Estrada supporters blocked from joining hotel takeover

Police blocked yesterday four jeepneys loaded with some 100 supporters of former President Joseph Estrada on their way to Makati City to join Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, who is holed up at the Manila Peninsula Hotel together with his soldier companions.

The group, members of People’s Movement Against Poverty (PMAP), reportedly came from Isla Puting Bato in Tondo, according to Manila Police District (MPD) director Chief Superintendent Roberto Rosales.

During questioning, the group said they were each paid P500 and promised free meals, while each vehicle was hired for P700. They named a certain Vergenia Balondo Totay of Purok 3 in Isla Puting Bato as the organizer. They said they were told to proceed to Makati City, where they will converge with other groups on their way to the Peninsula Hotel.

The PMAP, headed by Ronaldo Lumbao, is composed of staunch Estrada supporters who figured in several protest rallies against the government, according to intelligence reports.

Moriones, Tondo police station chief Senior Superintendent Jose Mario Espino said no charges were filed against the group but they were escorted back to Isla Puting Bato.

Meanwhile, Rosales directed his 11 police station commanders to keep a close watch against unauthorized movement of people especially in Tondo.

Rosales said the MPD is now on red alert, though he downplayed the capability of Trillanes’ groups to bring down the government. “Any protest action, even in small magnitude, is always a threat,” he said.

Additional policemen were deployed in all vital installations in Manila including Malacañang, the Pandacan oil depot, the US Embassy, LRT and MRT stations and malls and shopping centers.  – Nestor Etolle