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Supt. Panfilo Lacson, whom he later appointed as the police chief. As president, Estrada blamed the Ramos administration for the weak economy he inherited. So, he tapped the expertise and managerial skills of experienced economists to pump up the economy, but to no avail. Businessmen and foreign investors began to lose their trust in the new administration, with the entry of the president's friends, mostly big Chinese tycoons. The problems of the Estrada administration reached a crescendo in 2000. Bugged by the intensifying insurgency in Mindanao and a series of natural and man-made calamities nationwide, the new administration poorly restored hope of a bright future. Then came the BW Resources anomaly, which Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Perfecto Yasay blamed on the president. In October, Ilocos Sur Governor Luis "Chavit" Singson, a former friend and close ally of the president, exposed that the president received about P500 million from jueteng kickbacks and excise tax from the Ilocos region. Corruption charges against the president ensued which spawned the dramatic passage of the Articles of Impeachment by the House of Representatives led by Speaker Manuel Villar on November 13. The Senate then convened itself as an Impeachment tribunal and began the process on December 7. The House prosecutors presented more than 30 witnesses, mostly women, who testified that the president was involved in several irregular transactions. One witness, Clarissa Ocampo, a senior vice-president of Equitable-PCI Bank, claimed he saw the president affix a different signature, Jose Velarde, on a multi-million Peso bank transaction. The defense panel, composed of the brightest lawyers in the country, and the majority party senator-judges, questioned the materiality and relevance of Ocampo's testimony. Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide ruled that Ocampo's testimony would only be considered if the prosecution panel could prove that the multi-million bank account came from irregular transactions. On January 16, the House prosecutors were about to establish the missing link by opening an envelope, which they claimed would prove that the president had amassed P3.3 billion in ill-gotten wealth, when 11 senator-judges voted not to open the envelope. This prodded Senate President Aquilino Pimentel to resign, the House prosecutors and complainants to walk out, and the viewing public to storm to the historic intersection of EDSA and Ortigas in Mandaluyong City - the start of the 5-day People Power 2 at EDSA, that would force President Joseph Estrada to leave office. Former Presidents Fidel Ramos and Corazon Aquino, Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin, students, office workers, activists, lay people, laborers, politicians and celebrities joined the furious crowd in asking for the resignation of the president. On January 18, Nora Aunor stunned everyone when she joined the rally, publicly admitting her previous relationship with the president, and called him a woman-beater. The following day, Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado, Interior and Local Government Secretary Alfredo Lim, the military generals, and the police officers withdrew their support from the president, as foretold by former President Ramos.
In the morning of January 19, the president was guided out of Malacanang by Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Angelo Reyes to give way to a new president, a woman. VicePresident Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo took his oath as the 14th president before Chief Justice Davide at noontime. She formally began her term in office on January 22, the same day the new US President George Bush was inaugurated at the White House. At present, Estrada is back to the arms of his legitimate wife. One of his mistresses, Laarni Enriquez, flew to Hong Kong during the heat of the Impeachment trial. His friends like Lacson, Charlie Ang, Jaime Dichaves, and Nora Aunor also abandoned him. Much worse, one of his alleged illegitimate daughters, Josephine Rose Ejercito, said his father deserved what he got. The Arroyo administration is preparing criminal charges against Estrada. The president said he was ready to face the music and prove his innocence. Ironically, he claimed that the controversial second envelope, which triggered the People Power 2, should have been opened in the first place.
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