TOMORROW marks the 24th anniversary of the unconstitutional ouster of Joseph Ejercito "Erap" Estrada as the 13th President of the Philippines. He served from 1998 to 2001, barely half of his six-year term. Elected with a landslide majority in 1998, Estrada was deposed in a judicially assisted coup after an impeachment proceeding against him failed to admit an envelope purportedly containing evidence offered by a private bank to support a charge not included in the articles of impeachment.
The prosecutors walked out in protest and took their case to the streets. They were joined by former Cabinet members who had resigned, military officials who had withdrawn their support for their commander-in-chief and the justices of the Supreme Court whose presiding officer, Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr., on his own vaunted authority, swore in Vice President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) as "acting president" while Estrada still remained in office. The term "acting president" was then edited out to give GMA the full title of president.
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