Edsa dos

The Second EDSA Revolution (EDSA II or EDSA Dos) was a three-day political protest from
January 17–20, 2001 that peacefully overthrew the government of Joseph Estrada, the thirteenth
President of the Philippines. Estrada resigned and was succeeded by his Vice-President, Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo, who was sworn into office by then-Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. at around
noon on January 20, 2001, several hours before Estrada fled Malacañang Palace. EDSA is an
acronym derived from Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, the major thoroughfare connecting five cities
in Metro Manila, namely Pasay, Makati, Mandaluyong, Quezon City, and Caloocan, with the
revolution's epicentre at the EDSA Shrine church at the northern tip of Ortigas Center, a business
district.
Advocates described EDSA II as "popular" but critics view the uprising as a conspiracy among
political and business elites, military top brass and Catholic Cardinal Jaime Sin.[2] International
reaction to the revolt was mixed, with some foreign nations including the United States immediately
recognising the legitimacy of Arroyo's presidency, and foreign commentators describing it as "a
defeat for due process of law", "mob rule", and a "de facto coup".[3]
The only means of legitimizing the event was the last-minute Supreme Court ruling that "the welfare
of the people is the supreme law."[4] But by then, the Armed Forces of the Philippines had already
withdrawn support for the president, which some analysts called unconstitutional, and most foreign
political analysts agreeing with this assessment. William Overholt, a Hong Kong-based political
economist said that "It is either being called mob rule or mob rule as a cover for a well-planned coup,
... but either way, it's not democracy."[3] Opinion was divided during EDSA II about whether Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo as the incumbent Vice President should be President if Joseph Estrada was
ousted; many groups who participated in EDSA II expressly stated that they did not want Arroyo for
president either, and some of them would later participate in EDSA III. The prevailing Constitution of
the Philippines calls for the Vice President of the Philippines, Arroyo at the time, to act as interim
president only when the sitting President dies, resigns, or becomes incapacitated, none of which
occurred during EDSA II.
On October 4, 2000, Ilocos Sur Governor Luis "Chavit" Singson, a longtime friend of President
Joseph Estrada, went public with accusations that Estrada, his family and friends received millions of
pesos from operations of the illegal numbers game, jueteng.[5]
The exposé immediately ignited reactions of rage. The next day, Senate Minority Leader Teofisto
Guingona, Jr. delivered a fiery privilege speech accusing Estrada of receiving P220 million in jueteng
money from Governor Singson from November 1998 to August 2000, as well as taking P70 million
on excise tax on cigarettes intended for Ilocos Sur. The privilege speech was referred by Senate
President Franklin Drilon, to the Blue Ribbon Committee and the Committee on Justice for joint
investigation. Another committee in the House of Representatives decided to investigate the exposé,
while other house members spearheaded a move to impeach the president.[5]
More calls for resignation came from Manila Cardinal Archbishop Jaime Sin, the Catholic Bishops
Conference of the Philippines, former Presidents Corazon Aquino and Fidel Ramos, and Vice
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (who had resigned her cabinet position of Secretary of the
Department of Social Welfare and Development). Cardinal Sin stated in a statement "In the light of
the scandals that besmirched the image of presidency, in the last two years, we stand by our
conviction that he has lost the moral authority to govern."[6] More resignations came from Estrada's
cabinet and economic advisers, and other members of congress defected from his ruling party.[5]
On November 13, 2000, the House of Representatives led by Speaker Manuel Villar transmitted the
Articles of Impeachment, signed by 115 representatives, to the Senate. This caused shakeups in the
leadership of both houses of congress.[5] The impeachment trial was formally opened on November
20, with twenty-one senators taking their oaths as judges, and Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario
Davide, Jr. presiding. The trial began on December 7.[5]
The day-to-day trial was covered on live television and received the highest viewing rating, mostly by
the broadcasting giant ABS-CBN at the time.[5] Among the highlights of the trial was the testimony of
Clarissa Ocampo, senior vice president of Equitable PCI Bank, who testified that she was one foot
away from Estrada when he signed the name "Jose Velarde" documents involving a P500 million
investment agreement with their bank in February 2000.

Angelyn DV. Gloria

GROUP 2 EDSA Dos