President Joseph Estrada of the Philippines fought for his political life yesterday after the speaker of the House of Representatives said he was deserting government ranks with more than 40 congressmen.
A senator belonging to the ruling coalition also said he was withdrawing his support from the government over the gambling pay-offs scandal which has embroiled Estrada and threatens to end his presidency.
House Speaker Manuel Villar said he and his group of congressmen were resigning from the ruling coalition and would support impeachment of Estrada.
"Every day, the economy is becoming grave," he said. "Every day, the political crisis is becoming worse. Every day, Filipinos are becoming deeply polarized. So we have to resolve this soon.
"With this, we will now be able to send the impeachment to the Senate."
Villar's defection follows the resignation from the Cabinet on Thursday of Trade Secretary Manuel Roxas. The political storm broke as a typhoon lashed Manila yesterday morning, closing down the city of 10 million people and shutting its financial markets.
Estrada has been under pressure to quit for about four weeks, since a close aide said he had handed over millions of pesos to the president in bribes from gambling syndicates running an illegal numbers game.
Last month Vice-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo quit from her Cabinet post as Social Welfare Secretary and has led the campaign for the removal of Estrada.
The peso fell earlier this week to a historical low of 51.95 to the US dollar and international ratings agencies Moody's and Standard & Poor's have revised their outlook on the Philippines to negative from stable.
Villar's defection signals that the motion to impeach Estrada, now pending in the House, will be passed on to the Senate for trial.
The motion needs 73 votes in the 218-member House to be passed and opposition leaders have said they already have the support of about 60 congressmen.
Five congressmen announced they were deserting government ranks on Thursday.
For Estrada to be removed from office, a two-thirds majority, or 15 of the 22-member Senate, will have to vote in favor. The ruling coalition dominates the Senate, but pro-government Senator Nikki Coseteng said he would not support Estrada.
"That is the decision I have come to," Coseteng told local radio yesterday. He did not elaborate.
There was no immediate reaction from Estrada to the latest defections. Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora said yesterday morning a Cabinet meeting was in progress, but no decisions had been reached.
Estrada said on Thursday after Roxas' resignation that he was willing to face the impeachment trial and also submit himself to a national referendum.
"I am prepared to submit myself to trial before the Senate in accordance with the constitution. I am also willing to submit myself to a referendum to let the people decide whether I should stay as president or not," Estrada said in a statement.
He said he was confident he would be proved innocent of the charges and urged Congress to finish the impeachment process "as soon as possible."
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