At the House of Representatives, opposition Rep. Heherson Alvarez (Lakas, Isabela) said he believed there was sufficient evidence to impeach Mr. Estrada and would file proceedings to do so as early as today.
"From the evidence I saw, there is probable cause," Alvarez said. "After everything is revealed, we will file an impeachment case."
Malacañang, on the other hand, said Singson’s accusations are "all lies."
"It is not only the President who will get hurt, but the country as well," said Press Undersecretary Mike Toledo.
Singson’s revelation of corruption shook the stock market as share prices fell 1.7 percent. The peso also took a beating as it slumped to a record low of 46.55 against the dollar.
Singson said he has the documents to prove that the President received millions of pesos from the illegal numbers game.
In one of his sworn statements that he gave to reporters during a press conference at the Club Filipino – a meeting house of the elite which is near Mr. Estrada’s residence in Greenhills, San Juan — the embattled local official said he had remitted to the President a total of P414 million since 1998.
"I personally handed to President Estrada… P10 million every month," Singson said in the statement.
He also said he was instructed by the Chief Executive to take over the role of Charlie "Atong" Ang in receiving and remitting to Mr. Estrada his share of jueteng money from gambling operators in the country.
Ang is a close friend of Mr. Estrada and a "marketing" consultant of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. Ang heads a company which has a contract with the government to collect the proceeds of "Bingo 2-Ball," a numbers game that aims to eradicate jueteng.
Singson said he was also asked by the President to pay P130 million before Mr. Estrada would approve the release of his province’s share of tobacco excise taxes.
"I agreed to both – the role of collecting jueteng money and the pre-condition to the release of the (tobacco) funds – because I was desperate to make good our campaign promise to our people that an Estrada presidency would finally ensure the progress and development (which the province) had long been hoping for," he said.
But Singson said he was wrong.
"I started to realize this mistake when circumstances led to my conclusion that the bottom-line for Mr. Estrada is none other than the amount of money going to his pockets," he said.
To further prove Mr. Estrada’s links with gambling operators, Singson played his tape-recorded conversation with Yolanda Ricaforte, the President’s personal auditor and wife of a tourism undersecretary.
In that conversation, Singson had discussed the amount of his remittances with Ricaforte.
The governor also accused Philippine National Police chief Director General Panfilo Lacson of conspiring with Mr. Estrada in the proliferation of jueteng.
Although he said that Lacson does not receive jueteng money, the police chief nevertheless coordinated the centralized collection of the gambling money.
"Chief Superintendent Francisco Zubia was designated to coordinate with Atong Ang," he said. Lacson denied this.
Singson is also expected to submit to Congress a ledger, which contains the names of at least six Palace officials and several other people whom he had regularly paid with jueteng money since 1999.
The ledger contained coded names such as AS, Goma, New Goma, JimPol, Jing, JD, Anton, William Gat, Jerry and Len, Tessie and Sonny, and RC.
AS, it said, received P10 million monthly, while Goma got P7 million a month. JimPol had P4 million and Jing had P5 million, JD, P1 million; Anton, P3 million.
William Gat, Jerry and Len, and Tessie and Sonny each received P3.2 million monthly from Singson.
According to a source, AS stands for "Asiong Salonga," a 1950s hoodlum whose life was portrayed in the movies by President Estrada.
Goma, on the other hand, is then Philippine National Police chief Director General Roberto Lastimoso.
The former PNP chief was at Singson’s press conference, where he said he backs the governor’s statement.
"I am here to exactly corroborate Governor Singson," he said. "I was ordered to coordinate with Governor Singson on who he will designate as overall supervisor in jueteng" in the country.
Lastimoso said that when he was police chief, Mr. Estrada asked him to go slow on jueteng.
The same source said the "Jing" being referred to is presidential son San Juan mayor Jinggoy Estrada, while "JD" is JV Ejercito.
The same source said the JimPol being referred to is apparently Jimmy Policarpio, who is the President’s liaison officer to Congress. He, however, remained mum on the real identities of William Gat, Tessie and Sonny, and Jerry and Len.
Another source said these pieces of evidence were turned over to Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin for safekeeping.
Singson said he believed he was the target of a failed assassination attempt by police last week aimed at silencing him. Heavily armed police in several cars stopped his vehicle and "were all poised to shoot," he said. The alleged assassination attempt was foiled when he summoned a group of mayors by cellular phone who intervened, he said.
"I have broken my silence knowing that I am opening myself up to all possible retaliations from the most powerful man in the country," Singson told reporters.
The governor’s son, Vigan Councilor Randolf Singson, said the President made a telephone call to his father on Sunday night, urging the governor not to include the name of the Chief Executive in the exposé.
Still, Singson said his lawyers, one of whom is former Rizal Rep. Emidio Tanjuatco, would turn over documentary and other evidence to the House of Representatives – the only entity which can launch impeachment proceedings and remove a sitting president from office.
"If you say ‘gambling lord,’ that could only refer to the President," Singson said, warning that Mr. Estrada’s remaining four years in office "may result in a catastrophe for the entire Filipino people."
He added: "If I go to jail, it would be an honor to go to jail with the President."
On the other hand, Press Secretary Ricardo Puno swiftly rejected Singson’s charges, describing them as a "hallucination," and warned that the President may resort to legal action to clear his name.
He told a separate news conference that "none of the so-called evidence that was presented… directly implicated the President," and was much less "admissible in court."
Singson said that as soon as these issues wane, "I am ready to die."
Alvarez insisted that Singson’s accusations against the President were "substantial, constituting a prima facie case of culpable violation of the Constitution."
Alvarez clarified, however, that the opposition is not out to sow political unrest and plunge the country into a frenzy by overthrowing the President.
"More than anything else, these proceedings will provide President Estrada a fair playing field where he will be given a chance to clarify these allegations and clear his name before our people," Alvarez said.
House Minority Leader Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said nothing can prevent anybody from filing a complaint against the President, but added it has to be substantiated to avoid doing a disservice to the country.
"We urged everybody concerned to give Singson a chance to present his evidence. Until he documents his evidence and we find it strong, forthright and legal, we would not file an impeachment case," Belmonte said.
Lakas spokesman Hernando Perez said the allegations against Mr. Estrada were "highly impeachable."
Quezon City Rep. Michael Defensor said he expects some administration congressmen to set aside partisanship and support the impeachment move.
Misamis Oriental Rep. Oscar Moreno said if evidence warrants, the impeachment move must proceed at once "to preserve the integrity of the country.
Valenzuela Rep. Magtanggol Gunigundo Jr. appealed to administration congressmen to cross party lines and study the merits of the impeachment case.
Meanwhile, even though security was tight inside the hall where Singson held his press conference, a number of policemen were able to enter the clubhouse by posing as members of the media.
Wearing civilian clothes and complete with pens and papers as well as micro tape recorders, they mimicked members of the media in gathering "information."
A reporter noted that these so-called "journalists" were very fidgety during the entire proceeding, and that their eyes oftentimes focused not on Singson but on the people surrounding the governor.
"We know some of them," said another reporter, who has been covering the police beat.
Singson’s press conference was also attended by Alvarez, former National Telecommunications Commission chief Linggoy Alcuaz, Monsignor Nico Bautista and former Securities and Exchange Commission head Perfecto Yasay. – With reports from Cecille Suerte Felipe, Liberty Dones, Teddy Molina, Jose Aravilla, AP, AFP