Impeachment Trial of Philippines President To Begin With Controversy

Dec. 7 -- Hollywood scriptwriters couldn’t have written it better. A president who used to be an action movie star, on trial for corruption and facing the prospect of evidence from at least three mistresses, a vengeful former drinking buddy...and his wife.

The Philippine Senate began its impeachment trial of President Joseph Estrada today, the first impeachment hearing in Asia of a sitting president.

But for the Filipino people, the events leading up to the trial have a vaguely familiar ring.

The impassioned public protests in the streets of the capital Manila call to mind the demonstrations in the mid-1980s when “people power” led to the ousting of colorful Filipino strongman Ferdinand Marcos.

This time, though, the drama in Manila is playing out more like a soap opera than a big screen blockbuster.

Estrada has reportedly fathered seven children with five womenother than his wife.

This, in a predominantly Roman Catholic nation that stretches across 7,107 islands in Southeast Asia.

The story-line goes back to a press conference a few months ago, when Luis Singson, a provincial governor and former Estrada drinking buddy announced that since 1998, he had collected $11.7 million in dirty money for the president.

Singson, the governor of Ilocos Su, said nearly $8.9 million of this amount were payoffs from operators of jueteng, an illegal lottery game particularly popular among the poor.

He also accused Estrada of skimming a cool $2.8 million off tobacco taxes.

Revenge and Betrayal

Estrada has pleaded not guilty to charges of bribery, corruption, culpable violation of the constitution and betrayal of public trust.

Appearing in public on the eve of his impeachment on Wednesday, Estrada said he would leave his fate in the hands of God and the senators who judged him.

Ever since the corruption allegations became public, Estrada has cited jealousy among his political rivals as a ruse to strip him of power before the scheduled end of his term in 2004.