Although the number of protesters on the street were far less than in 1986, the capitulation of the administration was as dramatic.
Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado, Armed Forces chief General Angelo Reyes and a host of senior military officers joined the opposition protesters on the EDSA highway at a church shrine which was one of the main rallying points of the 1986 revolt.
Then, most of the cabinet followed, including Finance Secretary Jose Pardo, Socio-Economic Planning Secretary Felipe Medalla and Tourism Secretary Gemma Cruz Araneta.
"I welcome the heroism of our generals and the Secretary of Defense," Vice-President Arroyo told the rally.
Reyes said Estrada was a good president but his departure was in the best interests of the country.
"We would like to request that ... we start the healing process ... and that we allow President Estrada, members of his family to exit with dignity," Reyes said. "Let us not be vindictive, let us not be persecutive in mood."
Central Bank Governor Rafael Buenaventura said he would not resign as he had a duty to provide financial stability.
Earlier, there were minor clashes between protesters and supporters of Estrada, whose power base was among the country's teeming poor.
In his first broadcast, Estrada reiterated his innocence, but said he would abide by the result of the impeachment trial.
In a major concession, he ordered his lawyers to open the bank records the Senator-judges had voted 11-10 to suppress -- a decision which brought the impeachment hearings to an abrupt halt and provoked four days of growing protests.
The peso, which hit a record low of 55.75 to the dollar on Wednesday, surged through 50 after the Estrada announcement, briefly hitting a high of 47 to the dollar. The stockmarket had closed up 1.02 percent before the Estrada statement.
Cardinal Jaime Sin, the country's top clergyman called on Filipinos to join the EDSA protesters.
Sin's call was reminiscent of broadcasts he made from a dissident radio in 1986 when he urged Filipinos to gather at EDSA and join a popular uprising against Marcos.
"I am calling on all of you to stay at EDSA the whole day. EDSA is holy ground. God is in this place," Sin said in a statement on Friday. "Do not go anywhere."
In the impeachment hearings, Estrada faced removal from office if convicted of any one of the charges against him -- corruption, bribery, betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the constitution.
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