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Mass Resignation Rocks Philippine President's Party
Philippine House Speaker Manuel Villar, Senate President Franklin Drilon and scores of solons resigned Friday from President Joseph Estrada's ruling party amid increasing calls for his ouster, said a report of the ABS-CBN television.
According to the report, Villar and 40 other congressmen also signed their endorsement of the impeachment case against the president, bringing the number of those in favor of unseating the president to at least 110.
"It really is not easy to leave a friend but there is no other faster way to hasten the recovery of our economy," Villas was quoted by the report as saying.
By noon time, Senate President Franklin Drilon and two other senators, Nikki Coseteng and Rodolfo Biazon, said they would also resign from Estrada's ruling LAMP party.
Drilon said he would join the call for President Estrada's resignation, saying the latter's alleged involvement in an illegal gambling controversy has resulted in the deterioration of the country's economy.
The governor of Ilocos Sur province, Luis Singson, testified in October that President Estrada pocketed more than 11 million US dollars from illegal gambling operators and tobacco taxes.
Singson's allegations triggered widespread demands for Estrada's resignation or impeachment.
The impeachment motion needs 73 votes in the 218-member House to be passed and opposition leaders had said on Thursday they already had the support of about 60 congressmen.
With the number of solons in favor of impeachment reaching 10, House Minority Leader Feliciano Belmonte said Friday they would likely send the endorsement of the impeachment to the Senate on November 13, the first day of sessions in the legislative branch.
For Estrada to be impeached, a two-thirds majority in the 22-member Senate is needed. Estrada's ruling coalition still dominates the Senate.
Estrada said on Thursday night that he was willing to face the impeachment trial and also submit himself to a national referendum to let voters decide whether he should stay in office.
"I am prepared to submit myself to trial before the Senate in accordance with the constitution. I am also willing to submit myself to a referendum to let the people decide whether I would stay as president or not," said the president in a statement.
"I will prove my innocence," he said. "I guarantee the Filipino people that I will be vindicated because the truth is on my side."
The president's statement came after Trade Secretary Manuel Roxas resigned from the cabinet earlier Thursday.
Last month, Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo quit from her cabinet post as Social Welfare Secretary and has led the campaign for the removal of Estrada.
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