WEDNESDAY January 17, 2001 volume 12, no. 17
Cardinal Fears Violence After Estrada Acquittal
MANILA, Jan. 16, 01 (CWNews.com) - Cardinal Jaime Sin of
Manila said on Wednesday that he was afraid that violence
could erupt after President Joseph Estrada was all but
acquitted in the Senate impeachment court.
Cardinal 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." Demonstrators had already gathered in
Manila on Wednesday, demanding Estrada's resignation.
Estrada had been charged with corruption and accepting
bribes, but the senators sitting as judges in the trial
voted 11-10 on Tuesday to reject prosecution demands to
open bank documents which they said would prove Estrada had
amassed wealth in office illegally. The entire prosecution
team of members of the House of Representatives then
resigned, saying the prosecution could not continue without
the evidence.
Cardinal Sin recalled the 1986 "people power" revolt in
which hundreds of thousands of people gathered peacefully
to topple the dictator Ferdinand Marcos. 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.
"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.
For other news stories, see
January 17, 2001 volume 12, no. 17
Global News in the Universal Church
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