Reuters: Manila archbishop fears bloodshed after Estrada vote

Manila archbishop fears bloodshed after Estrada vote

MANILA, Jan 17 (Reuters) - The Philippines' top churchman said on Wednesday 
he feared violence may erupt after the Senate impeachment court all but 
acquitted President Joseph Estrada in his impeachment trial. 

Addressing thousands of protesters at a church-led rally at a Manila shrine, 
Roman Catholic Cardinal Jaime Sin said: "I am so afraid that...we might not 
be able to stop bloodshed. We know in our hearts that the president is 
guilty." 

Peaceful protests erupted around Manila demanding Estrada's resignation on 
Wednesday. 

Sin spoke on the site on a Manila highway where hundreds of thousands of 
people gathered with a puny band of rebel soldiers in a "people power" revolt 
that toppled dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 and forced him to flee to 
Hawaii. 

Sin helped lead that uprising, by calling on Filipinos to come out in droves 
in protest against Marcos's rule. 

Philippine Vice-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and former president 
Corazon Aquino, who along with Sin are spearheading a campaign to demand 
Estrada's resignation, joined about 10,000 people in the unusual 
post-midnight protest. 

Aquino, installed as president after Marcos was ousted, called the Senate 
court's action "shameful." The prosecution said the vote amounted to 
acquittal. 

"I really pity the Filipino people. We restored democracy but what did Erap 
do with it?" she said, referring to Estrada by his nickname, which means 
"Buddy" in Filipino. 

Sin, Archbishop of Manila, also slammed the senators sitting as judges at the 
impeachment trial. They voted 11-10 to reject prosecution demands to open 
bank documents which prosecutors said would prove Estrada had amassed wealth 
in office illegally. 

"I was crying," Sin said. "I was crying because the future of our country is 
at stake." 

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Philippine Stocks, Peso Fall as Odds of Estrada Acquittal Grow
By Simon Grose-Hodge


Manila, Jan. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Philippine stocks, bonds and the currency 
plunged after the impeachment trial of President Joseph Estrada was thrown 
into chaos and thousands of people protested against his likely acquittal of 
corruption charges. 

As many as 2,000 people gathered at the Edsa Shrine, the site of a 1986 
uprising against the toppled dictator Ferdinand Marcos, protest organizers 
said. Estrada critics called on schools and businesses to allow people to 
attend the protests, which began after a vote late night in the Senate trial. 

``We need to see that the economy is favorable and political concerns are not 
material'' before investing, said Jeff Jago, who helps manage A$2 billion 
($1.1 million) in foreign equities at Mercantile Mutual Investment Management 
in Sydney. 

The PSE Composite Index of stocks dropped as much as 8.4 percent. It was 
recently down 5.8 percent at 1461.63. The peso fell as much as 5.7 percent to 
55.80 against the U.S. dollar. 

Yields on bonds surged as investors demanded more to compensate for the risk 
of holding Philippine debt. The yield on the Philippine dollar bond paying 8 
7/8 percent annual interest and maturing 2008 climbed as much as 85 basis 
points versus like- maturity Treasury yields. 

Financial markets tumbled after the Senate, by an 11-10 vote, rejected a 
prosecution request to open bank accounts where Estrada may have stashed 
millions of pesos in illegal payoffs. Senate President Aquilino Pimentel and 
lawyers on the prosecution team resigned in protest. 

The central bank moved to cool investor concerns by saying the peso decline 
would be temporary. 

Central bank Governor Rafael Buenaventura also denied speculation he would 
suspend foreign exchange trading. 

``That's nonsense,'' Buenaventura said. The peso's decline is ``an 
overreaction. Eventually the peso will correct itself. There is not much we 
can do about it.'' 

An Estrada acquittal may push Philippine markets down further. 

``How can you trust a president who is compared to Ali Baba and his 40 
thieves?'' said Astro Del Castillo, head of research at A&A Securities Inc. 
and director of the Association of Stock Analysts in the Philippines. 

The stock market may fall to 1400 in coming days, from today's 1461.63, he 
said. ``This will definitely scare investors away.''