Some 20,000 demonstrators marched on the presidential palace in Manila yesterday for an all-night protest demanding the resignation of President Joseph Estrada of the Philippines, a week before he goes on trial before the Senate on corruption charges.
The demonstrators occupied a street leading to the palace and burned a six-metre effigy of Mr Estrada, who is accused of taking bribes from illegal gambling syndicates.
The crowd was urged by Cardinal Jaime Sin - a leader in the 1986 popular revolt that ousted Ferdinand Marcos - beginning from December 7th, when Mr Estrada's impeachment trial begins.
In a Biblical reference, he urged people to unite and rescue the Philippines. "The victim on the road is bleeding. We must rescue him. That bleeding victim is our beloved Philippines," he said in a statement read to demonstrators. Cardinal Sin's call for the mass action was echoed by the former president, Mrs Corazon Aquino, and Vice-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
About 200 riot police stood 30 metres away from the crowd, with fire-engines and huge floodlights illuminating the protesters. The army and police have been on alert for possible violence during the series of protests which began last Saturday.