the alleged P10 million monthly payola to the President were laundered through Ricaforte's bank accounts. FULL STORY HOUSE prosecutors said they would still be able to pin impeached President Estrada on corruption charges even if key bank documents were altered to hide his links to a P142-million check and a secret account at Equitable PCI Bank. Misamis Oriental Rep. Oscar Moreno said the House panel would rely instead on microfilm copies of the check to prove that Mr. Estrada used funds from the Equitable PCI Bank account to buy the so-called "Boracay mansion" for one of his mistresses. Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. and Senate President Aquilino Pimentel Jr. admonished Moreno for insinuating the sealed bank records were doctored while in the custody of the court. FULL STORY
21 December AFTER a lengthy legal battle with defense lawyers at the Senate impeachment court, House prosecutors yesterday finally got to see records of President Estrada’s alleged secret account at Equitable PCI Bank. Prosecutors, however, immediately charged that the documents might have been doctored. They had planned to introduce the secret bank account as evidence that the President was guilty of corruption by hiding ill-gotten wealth. Lutgardo Barbo, the Senate secretary who unsealed the manila envelope containing the documents at 3:09 p.m., announced to the impeachment court that the account was under the name of "Jose Velarde." "This is a very serious matter. Please keep quiet so that everything can be recorded," Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. said as he tried to calm the excitement at the packed hearing on the 10th day of the trial. FULL STORY PRESIDENT Estrada used his friends Lucio Co and Charlie "Atong" Ang to front for him in acquiring Fontana Resort and in trying to put up a casino at the Clark Special Economic Zone in Pampanga. This was revealed by former Clark Development Corp. chair Rufo Colayco, who yesterday testified before the Senate impeachment court during the resumption of the proceedings on the first Article of Impeachment (bribery) against the President. FULL STORY 20 December THE HOUSE prosecution last night moved to the second Article of Impeachment that comprises graft and corrupt practices in the impeachment trial of President Estrada with Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson testifying about the P130-million kickback allegedly given to the President from the P200-million tobacco excise tax released to the province. Singson said the President asked for a 10-percent kickback as a condition for the release of Ilocos Sur’s share from Republic Act 7171, the law giving 15 percent of excise tax on tobacco to Virginia tobacco-producing provinces. FULL STORY THE 5 P.M. deadline yesterday lapsed for senator-judges to oppose Chief Justice Hilario Davide’s decision to open a sealed envelope containing records of the Jose Valhalla/Velarde bank account. No senator filed a dissenting opinion. But House prosecutors would still have to wait until Friday before they could get hold of the vital bank documents that, according to them, would convict impeached President Estrada. "No one can now file a dissent after the deadline lapsed. This means the Senate as an impeachment court will no longer be expected to vote on the issue and no one can complain later," Sen. Franklin Drilon said. FULL STORY 19 December In a four-hour direct testimony, Annie Ngo, first vice president of Equitable PCI Bank, disclosed that Yolanda Ricaforte, the alleged auditor for the "jueteng" payoffs to President Estrada, deposited more than P200 million in the bank's six branches in Metro Manila from September 1999 to November this year. FULL STORY The Senate impeachment court deferred for one more day the opening of sealed bank documents, including records of a P142-million check that allegedly funded the purchase of the so-called "Boracay mansion", as lawyers of President Estrada's friend, businessman Jaime Dichaves, wrote to the court that he issued the check and owned the controversial Equitable PCIBank account. Makati Rep. Joker Arroyo voiced misgivings that the delay was hampering the prosecution's work in building a case against the President. FULL STORY 18 December THE IMPEACHMENT prosecution panel indicated it had uncovered a paper trail proving that businessman Jaime Dichaves opened the bank account of Jose Valhalla/Velarde with Equitable PCIBank on behalf of President Estrada. Prosecutors said the documents included copies of checks from the Valhalla/Velarde account and affidavits of different individuals privy to the acquisition of the "Boracay" mansion, one of the pieces of property that the President allegedly acquired with "jueteng" money. They said the documents would strengthen their claim that Valhalla was no other than Mr. Estrada. FULL STORY SENATOR-JUDGE John Osmeña said yesterday he had no intention of airing a dissenting opinion on the ruling of Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. to open the sealed envelope containing bank records of the Jose Valhalla/Velarde account, so there might not be a walkout today by House prosecutors, after all. "I was not serving notice that I will file a dissent. Some newspapers, including the INQUIRER, have misinterpreted my inquiry to mean that we are serving notice. That is not correct," said Osmeña, a staunch ally of the President. Osmeña explained that he only wanted to "keep his options open" when he sought a clarification immediately after Davide, presiding officer of the impeachment court, ruled on Friday night on the materiality and relevancy of the bank documents to the Articles of Impeachment against the President.FULL STORY 16 December A SHOWDOWN looms in President Estrada’s impeachment trial when senator-judges decide tomorrow whether to allow House prosecutors to look into records of his alleged secret account in Equitable PCIBank. A militant group has urged House prosecutors to walk out of the trial should senators reject Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr.’s ruling on Friday that a sealed envelope containing the bank records be opened. A walkout could plunge the country into a deeper political crisis. Prosecutors, however, are still mapping out plans on what to do should senators block their bid to inspect the bank records, the "backbone" of the corruption case against the President. FULL STORY CHRISTMAS being the season for forgiving, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines is more than willing to forgive President Estrada provided he confesses his sins and repairs the damage he has done, Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo said. And the President should not only make an admission of wrongdoing at his impeachment trial but also confess his sins "humbly, honestly and completely" to a priest or bishop, Quevedo said. FULL STORY 15 December BUSINESSMAN Jaime Dichaves, a close friend of President Estrada, was identified Friday as the man who opened the bank account of Jose Valhalla/Velarde with the Equitable PCI Bank in Binondo, Manila, the INQUIRER learned. Dichaves opened not one but two accounts for Valhalla/Velarde last year, according to a source in the banking industry. The prosecution panel claims that Valhalla/Velarde issued a P142-million check to Jose "Sel" Yulo, a former housing adviser of the President, for the acquisition of the Boracay mansion. The signature on the check resembled closely the President's signature, according to Prosecutor Joker Arroyo. FULL STORY AGRICULTURE Secretary Edgardo Angara boldly and baldly predicted an acquittal for President Estrada in his ongoing impeachment trial, saying that the Senate trial was merely an "important formality'' with a known outcome. The trial "is a hearing where you can predict the outcome" because the "senators who belong to the President's party will vote for his acquittal," Angara told reporters in Negros Oriental. He said the trial was simply "a political process," and that some senators had, prior to the trial, indicated their position on the issue of whether the President should be removed from office over charges of bribery and corruption, among other things.FULL STORY PRESIDENT Estrada stood to earn P165 million from Bingo 2-Ball compared with the P30 million he got monthly from "jueteng," prosecution star witness Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson yesterday said. He testified before the Senate impeachment trial that the President was to get "at least P165 million" from Bingo 2-Ball operations which would have been operated by Prominent Management Inc. He said Bingo 2-Ball was expected to generate a monthly revenue of P1.5 billion.FULL STORY 14 December "I HAVE the check, your honor," Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson, the prosecution star witness, said on the fifth day of Mr. Estrada’s impeachment trial. He presented to the Senate impeachment court yesterday a P5-million check that he said would prove President Estrada accepted "jueteng" payoffs from illegal gambling lords over a 22-month period. Claiming he personally gave the check – payable to cash – to the President on Feb. 18, 1999, he said, however, that he did not know who cashed the check or whether the "SBC" marking at the back indicated the check was drawn at Security Banking Corp. Testifying in Filipino, he said he delivered P6 million in cash to the President on Jan. 2, 2000, and about P5 million in cash every 15 days from November to December in 1998 and from March to July in 1999. FULL STORY 13 December Equitable PCI Bank officers last night delivered to the Senate impeachment court the potentially crucial evidence that House prosecutors were seeking to convict President Estrada. "We assure you, Mr. Presiding Officer, the President will be convicted on bank records," Makati Rep. Joker Arroyo, a House prosecutor, told Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr., the Senate tribunal's presiding officer. Even before the documents were delivered at 7:05 p.m., Equitable PCI Bank president Wilfredo V. Vergara apologized to Davide for "giving the impression that we are stalling the disclosure of information." The tribunal earlier threatened to cite bank officers for contempt after Arroyo and another prosecutor, Misamis Oriental Rep. Oscar Moreno, accused the bank of refusing to disclose information on the President's alleged secret account. FULL STORY 12 December A SECRETARY of Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson has testified that she personally delivered P5 million in "jueteng" money to President Estrada's office in Malacañang last year. Emma Lim, 33, was the first prosecution witness at the three-day-old Senate impeachment trial to directly link the President to jueteng payoffs allegedly made by illegal gambling lords. Asked by defense lawyer Estelito Mendoza if she was aware that delivering bribes was against the law, Lim smiled and said: "I was frightened, but since jueteng is run by the President, why should I be?" According to Lim, she was ushered into an office at the Presidential Residence where she saw Mr. Estrada and his secretary. "He (the President) saw me," Lim said, adding that the secretary put the bag of money beside an office table. Lim said she left Malacañang after the secretary spoke to Singson by telephone to acknowledge the delivery of the bag.FULL STORY 08 December DECEMBER 8 -- ON THE day President Estrada said "there is no thief in my clan," an employee of Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson testified before the Senate impeachment trial that she collected a total of P3 million in "jueteng" money from San Juan Mayor Jinggoy Estrada. The collection, she said, included a personalized check for P1 million which reportedly bore the mayor's picture. Emma Lim, who claims to work in Singson's office at the second floor of the LCS Building in San Andres Bukid, Manila, said last night that she went to the office of Mayor Estrada, a son of the President, three times early this year to collect jueteng money. FULL STORY YEARS away from active legal practice in open court may be doing the prosecution panel in. The blunders, procedural slip-ups and other lapses bordering on the lack of common sense committed by congressmen who are prosecuting President Estrada have "shocked" even the Kongreso ng Mamamayang Pilipino(Kompil II) into alleging that one prosecutor may be a "Trojan horse." FULL STORY
05 DECEMBER Presiding officer Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. deferred action on a motion by the 11-member House prosecution panel to inspect five mansions allegedly owned by impeached President Estrada. He withheld authorization for photographs and videotapes to be taken of the interiors of the President's private home in San Juan, three houses allegedly occupied by his mistresses in Metro Manila, and a log cabin in Tagaytay City. Davide said he would rule on the motion only "in the course of the testimony" of Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson and others who said they witnessed the delivery of "jueteng" money to the President in these addresses. FULL STORY 04 DECEMBER ONE OF President Estrada's lawyers in the impeachment trial said the defense team would oppose a move by House prosecutors to inspect several mansions allegedly owned by the President's mistresses. "We are going to oppose it. We will submit our written opposition as soon as possible," said Raul Daza, one of Mr. Estrada's defense lawyers. He said the defense would cite "technicalities and legal issues." FULL STORY FIVE DAYS before the impeachment trial starts, 55 percent of 1,000 listed telephone owners polled in Metro Manila said they felt the President was guilty as charged, despite what they considered a "good job" being done by his lawyers in defending him. The survey was conducted by a New York-based public opinion research firm on Dec. 2. Twenty-five percent of the survey respondents said they could not say if he was guilty or not, while 20 percent said the President was not guilty in the survey by Audits and Surveys Worldwide (ASW), which sampled the respondents chosen randomly from the telephone directory. FULL STORY 03 DECEMBER THIS
time, Estrada-resign groups will take a leaf from the Bible and
mount a daily "Jericho March" around the Senate building. "We will
walk around the Senate, not for the Senate walls to fall, but for
the truth to fall upon every senator," said Danilo Songco, a convenor
of the Kongreso ng Mamamayang Pilipino (Kompil) II, in a forum yesterday
at the Ateneo de Manila University. The activity draws from the
biblical story of the walled city of Jericho, around which Israelites
led by Joshua marched for seven days, with seven trumpet-blowing
priests and the ark of covenant at the "front line." SENATE President Aquilino Pimentel Jr. yesterday said the Senate will consider a proposal from Rep. Joker Arroyo for the senator-jurors at the impeachment trial of President Estrada to render a verdict immediately after deliberations on each article of impeachment. The President is charged with four impeachable offenses, but conviction in only one would be enough to remove him from office. FULL STORY 02 DECEMBER PLEADING
not guilty, President Estrada has asked the 22 senators sitting
as jurors in the impeachment case against him for "a judgment of
acquittal." Estrada merely issued a blanket denial of the four impeachable
offenses, and did not answer point-by-point the charges of bribery,
corruption, betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the
Constitution. The defense lawyers described the structure of the
complaint "unorthodox." The 11-member House prosecution panel has
five days, or up to Dec. 6, to file a response. Admitting that the Senate's work as an impeachment tribunal has become "doubly difficult" because of pressures from all sides, Senate President Aquilino Pimentel yesterday urged the people to pray for the senators. Pimentel also asked the people to "keep watch over us . . . support us" so the senators "could freely perform our duty to do what is right for our country and people. We won't disappoint you," he said.FULL STORY 01 DECEMBER DONATIONS
are financing the daily operations of the prosecutors in the impeachment
trial of President Estrada because the House of Representatives
committee on accounts has yet to release the P5-million budget for
the impeachment trial. "We are operating on charity and donations,
mostly given by 93 congressmen who endorsed the impeachment complaint
against the President," said Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr.,
co-chair of the secretariat for the 11-member prosecution team.
But the President’s defense lawyers appear to have no problem with
funding. Lawyers for Mr. Estrada have waived their fees in exchange
for a chance to take part in his historic impeachment trial, according
to Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora. "This is a very important
case. The lawyers are not looking at the fees. This is a case where
they are in a position to make history, too," Zamora said in an
interview with dzRH radio. "They have asked for expenses, that’s
all." 30 NOVEMBER DESPITE
the impeachment court’s rejection of the defense motion to quash
to charges against President Estrada, the opposition isn’t leaving
anything to chance. Former President Corazon Aquino and Vice President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo yesterday called on the people to join a
massive march on the Senate on Dec. 7, the first day of the impeachment
trial. "People power needs to be revitalized," Aquino said in a
statement read at a news conference of opposition groups demanding
Mr. Estrada’s resignation. Senate President Aquilino Pimentel Jr.
and Sen. Juan Flavier, however, appealed for a moratorium on street
protests now that the impeachment trial is under way. 29 NOVEMBER THE
HOUSE prosecution panel yesterday scored its first major victory
in its bid to oust President Estrada, setting the stage for his
historic impeachment trial at the Senate. Chief Justice Hilario
Davide Jr., presiding officer of the impeachment court, threw out
for lack of merit a defense motion to quash the Articles of Impeachment
and scheduled the start of the trial on Dec. 7. Senate President
Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said the trial could be finished by the end
of December. None of the 21 senators, sitting as jurors in Impeachment
Case No. 001-2000, challenged the decision at the end of the two-hour
orderly court session. AFTER
the Senate rejected the motion to quash the charges against President
Estrada, a group of pro-administration congressmen is now planning
to question the Articles of Impeachment
before the Supreme Court. Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas, newly
installed chair of the House justice committee, said he and 30 other
congressmen would file today a class suit asking the Supreme Court
to stop the Senate impeachment trial. Fariñas said the petition
would seek "to correct an error" committed by the chamber under
the leadership of then Speaker Manuel Villar who, according to him,
swiftly referred the impeachment complaint to the Senate without
any floor deliberations. 28 NOVEMBER EXPECT
a stormy session today when the Senate sitting as an impeachment
court takes up President Estrada’s motion to quash the Articles
of Impeachment. Sources yesterday said opposition senators were
worried their pro-administration colleagues would approve the motion
to quash following a heated caucus Monday night. Such a scenario
would either abort or delay the trial. During the three-hour caucus,
11 senators voted to meet with Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr.
at 1 p.m. today, an hour before the impeachment court was scheduled
to take up the motion to quash. But seven opposition senators objected
to the holding of a caucus. Sen. Cayetano earlier denounced the
tampering of the record of the Senate floor deliberations on Nov.
15 to make it appear that the impeachment rules allow the President’s
lawyers to file a motion to quash. This prompted Senate President
Aquilino Pimentel to call for an investigation. 27 NOVEMBER THE
LEADER of a big Christian evangelist group yesterday led tens of
thousands of his followers in praying that President Estrada muster
the courage and see "honor and victory" in stepping down. Opposition
leaders joined members of the Jesus Is Lord Movement at the Rizal
Park in also praying for a fair impeachment trial of the President.
The assembly also asked God to give Chief Justice Hilario Davide
Jr., senators-jurors, House prosecutors, and defense lawyers "divine
wisdom in fulfilling their mandate according to truth and justice
and not according to friendship or political partisanship." 26 NOVEMBER THE
IMPEACHMENT trial of President Estrada would be over should a simple
majority of the senators-jurors grant his motion to quash the charges,
Senate President Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said Saturday. Should that
happen, however, Sen. Franklin Drilon said he and his colleagues
in the minority bloc would bring the issue to the Supreme Court.
Sen. Raul Roco, for his part, warned of more street protests if
the impeachment trial were aborted. 25 NOVEMBER THE DEFENSE lawyers of President Estrada have filed a motion with the Senate to quash the charges against the President, saying that the Articles of Impeachment from the House of Representatives were "fatally defective." A supporter of Mr. Estrada also filed a motion to intervene and to seek the dissolution of the Senate as an impeachment body. The motion cites two reasons in seeking to quash the Articles of Impeachment--that the complaint lacked the one-third vote in the House of Representatives as required by the Constitution and that the House did not follow the constitutional procedures for endorsing the complaint to the Senate. FULL STORY "WHEN ARE you going to resign, Mr. President?" a western journalist shouted as President Estrada walked toward the ballroom of a luxury hotel in Singapore for the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit. One of President Estrada’s closest businessmen-friends, Asian Terminals Inc. chair Eusebio Tanco, admitted that the Philippines had become a "tough sell" as a preferred investment destination among Singaporean businessmen because of its political crisis. FULL STORY 24 NOVEMBER THE 11-man team of prosecutors played down the plan of President Estrada’s defense team to move for the outright dismissal of the impeachment case filed by the House of Representatives. "I don’t think it will prosper," said Makati Rep. Joker Arroyo, one of the House prosecutors, who dismissed the motion as a ploy to buy more time for the defense lawyers. He said the planned motion was "standard practice" among lawyers having difficulties presenting their defense. Lawyer Estelito Mendoza, a member of the defense team, said an application to throw out the case based on technicalities would be filed in the Senate today, ahead of the President’s answer to the Articles of Impeachment. FULL STORY THE WAR of the television networks threatened to erupt anew when a senator related to the owners of ABS-CBN endorsed the network, in a caucus of senators Wednesday, to be the private TV station allowed to cover the impeachment trial of President Estrada. GMA 7 said that if another network will be allowed to cover the proceedings, it should also be allowed the same privilege in the "interest of fairness." FULL STORY 23 NOVEMBER PRESIDENT Estrada will ask the Senate to dismiss outright the Articles of Impeachment filed against him, according to Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora. The motion would be filed on or before Friday, ahead of the answers of the President to the Articles of Impeachment, which he formally received Monday. Sen. Franklin Drilon however expressed fears that the plan of Mr. Estrada’s lawyers to file a motion to dismiss the impeachment charges in the Senate could provoke serious legal issues. Worse, the motion, he said, could even abort the trial. FULL STORY PRESIDENT Estrada yesterday brushed off the call of retired generals and other military officers for him to resign, saying they should just keep silent in keeping with their inactive status. "They must stop it; they are already retired, right?" the President said when asked to comment on the Federation of Retired Commissioned and Enlisted Soldiers’ call for him to perform the "most noble and heroic act of resigning at the earliest opportunity." While some retired generals were in favor of Mr. Estrada’s resignation, retired Brig. Gen. Jaime Echeverria, president of the Association of Generals and Flag Officers, said that majority of Agfo members were for giving the President the opportunity to answer the charges against him, with the impeachment trial as the appropriate forum. FULL STORY PRESIDENT Erap has a formidable battery of lawyers to defend him at his impeachment trial. But no matter how brilliant they are, his lawyers are facing the most difficult trial of their careers. Many lawyers believe that Erap would be a witness against himself at the impeachment trial if he allowed himself to be cross-examined. FULL STORY 22 NOVEMBER A LARGE group of retired generals and other military officers yesterday urged active members of the Armed Forces to "assist" President Estrada in performing the "heroic act" of voluntary resignation. The Federation of Retired Commissioned and Enlisted Soldiers said that the President’s resignation would be in the interest of and for national stability, and that the impeachment process would not solve the current crisis. Ambassador Fortunato Abat, chair of the council of leaders of the Forces, signed the two-page manifesto dated Nov. 17 in behalf of the group. FULL STORY PRESIDENT Estrada yesterday called on all the senators remaining with the ruling Lapian ng Masang Pilipino to "take a leave of absence from the pro-administration coalition" during the impeachment trial against him. He said that in doing so, his LAMP colleagues in the chamber would "free themselves from any partisan consideration" in deciding the case. Senators Teresita Aquino-Oreta and Gregorio Honasan earlier announced that they were both taking their leaves from the LAMP coalition. FULL STORY 21 NOVEMBER THE SENATE was yesterday formally constituted as an impeachment court, with the chamber embarking on what Senate President Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said was "our painful duty" to put President Estrada on trial. Pimentel said the Senate would "not allow itself to become a kangaroo court" rushing to convict or acquit the President on charges of bribery, graft and corruption, betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution. A first in Philippine history, the 41-minute ceremony opening the impeachment trial began at 3:45 p.m. All but one—Sen. Robert Barbers—of the 22 senators individually swore to be impartial jurors, and Chief Justice and presiding officer Hilario Davide Jr. ordered the immediate serving of the summons on Mr. Estrada.FULL STORY PRESIDENT Estrada asserted yesterday he was not a crook but pledged to accept the verdict at his impeachment trial next month even if it meant his removal from office. "I leave my fate to God and to the judgment of the Senate," he told reporters at the Department of Agriculture hours before the Senate served him the impeachment summons at Malacañang. He however said he expected the opposition to also accept the outcome of the trial should it go his way.FULL STORY 20 NOVEMBER HOUSE Minority Leader Feliciano Belmonte was appointed yesterday head of the 11-member panel that will prosecute President Estrada in the Senate impeachment trial on charges of bribery, graft, betrayal of public trust, and culpable violations of the Constitution. Belmonte was named the lead manager, or chief prosecutor, by the House panel during a meeting at the Ateneo de Manila University campus in Quezon City. During the meeting, the House managers also discussed their strategy with volunteer lawyers and representatives of civic groups that signed, together with 115 legislators, the impeachment complaint against Mr. Estrada.FULL STORY IN A ceremony to be attended by more than 200 government officials and watched on television by millions across the nation, the Senate formally opens today the impeachment trial of President Estrada, the first not only in the 102-year history of the Philippine Republic but also in Asia. This afternoon, the 22 senators will take their oath as impartial jurors who will try the President. Also today, the Senate sergeant-at-arms will deliver to Malacañang an official summons ordering the President to respond to the charges of bribery, graft and corruption, violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust.FULL STORY 19 NOVEMBER SENATORS allegedly plan to call all 115 congressmen who endorsed the impeachment complaint against President Estrada, and grill them one by one at the approaching impeachment trial to determine whether they fully understand the charges raised against the head of state. Three opposition congressmen confirmed this report and said it was a tactic to delay the trial. FULL STORY ILOCOS Sur Gov. Luis ``Chavit’’ Singson complains of ``intensified harassment’’ from Malacañang following the pullout yet again of his six-man police escort. Singson says the policemen, who were his trusted bodyguards, have been deployed to Mindanao upon orders of Director General Panfilo Lacson Jr., Philippine National Police chief. The INQUIRER, however, learned that the special order of assignment, dated Nov. 13, was signed not by Lacson but by PNP Deputy Director General Romeo Peña.FULL STORY 18 NOVEMBER THE ALLEGED mistresses of President Estrada who may be compelled to appear at his impeachment trial are forewarned that should they flee abroad, their passports can be canceled. But only a court order can compel the Department of Foreign Affairs to cancel the passport of any Filipino citizen abroad to force him to return to the country, a DFA official told the INQUIRER. He added that the ladies in question could also be extradited if they have already left the country. FULL STORY SENATORS are urged to observe a ``self-gag rule’’ during President Estrada’s impeachment trial scheduled to start on Dec. 7. Senate President Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and President Pro Tempore Blas Ople said their colleagues should exercise discretion and self-restraint in making public comments about the trial in order to protect their role as impartial jurors and judges.FULL STORY AN ANTI-CRIME group filed a plunder complaint against President Estrada, accusing him of accepting bribes from illegal gambling operators and receiving tax kickbacks. The offense is punishable by death. The Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, accompanied by its star witness Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis ``Chavit’’ Singson, filed the charges with the Ombudsman.FULL STORY 17 NOVEMBER THE MISTRESSES of President Estrada—"from 02 to 08"—will be summoned to testify at his impeachment trial. This was disclosed by Quezon City Rep. Mike Defensor, who is helping the 11 prosecutors prepare for the President’s trial at the Senate. At the Newsmakers’ Forum at the Century Park Sheraton Hotel in Manila, Bukidnon Rep. Nereus Acosta said the women’s testimony would also be "part of what the prosecution would be looking into (to build their case)." He added that the trial promised to be "10 times" more gripping than the popular Mexican telenovela "Rosalinda." The Senate convenes as an impeachment court on Monday, but Mr. Estrada’s actual trial will start on Dec. 7, Senate President Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said. FULL STORY VARIOUS groups urged that Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago be disqualified from sitting as juror in the impeachment trial of President Estrada in the Senate for "prejudging" the case. "Santiago for all intents and purposes, is partial toward the President and should be disqualified from sitting as one of the jurors and judges of the case," the Kongreso ng Mamamayang Pilipino (Kompil) II said. Santiago earlier said in an INQUIRER interview that the President would likely be acquitted because he already had a "critical mass" of nine senators, more than enough to stop a conviction.FULL STORY A PROPOSAL to limit only to the government-controlled PTV 4 the television coverage of the historic impeachment trial of President Estrada raised fears of media suppression. "From the beginning of these (‘juetengate’) proceedings, everything was covered fully—television, radio, print, cellular," Sen. Raul Roco said. "And then finally, when the most important political act will be unfurling itself, we are being reticent like demure damsels, virgins fearful of being exposed to public glare and sunlight of public opinion and the press." The proposal was raised during Senate President Aquilino Pimentel Jr.’s meeting with TV and radio executives to discuss the coverage of the trial.FULL STORY 16 NOVEMBER IN THE numbers game at his impeachment trial in the Senate, President Estrada will be acquitted despite the massive rallies mounted against him. Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, a staunch ally of the President, gave this fearless forecast as the Senate prepared to put Mr. Estrada on trial for bribery, graft and corruption, culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust. She said Mr. Estrada would need only eight senators to escape conviction. FULL STORY THE SENATE is set to serve today the summons on President Estrada notifying him of the articles of impeachment and asking him to appear at the chamber sitting as an impeachment court. The Senate sergeant-at-arms, retired Army Gen. Leonardo Lopez, has the job of serving on the President the summons, which is signed by new Senate President Aquilino Pimentel Jr. At 7:45 p.m. Wednesday, the 24-point Senate Resolution 894, or the "Rules of Procedure in the Senate on Impeachment Trials," was approved by the Senate five hours after a marathon meeting of the Senate rules committee. FULL STORY 15 NOVEMBER SOME 100 lawyers from top law firms in Makati have offered to pool their resources to provide the 11 prosecutors the "best and strongest case" against President Estrada during the impeachment trial. Leyte Rep. Sergio Apostol, one of the prosecutors, disclosed in a news conference at the National Press Club that the lawyers would serve "pro bono (free of charge)." He said the lawyers, mostly graduates of Ateneo de Manila University and the University of the Philippines, would come from big law firms such as the Abello, Concepcion, Regala and Cruz (Accra) law offices and the Ponce Enrile, Reyes and Manalastas law firm. He said the 100 lawyers would form part of the four teams that would concentrate on each of the Articles of Impeachment against Mr. Estrada. FULL STORY THE NEW House Speaker, Arnulfo Fuentebella, said that the new majority in the House of Representatives should not be blamed if the Senate decides to send back to the chamber the Articles of Impeachment against President Estrada. "We lament the lack of decorum, the chaos, the grandstanding at the expense of the House as an institution that attended the proceedings on Monday," he said. Former Speaker Manny Villar swiftly moved to impeach Mr. Estrada after leading a prayer despite howls of protest from supporters of the President. FULL STORY 14 November WITH a bang of the House Speaker’s gavel, President Estrada yesterday became the first Philippine President to be impeached. The Articles of Impeachment will be forwarded to the Senate for a trial to decide whether the President should be removed from office on corruption charges. Speaker Manuel Villar swiftly moved to impeach the President after leading a prayer. Without missing a beat, Villar read an order for the House secretary-general "to immediately transmit to the Senate the impeachment complaint constituting the articles of impeachment" before banging the gavel to cut off any further debate. FULL STORY AMID the disapproving uproar of the anti-impeachment sector in the House of Representatives, the 11 congressmen who will make up the prosecution panel during President Estrada’s impeachment trial were named last night. They are House Minority Leader Feliciano Belmonte, Reps. Sergio Apostol, Joker Arroyo, Raul Gonzales, Wigberto Tañada, Oscar Moreno, Oscar Rodriguez, Roan Libarios, Antonio Eduardo Nachura, Clavel Martinez and Salacnib Baterina. It will be incumbent upon these lawmakers who are all lawyers to devise the strategy to pin down the President and present evidence against him when he goes on trial in the Senate for alleged impeachable offenses. FULL STORY 13 November THE OPPOSITION in the House of Representatives made history today by making President Estrada the first Philippine president to be impeached, paving the way for a Senate trial which will determine whether or not he will stay in office. Administration congressmen failed to stop House Speaker Manuel Villar from reading the articles of impeachment, approving it, and calling for a suspension of the session. It was all over in less than eight minutes. 12 November PRO-ADMINISTRATION congressmen are seeking to unseat Manny Villar as Speaker of the House to delay and imperil impeachment proceedings against President Estrada. This was the statement of Villar, who is facing ouster as House leader after he signed the impeachment complaint filed at the House against the President. FULL STORY
"PLAY all the tapes you have. Give them all to the Senate so we’ll see.
I’ll face you there." These were the bold words stated by President
Estrada as he challenged Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis ``Chavit’’ Singson to
show all his evidence at the Senate impeachment trial. FULL
STORY
11 November AN ADMINISTRATION solon confirms opposition fears that pro-Estrada congressmen will try to assert control over the selection of 11 colleagues who will prosecute the President in an impeachment trial in the Senate. FULL STORY 10 November PRESIDENT Estrada dismisses an opposition offer for a "graceful exit" and immunity fromprosecution, saying that he is not guilty of anything and so has no reason to accept the offer. FULL STORY 09 November REPLACING the chair and members of the committee handling the impeachment case against President Estrada is the ultimate aim of the planned reorganization of the House, Makati Rep. Joker Arroyo says. FULL STORY 08 November PHILIPPINE ambassador to the US Ernesto Maceda is back in the Philippines and assisting the administration in dealing with the impeachment crisis. FULL STORY SEN. Ramon Magsaysay Jr. warns of midnight deals to delay and even derail the impeachment process. FULL STORY
07 November DESPITE acrimonious debate and the threat of delaying tactics, the House Committee on Justice agrees to recommend the impeachment motion to the plenary body. FULL STORY 06 November FINANCE Secretary Jose Pardo is not resigning from the Cabinet but is holding talks with former President Corazon Aquino regarding a possible graceful exit for President Estrada, according to INQUIRER sources. FULL STORY THE IMPEACHMENT complaint against President Estrada could face delays or, worse, be derailed by technicalities and a lack of preparation by the Senate, according to Makati Rep. Joker Arroyo. FULL STORY 05 November SAYING that they can muster signatures equivalent to about 70 percent of the members of the House after the huge prayer-rally at Edsa yesterday, opposition lawmakers are confident that the move to impeach President Estrada would be unstoppable. FULL STORY SEN. Robert Jaworski enters the ranks of the opposition and resigns from LAMP, the ruling coalition, joining Senators Franklin Drilon, Rodolfo Biazon and Anna Dominique Coseteng. FULL STORY 04 November JUDGING by the numbers alone, President Estrada is as good as impeached in the House of Representatives, and a mere four votes shy of losing an impeachment trial in the Senate, according to legislators. FULL STORY DEALING another humiliating blow to President Estrada and rejecting his efforts to save his presidency, the heads of both chambers of Congress and at least 47 other legislators desert his party, as his top Palace aide likened the pressure on the leader to resign to a "lynch mob." FULL STORY 03 November MORE than 73 members of the House of Representatives now favor the impeachment of President Estrada. FULL STORY A HIGHLY placed source in Malacañang says Villar has already sent word to the President about his decision to bolt LAMP. FULL STORY |
