Word: estrada
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...Estrada, known popularly as Erap, had never been popular among the gentrified élite, those wealthy descendants of Spanish colonialists who comprised the well-heeled Makati and Forbes Park power brokers. They viewed Estrada, who boasted about his middle-class origins and was proud of his capacious appetites, as something of a parvenu, an uncouth impostor in the palace. His clique of shady Chinese business cronies and provincial politicians was regarded as proof that Estrada was a second-rater, unfit to rule and certainly not one to act in the best interests of the Philippines. And they had their reasons...
Meanwhile, at least one Estrada ally was believed to be plotting to incite violence that would help the President justify use of his emergency powers to strengthen his grip on the military. According to a retired military officer, Estrada had planned to replace Chief of Staff Reyes with Calimlim. That plan collapsed when General Calimlim joined with Reyes in turning his back on Estrada...
...Friday evening, Estrada was running out of options. His hold on power, tentative since the impeachment trial had commenced, had now been virtually sundered as military and political operatives deserted him one after another. At one point, even former lovers were stepping forward to denounce the famous womanizer. Actress Nora Aunor, formerly a loyal campaigner for Estrada, publicly dumped the President, claiming he used to beat her "black and blue...
...principal parties in People Power II were by Saturday morning comfortably ensconced at EDSA and preparing to march on the palace if Estrada did not honor the deadline to resign. The President's proposal: a call for snap elections in May that he promised not to contest. It met with immediate dismissal from Arroyo and her supporters, who were quick to point out that the constitution was clear on the terms of the Vice President's succession. By holding elections, he hoped to prove that he and his coalition were still popular among the country's poor. Military and civilian...
...will be a tough challenge for Arroyo, who must now contend with the possibility that any unpopular legislation, controversial executive decision or economic reversal could mean another mass protest and the possibility of yet more People Power. Remember, Estrada - however cynically - was acting within the framework of the law and under the terms called for by the impeachment proceedings. Had he been declared guilty, he would have had to go. The troubling point remains that he had not been convicted. To be sure, the evidence had been going against him - until the court ruled that the envelope could...