Thousands of supporters and opponents of Philippine President Joseph Estrada took to the streets Thursday to mark the opening of a corruption trial that could see him dismissed.
Some 5,000 security personnel were deployed to keep the demonstrators away from the Senate building where the trial was held and prevent the two sides from getting at each other.
The anti-Estrada rallyists, including Vice-President Gloria Arroyo, former president Corazon Aquino and church leader Cardinal Jaime Sin took turns lambasting Estrada and calling for his resignation.
Nearly 50,000 anti-Estrada activists, businessmen, students, nuns and civic groups began congregating at a historic church near the Senate, shortly after sunrise.
"You have lost your moral ascendancy to govern us" Sin told the crowd, addressing Estrada.
After a mass, the anti-Estrada forces began a march with Arroyo and Aquino jointly bearing a "torch of truth" that would be carried in relays, Olympics-style, to the rally.
Aquino and Arroyo walked about a hundred meters (yards) before passing the torch to representative of the business community. It was subsequently passed through the hands of other sectoral representatives as the march went around the Senate.
Estrada opponents were assigned to a site near a carnival where they set up a huge banner saying "Erap resign", referring to Estrada's popular nickname.
About 10,000 Estrada supporters gathered at an empty lot near the Senate, normally used for evangelical prayer rallies.
Their banner read: "Erap remain." They also waved banners saying "Erap for the poor" and "beloved senators, follow the masses" referring to Estrada's frequent boast that only the elite were against him and the country's poor continued to back him.
Estrada is accused of pocketing millions of dollars in bribes from illegal gambling rackets, embezzling tobacco taxes, shielding business cronies targeted by government regulators, and appointing relatives and friends to government posts.
He was impeached by the lower House of Representatives in November on the charges but under the Philippines' US-style political system, a two-thirds vote of the 22-member upper house, the Senate, is necessary to convict him.
Security in and around the Senate building was tight with all people entering the building being searched even if they held the proper identification cards.
Senate sergeant at arms Leonardo Lopez said they would screen all people entering thrice adding that they had bomb-sniffing dogs and bomb disposal teams at ready.
Loudspeakers were set up outside the Senate building so that the rallyists could listen to the proceedings inside.
In a softening of the government's stance, Estrada's chief aide, Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora on Thursday said that government employees could take part in the rallies but would have to take leave or wait till after office hours.
"If you want to express your views then that's no problem. But you have to take a leave of absence. Your countrymen may need you, and you must always be on hand to provide public service," he said.
Previously, the palace had issued an order barring government workers from taking part in partisan rallies – MANILA (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
