Steven...
i hope you are ok... was this a peaceful event or ??
Arroyo takes office after Estrada is removed
By Hugh Williamson in Manila and FT.com staff
Published: January 19 2001 20:38GMT | Last Updated: January 20 2001 14:49GMT
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was sworn in as the Philippines' new president on Saturday after Joseph Estrada was stripped of his title by the country's supreme court, ending weeks of political uncertainty sparked by a corruption scandal and impeachment proceedings.
With thousands of demonstrators closing in on the presidential palace, and Mr Estrada apparently still inside, a provincial governor, Jose Lina of Laguna province, announced he had resigned.
Ms Arroyo, Mr Estrada's vice-president and constitutional successor, was sworn in by a Supreme Court justice minutes later. Immediately afterwards in a press conference, Ms Arroyo named former senator Alberto Romulo as secretary of finance.
Mr Estrada's removal was the climax of days of dramatic political upheaval in Manila, during which first the military and then almost the entire cabinet resigned or switched allegiance to Ms Arroyo.
news.ft.com
Nothing like waking up to a new government on a January 20th eh ?....
Do you think there are "parallels" with "US" -GG-
_______________________________
LOL !!
from the same article:
Earlier, aircraft were said to be waiting at an airbase near Manila to fly Mr Estrada to asylum in the US, although the president's spokesman denied the president had a plan to leave the country. Following his removal, a local radio station quoted Mr Estrada as saying he would not leave the Philippines, but "will live and die in this country."
In the hours leading up to his departure, Mr Estrada was reported to be almost alone, a forlorn figure. A friend described the President as sad, and said he had asked, "Where do you think I have failed the Filipino people?"
The events of Friday and early Saturday came after days of nationwide street protests following the collapse on Wednesday of the impeachment trial of Mr Estrada, in which he denied receiving bribes and hoarding millions of dollars in ill-gotten wealth.
An estimated 500,000 anti-Estrada protesters rallied and danced to live bands into the night at a church shrine in central Manila, the centre of political events earlier in the day.
Many Filipinos drew parallels with the mass "people power" uprising in 1986 that overthrew former dictator Ferdinand Marcos. The Philippines has a population of 71.4m, making it the eighth largest Asian nation.
history does repeat itself. |
