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_WORLD WATCH______________________________
________________PHILIPPINES_______________
New president has prelate’s support
Ousted leader charged with subversion
Cardinal Jaime Sin of Manila called on all Filipinos to support President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo after news surfaced of a potential plot to return ousted leader Joseph Estrada to power.
“I am calling on our people to rally behind the government…. It is immoral to plot to grab power,” Cardinal Sin told a local radio audience. He called on Filipinos to join in a rally at the Malacanang presidential palace in support of Arroyo.
While Estrada himself was behind bars, tens of thousands of his supporters gathered at a Manila religious shrine near Malacanang. They want the jailed Estrada—who faces charges of flagrant economic profiteering, which could be punishable by death—to return to the presidency. After leaving office in the face of massive public protests, Estrada pointed out that he never formally conceded the presidency to Arroyo.
Late in April, local media reports began alluding to rumors that senior military officials might be involved in a plot to overthrow Arroyo and return Estrada to power. By mid-May, the rumors had quieted, and the Arroyo government remained firmly in place.