 A
Letter from Manila
By Barnard C. Balquiedra
18 January 2001
THINGS ARE getting
more exciting, and tense at the same time, here in Metro Manila.
Last night at around 10 p.m., eleven out of 21 senator-judges in
the impeachment court voted against the opening of a second envelope
containing bank records that will allegedly show that Estrada, hiding
under the name Jose Velarde, keeps more than 3.3 billion pesos in
a bank.... that's way over his declared assets of only 30- something
million pesos.
The defense
lawyers, as well as senator-judges close to the President, cited
so many technicalities that prevented the opening of the bank records.
Because of the results of the votes the Senate President, Aquilino
Pimentel Jr., resigned. He said he wanted the documents opened so
as to know the truth but majority of the senators prevented the
truth from coming out. It was an emotion-filled night. Some senators
broke into tears after the resignation of the Senate President.
Many observers at the gallery and private prosecutors walked out
after the announcement of the results of the vote. Moreover the
11 congressman-prosecutors resigned as prosecutors because they
think that the decision made by the senator-judges show that they
are already determined to acquit the President. In short, the trial
that has been going on for 2 months is but a farce. Because of the
recent events, the trial is now in suspended animation.
Immediately
after that session text messages (cellular phone short messages)
travelled all over the country expressing the people's rage. In
a spontaneous reaction, an estimated 15,000 people gathered at the
EDSA Shrine starting at around 11 pm to hear a mass officiated by
Cardinal Sin way past midnight.
In the silence
of the night, the streets became alive with cars' non-stop blowing
of horns to express their outrage with the decision of majority
of the senators. So many other people converged in different places
in Metro Manila and even in the provinces to protest the decision
of the judges. Students in dormitories walked out of their dorms
and expressed their outrage by banging pots and cans and whatever
that causes noise... they then walked all the way to EDSA to join
the mass.
Right now, a
lot of people are converging at the EDSA Shrine to show indignation
over what happened last night. Many people say it will be the start
of the next EDSA People Power Revolt. I hope so... and I hope it
will be as peaceful and successful. The next 48 hours would be significant.
Pls. pray for us...
I just came
back from EDSA. I had to leave because my knees are aching badly
because I had to stand for hours and had been walking all day. I
was so hungry I felt I'd die if I didn't move out.
What's surprising
is that despite the huge number of people leaving by the hour...
more people join the protesters. Moreover, there are thousands of
people inside Robinson's Galleria, a mall beside the shrine, eating
and cooling off after joining the festivities outside. Perhaps if
all the people who feel the same way would converge in EDSA all
at the same time... the whole stretch of EDSA would be filled!
I didn't get
much sleep last night... I spent the night monitoring events happening
all around me.... This morning I drank three cups of coffee in a
row... a thing I did for the first time!
Damn! It feels
so great to be a journalist!
Shaking from
too much caffeine,
Barn
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