Velarde to Estrada: Stop all forms of gambling

Presidential spiritual adviser Bro. Mike Velarde, head of the Catholic charismatic group El Shaddai, has threatened to withdraw his group’s support for the Estrada administration if no guarantee is made to stop all forms of gambling, highly reliable sources disclosed yesterday.

Velarde has been under pressure to declare his stand on the jueteng scandal amid calls for the President’s resignation from Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin and the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines.

The El Shaddai leader, who supported Mr. Estrada’s presidential bid against the advice of the Catholic Church hierarcy, is expected to make his stand known during the El Shaddai’s rally this weekend.

Rumors flew thick and texters went wild throughout Metro Manila that a state of emergency was going to be declared this weekend.

Amid coup talk, calls for his resignation and the start of a civil disobedience campaign, the rumors spread that the President is considering the declaration of a state of emergency for 30 days in Metro Manila and Mindanao.

Presidential Spokesman Ricardo Puno said the report is "absolutely false."

"There was nothing which came close to emergency this or that which was discussed in our meeting with Velarde and the President," Puno said.

This developed as police uncovered yesterday a plot to oust the President.

Sources told The STAR the five-point plot was hatched by an unnamed political group with the backing of several businessmen and disgruntled police and military personnel.

The purported "oust-Estrada" plot has five phases:

• Call for the President’s resignation;

• Call for his impeachment;

• Call for snap elections;

• Call for people power; and

•Launching of a coup d’etat.

Philippine National Police chief Director General Panfilo Lacson warned yesterday that the police will not allow chaos and anarchy to rule the streets.

"We will continue to uphold the constitutional processes and remain focused on our mandate to maintain peace and order and advocate the rule of law," he said.

Lacson called on policemen to be united and not allow "recent developments" to affect their job of enforcing peace and order.

"As police officers, we should not pass judgment as there is a constitutional process that must prevail under our democratic system," he said.

Act of civil disobedience, however, have started and more street protests erupted yesterday as calls for Mr. Estrada’s resignation continued to snowball.

Signature campaigns were also launched to demand that the President step down.

The National College of Public Administration and Governance, University of the Philippines (UP), circulated a statement signed by its members assailing alleged corruption in government.

Dumaguete City Mayor Felipe Remollo tore down a portrait of Mr. Estrada from the wall of his office and hid it in the City Hall’s toilet. "I think it’s the last straw," he said of the payoff mess.

The national peasant federations and non-government organization members of the Coconut Industry Reform Movement also said they support the resignation calls.

Some 3,000 members of various cause-oriented groups marched to the Joaquin "Chino" Roces (formerly Mendiola) bridge to demand the resignation of the President.

On the other hand, the National Peace Movement of Ateneo de Manila University set in motion a campaign seeking to gather at least 100,000 signatures in support of the oust-Estrada crusade.

Operations of at least 10 large factories ground to a halt as workers walked out of their jobs at noon to dramatize their support for the "resign Erap" movement.

Consultative Assembly formed

In another development, people identified with former presidents Fidel Ramos and Corazon Aquino secretly met last night in a Quezon City school with former rebel soldiers and leaders of militant groups and the Communist Party of the Philippines–National Democratic Front to plot the ouster of President Estrada.

Called the People’s Consultative Assembly (CPA), the plotters agreed to hold a nationwide "signature campaign involving the broad masses" without having to go through the Commission on Elections as required by law.

A working paper obtained by The STAR shows that the CPA has outlined a number of steps that it would undertake to "push hard" for President Estrada’s forceable removal from office.

According to the document, Scenario 2 or "what happens next after (Estrada’s) ouster" should the subject of study, preparations and another consultative assembly.

The PCA said it will provide Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis Singson with "technical, spiritual and other means" so he could "communicate with church leaders and bring his exposé to the public."

The PCA also called on Education Secretary Andrew Gonzalez, Agrarian Reform Secretary Horacio Morales and Agriculture Secretary Edgardo Angara to resign ahead of the other Cabinet members.

The PCA will also make a "special call and appeal to all Filipinos," especially the poor, to inform them that "it is within our power to choose the leader we deserve."

In executing their plan, the plotters will wear black wrist bands with the words "Oust the Erap Regime Now!" in bold red letters, and demand that President Estrada be charged in a People’s Court that would be set up for that purpose.

The plotters will also call on the people to join a tax boycott, work stoppage, withdrawal of deposits from banks, and the dumping of garbage on the steps of Congress and in front of the residence of Vice President Gloria Macapagal–Arroyo.

Work stoppage hits 10 factories

On another front, at least 10 factories nationwide stopped operations yesterday after some 10,000 workers walked out from their jobs at noon and joined a simultaneous mass action calling for the immediate ouster of President Estrada.

The workers belonged to the militant groups Sanlakas and the Kilusang Mayo Uno, while the affected companies were Fortune Tobacco, Manila Bay Spinning Mills, Gelmart Industries, Novelty Philippines, and other factories in the cities of Valenzuela, Las Pinas, and Pasig and in Rizal province.

Sanlakas spokesman Judy Ann Miranda said yesterday the mass walkout is the first salvo of a scheduled rally to call for President Estrada’s ouster.

Also yesterday, about 7,000 KMU rallyists assembled at the Chino Roces Bridge across Malacanang and demanded the impeachment of President Estrada.

Meanwhile, members of the Coconut Industry Reform Movement supported the call for President Estrada’s resignation.

"Hard as it was, we tried to maintain a strong grip on our faith with the administration’s promises but we could no longer remain numb and blind to the realities besetting the Filipino people, especially the poor coconut farmers," said COIR executive director Joey Faustino.–Liberty Dones, Jaime Laude, Mayen Jaymalin