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The Lawphil Project - Arellano Law Foundation
IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS |
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DATE |
EVENT |
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28 November 2000 |
Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr., presiding officer of the impeachment court, announced the denial of the motion of the defense to quash the Articles of Impeachment for "lack of merit" and scheduled the start of the trial on Dec. 7. The decision was crafted during a one-hour caucus at the office of Senate President Aquilino Q. Pimentel Jr. after hearing the oral arguments of both the defense and prosecution panels. The Supreme Court also threw out a petition filed by the Philippine Trial Lawyers Association Inc. which sought a temporary restraining order on the impeachment proceedings against President Estrada. The petitioners wanted the tribunal to declare the Articles of Impeachment filed by the House unconstitutional and prohibit the Senate from conducting the trial of Mr. Estrada. According to the Supreme Court, the petitioners have no locus standi (legal standing) as taxpayers since there is no illegal disbursement of public funds involved. |
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24 November 2000 |
A Motion to Quash the Articles of Impeachment was filed with the Senate by the defense lawyers of President Estrada. The motion filed by the defense panel cites two reasons in seeking to quash the Articles of Impeachment—that the impeachment complaint lacked the one-third vote in the House of Representatives as required by the Constitution and that the House did not follow the constitutional procedures for endorsing the complaint to the Senate. A Motion to Intervene and to seek the dissolution of the Senate as an impeachment body was also file by a supporter of the President. |
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22 November 2000 |
Speaker Arnulfo Fuentebella sworn in the eleven congressmen who will act as prosecutors in the impeachment case against President Estrada. |
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21 November 2000 |
With Senators Teresa Aquino-Oreta and Gregorio Honasan took a leave of absence from the Lapian ng Masang Pilipino to calm public fears that they have already prejudged the case and would vote to acquit the Chief Executive in his impeachment trial. |
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20 November 2000 |
The Impeachment trial started as he Senate formally constituted itself as jury to the impeachment trial of President Estrada. Senate President Aquilino Pimentel swore in Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. as the nonvoting presiding officer of the Senate formed as an impeachment tribunal. Davide, in turn, swore in Pimentel and the other senators.Chief Justice Davide also signed the subpoena to President Estrada to reply in 10 days on the four Articles of Impeachment lodged against him by the House of Representatives. |
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19 November 2000 |
House Minority Leader Feliciano Belmonte was appointed as head of the 11-member panel that will prosecute President Estrada in the impeachment trial in the Senate. |
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15 November 2000 |
The nine-member Senate rules committee adopted the 'Rules of Impeachment' to govern impeachment proceeding against President Estrada. |
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13 November 2000 |
The House of Representatives impeached President Joseph Estrada on charges of Bribery, graft and corruption, betrayal of public trust, and culpable violation of the Constitution. Speaker Manny Villar declared the Articles of impeachment as endorsed by 115 congressmen and which were promptly sent to the Senate. In the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing, Edward Serapio, admitted that accepted on behalf of the Erap Muslim Youth Foundation the alleged P200 million jueteng money and told the Senate that he and other trustees of the foundation ignored the President's order for them to return the money to Gov. Luis Singson. |
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12 November 2000 |
Over a million people participated in the ecumenical prayer rally called by President Estrada in Rizal Park |
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10 November 2000 |
In radio interviews and in remarks to a group of foreign journalists, President Estrada said he was not initially aware and did not learn until "much later" that Gov. Luis Singson had given millions, through the President's then personal lawyer, Edward Serapio, as a "surprise" donation to a foundation. Mr. Estrada said that upon learning that the money came from the governor--and by association, from jueteng lords--he had ordered Edward Serapio, to return it to Singson. But the amount was never returned because the Palace "failed to locate Singson," the President said in an interview with dzAR radio. |
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6 November 2000 |
The fifty-one members of the House Justice Committee unanimously agreed to recommend President Estrada’s impeachment to the plenary body when session resumes on Monday, November 13. 77 congressmen had signed the verified complaint for impeachment. This is more than one-third of the members of the House of Representatives, which is required by the Constitution. |
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4 November 2000 |
Some 130,000 people converged in a Catholic Church-sponsored "prayer rally" at the EDSA Shrine to call for Mr. Estrada’s resignation. The rally was lead by former President Corazon Aquino and Manila Archbishop Cardinal Sin. Senator Robert Jaworski also resigned from LAMP. |
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3 November 2000 |
Senate President Franklin Drilon and House Speaker Manuel Villar separately announced their defections from the ruling coalition Lapian ng Masang Pilipino (LAMP) with senators Rodolfo Biazon and Anna Dominique "Nikki" Coseteng and 45 other congressmen. |
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2 November 2000 |
Secretary Mar Roxas II of the Department of Trade and Industry announced his resignation from the Cabinet of President Estrada. |
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1 November 2000 |
Business leaders Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Cesar E. A. Virata, Washington Sycip and Vicente Paterno decided to quit the five-member Council of Senior Economic Advisers. |
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31 October 2000 |
Menchu Itchon, secretary of Gov. Singson, corroborated the testimony of her boss that Yolanda Ricaforte was President Estrada's auditor on jueteng payoffs. She also told in the Senate hearing that Ricaforte knew suspected gambling lord Bong Pineda and even collected jueteng money from the President's son, San Juan Mayor Jinggoy Estrada. Itchon said she and Ricaforte both worked for Fontainbleau Inc., a gaming firm owned by the President, but drew their salaries from monthly jueteng payoffs. |
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30 October 2000 |
Yolanda Ricaforte, a key witness in a corruption scandal involving President Estrada, testified that she delivered a check for P200 million to Edward Serapio, an executive assistant at the Office of the President, saying that it was "donation" to the Muslim Youth Foundation Inc. She told the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee that she also kept millions of pesos in bank accounts under her own name for Ilocos Sur Gov. Singson. In the evening, President Estrada appeared on television offering his hand of reconciliation to his critics and announced that the only way he would leave his office is through the constitutional process of impeachment. He also said that the government would undertake sweeping reforms. The television broadcast was flanked by other military and police officials, Gen. Angelo Reyes, Armed Forces chief of staff, and Director General Panfilo Lacson, Philippine National Police chief, who warned the people against resorting to unconstitutional exercises to force the President to resign. |
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26 October 2000 |
Rep. Pacifico Fajardo, Lakas, Nueva Ecija, chairman of the House of Representatives committee on justice, voluntarily inhibited himself from presiding over the impeachment proceedings of the committee on justice because of his relationship to Vice President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, his third degree cousin. |
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25 October 2000 |
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24 October 2000 |
The Supreme Court ruled dismiss the petition filed by the Pangasinan chapter of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) to stop the Senate probe regarding the jueteng charges of Gov. Singson. |
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23 October 2000 |
Speaker Manuel Villar Jr. referred the impeachment complaint against President Estrada yesterday to the House committee on justice for hearings. Two top officials of the state-run Land Bank of the Philippines confirmed the claim of Gov. Singson that he diverted P130 million in tobacco taxes intended for his province. |
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21 October 2000 |
The Presidential sons, San Juan Mayor Jinggoy Estrada and Jude Estrada, denied Gov. Singson's allegations that they and other members of the presidential family had received some of the jueteng money in the joint hearing of the Senate Blue Ribbon and Justice Committees. |
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20 October 2000 |
Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile filed a resolution proposing the holding of snap elections to resolve the political crisis that is threatening to topple the Estrada administration. In the Senate Blue Ribbon and Justice Committees, former PNP chief Roberto Lastimoso testified that President Estrada allegedly ordered him to go easy on "jueteng'' even if it was against the law. |
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19 October 2000 |
President Estrada directed the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. and the Philippine National Police to close all Bingo 2-Ball outlets and off-fronton betting stations. |
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15 October 2000 |
The former President Corazon Aquino urged President Estrada to make the "supreme self-sacrifice" of resigning from office during the "Mass for National Enlightenment" in Edsa Shrine. |
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14 October 2000 |
President Estrada announced in a pre-recorded speech aired on radio and television that the government would withdraw from all kinds of gambling and that more reforms were forthcoming in the government. Mr. Estrada also apologized for keeping friends, such as Ilocos Sur Gov. Singson who turned against him and accused him of corruption. First Lady Dr. Luisa Estrada also brushed aside the allegations against her by Gov. Singson, that she received P20 million in kickbacks from tobacco excise taxes, in a rare TV appearance broadcast nationwide. |
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13 October 2000 |
The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines called for Mr. Estrada's resignation and said the scandals he had been involved in since assuming office were "morally reprehensible." |
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12 October 2000 |
Vice President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo resigned as Secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development. |
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11 October 2000 |
Gov. Singson submitted yesterday documents to the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee headed by Sen. Aquilino Pimentel substantiating his charges that President Estrada received some P400 million in illegal jueteng payoffs. |
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10 October 2000 |
Senators John Osmeña and Teresa Aquino-Oreta revealed that they received P1 million each from Gov. Chavit Singson last year. But they are returning the money after Singson declared it was "jueteng" money. Osmeña and Aquino-Oreta vehemently denied they were receiving money every month from Singson. They said it was a "one-time" deal. |
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9 October 2000 |
In a press conference, Gov. Singson called President Estrada as "the biggest jueteng lord in the country" and accused the President of receiving over P400 million of P545 million in jueteng collections nationwide from November 1998 to August 2000. According to Singson, the rest of the money, P145 million, was pocketed by members of the President's family and his friend, businessman and gambler Charlie "Atong" Ang, Singson. Singson also charged that President Estrada received P130 million from Ilocos Sur's tax revenues. He said Mr. Estrada insisted that Singson pay the P130 million as a "precondition" before the President would approve the release of the province's share of tobacco excise taxes. |
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8 October 2000 |
President Estrada suspended Bingo 2-Ball and removed Ang as Pagcor consultant. He also ordered Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora, in a memorandum, to ''review all contracts, systems and operating procedures involved in the experimental Bingo 2-Ball.'' |
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7 October 2000 |
President Estrada issued a counter threat against his accusers saying that he would "expose" them. |
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5 October 2000 |
In his privileged speech as Senate Minority Leader, Senator Guingona accused President Estrada of receiving a total of P220 million in jueteng money from Ilocos Sur Governor Singson since November 1998 until August 2000 and 70 Million in excise tax on Virginia tobacco grown in Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, La Union, and Abra. |
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4 October 2000 |
Singson charged that President Joseph Estrada, several members of his family, and his friends as well as top police officials were benefiting from jueteng. He also said that the reason for his apprehension was not because of violation of traffic rules but because of an order issued by higher authorities to liquidate him to silence him before he could go public with his gambling expose. |
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3 October 2000 |
Ilocos Sur Governor Chavit Singson's car was apprehended and stopped by the MMDA and his driver was booked for beating the red light. |
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