Erap now trying to strike a deal - GOTCHA by Jarius Bondoc

He’s sticking to his usual B-movie script. In the face of successive resignations from his Cabinet and defections from his ruling coalition, actor-turned-President Joseph Estrada is trying to look unfazed. As cries roar across the land for him to step down, he emotes his oft-rehearsed facial expression of defiance. Last weekend he ventured out of Malacanang to portray business as usual, grabbing typhoon-relief scenes from mayors by himself handing out foodstuffs in Bulacan and Rizal. Before the hungry crowds, he sought to steal thunder from 72 simultaneous nationwide protest actions, shouting "no amount of rallies can make me resign." He’s toughing it out — or so it seems.

Behind the cameras and klieg lights, the side shows tell a different story. Since Friday members of MARE, the 1998 campaign organization of close female friends, have been helping the First Family pack up from the Palace. The week before Malacanang aides already shredded potentially incriminating papers on presidential crony appointments and contracts. And most telling of what’s going on behind the scenes, presidential son JV Ejercito is initiating talks with a faction of the many anti-Estrada forces.

The first call came Friday noon to meet with Pastor "Boy" Saycon of Peping Cojuangco’s camp. That night at Manila Golf Club in Makati, JV sat at a separate table observing his close pal Tammy Campos probe Saycon. Can a scenario play out where both Estrada and Vice President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will resign, then have snap elections in which the former won’t run? All the man wants is a graceful exit, a face-saver. Saycon said he told Campos he had no authority to negotiate, so they should speak instead with Cojuangco, the Tarlac ex-congressman to whom Ilocos Sur Gov. Chavit Singson first confided Estrada’s Jueteng-gate. Saycon also handed him a copy of the 16-point program of the Kongreso ng Mamamayang Pilipino (Kompil), which multisectoral groups had revived the previous weekend, and pointed to the line that says "no forgiveness" to the man facing impeachment for 10 counts of serial crimes.

The next afternoon Saycon was helping direct Cardinal Jaime Sin’s prayer-rally at EDSA Shrine when he received a call on his cellphone. It was Campos again, asking if he could meet with JV himself that night. Again at Manila Golf, Saycon brought along cousin and Kompil organizer Gary Vasquez to hear them out. He said he reiterated having no authority to negotiate, to which JV replied likewise, although his dad knew about the meeting. JV and Campos repeated the snap-election scenario as the best way to avoid violent confrontation, to which Saycon asked them why they thought Arroyo would resign when she’s not the one accused of jueteng payola and other violations of the Constitution.

A third meeting was set yesterday (Sunday) afternoon, Saycon said, although he wondered what JV really wants. Arroyo’s political advisers confirmed that the Vice President had received reports of the meetings. They surmised the President was fishing for a deal, perhaps a Nixon-like pardon from successor Ford in return for resigning before impeachment for the Watergate break-in and subsequent coverup. But they quickly added that early pardon is out of the question: unlike the US justice system, RP law allows pardon only after conviction — and never in an impeachment case. Besides, they said, Arroyo has committed the United Opposition to Kompil’s line of justice with restitution. This, to send a message to public officials high and low that government must clean up once and for all. Plus, any hint of a deal, she immediately will report to the people.

Opposition leaders received parallel feelers for a deal as far back as last week, when the wave of Cabinet resignations and LAMP defections began. Estrada had set for today a National Security Council meeting in which Arroyo, ex-Presidents Cory Aquino and Fidel Ramos, and Senate and House Minority Leaders Tito Guingona and Sonny Belmonte were invited. Executive Secretary Ronnie Zamora offered to Arroyo, Aquino and Ramos a tantalizing one-on-one (each) with Estrada afterwards. Except for Ramos, all have declined the invitation, saying they will play no part in propping up a President who has lost moral ascendancy to rule. As for the one-on-one, they suspect it’s a trap for a deal. Ramos’ only reason to go is to scold Estrada for ruining the political and economic reforms that he and Aquino had set in place after Marcos fell in ’86. His legal adviser said that if a one-on-one takes place, Ramos will only continue the planned sabunan, after which he will meet with the press.

With chances for a deal dimmed by a public fed up with immoral horse-trading, Arroyo’s advisers see a stickier scenario. They’ve gotten wind of a two-part black propaganda. Part 1, they gathered, is a scandal sheet rehashing old, unfounded accusations that Arroyo’s husband Mike oversaw an alleged backroom downplaying of a cola firm’s controversially botched sales promo when she was trade undersecretary. Last week Estrada loyalist Sen. Kit Tatad had resurrected similarly old charges that Arroyo owns unexplained expensive houses in San Francisco, allegations for which she was investigated — and cleared — by the Senate ethics committee and the Ombudsman two years ago.

While Arroyo’s spies in the administration are still trying to sniff out what Part 2 is all about, her aides worry about a bigger danger. Her lawyer said they’ve uncovered a plot to "physically prevent" Arroyo from taking over when Estrada resigns, feigns sickness to take a leave of absence, or is convicted and unseated by the Senate on the House impeachment charges. Asked what it meant, the lawyer spelled out assassination.

Opposition leaders believe the only way to avert a violent clash is to intensify peaceful street protests. Such mass actions will convince LAMP majority congressmen to endorse the impeachment case today, and their Senate partymates to try Estrada with no personal loyalty in mind. These will also make more Cabinet men and LAMP leaders join Trade Secretary Mar Roxas, Political Adviser Lito Banayo, Senate President Frank Drilon, Senators Rodolfo Biazon, Nikki Coseteng and Robert Jaworski, Speaker Manny Villar, Deputy Speaker Eddie Gullas, and 44 LAMP congressmen in distancing themselves from the crumbling administration. Resigning from LAMP or the Cabinet is not abandoning the sinking ship, protesters say, but actually saving the ship by prompting the captain to get off.

Yesterday Sen. Tito Sotto was considering exactly this after receiving a briefing upon arrival from California. Word had it that Finance Secretary Jose Pardo turned in his resignation Saturday and was with old friend Cory Aquino that day, but Malacanang was keeping it under wraps. And Agriculture Secretary Ed Angara was meeting with health and education chiefs Alberto Romualdez and Andrew Gonzalez about leaving, too, along with his LDP partymates.

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