Philippine president offers to face referendum on his future

MANILA, Philippines (AP) - Philippine President Joseph Estrada, embroiled in a growing political crisis over allegations that he accepted millions of dollars from illegal gambling lords, offered Thursday to let voters decide whether he should stay in office.

Estrada's offer to face a referendum on his future came after a day that saw more members of his Cabinet and ruling party resign.

Trade Secretary Manuel Roxas, formerly a strong Estrada backer, announced he would step down from the Cabinet and called for a swift resolution to the crisis. He gave no specific reason for his planned resignation.

Six lawmakers quit Estrada's LAMP party, including House Speaker Manuel Villar and Rep. Neptali Gonzales II, the acting head of the House Committee on Justice, which is scheduled to begin considering an impeachment complaint against Estrada on Monday.

Four of Estrada's senior economic advisers also planned to resign Friday, officials said, in a further blow to rapidly eroding business confidence in Estrada's government.

Allegations by a provincial governor that Estrada pocketed more than $11 million from illegal gambling operators and tobacco taxes have touched off widespread demands for his resignation or impeachment. Business confidence has plunged as a result of the political crisis, sending the peso and stock market to record lows.

The once immensely popular Estrada - a former movie action star who campaigned as an advocate of the poor - has denied taking ''even a centavo'' of illegal gambling money but has not responded more specifically to the charges. In a statement Thursday, Estrada said he would end the silence because many people had mistaken it as ''an admission of guilt.''

''I will prove my innocence,'' he said. ''I guarantee the Filipino people that I will be vindicated because the truth is on my side.''

Estrada did not specify how a referendum might be held or who might call it.

But Gonzales, a former Estrada stalwart, said the president is widely viewed as guilty. He called the situation ''irreversible.''

''In the face of the public outrage and the worst economic crisis to hit our country, he can no longer effectively govern,'' Gonzales said. ''I hope and pray that in his heart of hearts he will be able to recognize this and ... step down from the presidency to save the nation from ruin.''

More LAMP members will resign in the coming days, he said.

The impeachment complaint the House committee is to begin considering Monday accuses Estrada of corruption, bribery and constitutional violations. The complaint is widely expected to be rejected by the House, which is dominated by Estrada's party. Instead, Estrada's critics hope that public pressure will persuade him to step down.

The governor of Ilocos Sur province, Luis Singson, touched off the crisis by testifying in early October that Estrada had asked him to coordinate the nationwide collection of payoffs from an illegal numbers game called ''jueteng.'' Singson said he personally sent the president more than $8.6 million in jueteng payoffs and $2.8 million from provincial tobacco taxes.