Two buses were waiting inside the Philippines' national police headquarters in Manila, ready to transfer deposed president Mr Joseph Estrada and his son to a maximum security detention centre in a neighbouring province, witnesses said today.
Mr Estrada, a former movie star whose power base is among the urban poor, was arrested on Wednesday on a charge of economic plunder, punishable by death or life imprisonment. He and his son, Jinggoy, arrested on the same charge, have been confined in a cell at Camp Crame police headquarters.
Tens of thousands of Mr Estrada's supporters gathered overnight at a religious shrine half a mile from where he was being detained, demanding his release. By this morning, the crowd had diminished, but campaigners said they would be back again by midday.
Responding to rising security concerns, the anti-graft court which ordered Mr Estrada's arrest gave police the authority to transfer him to any location over the weekend, should there be imminent danger to him or to the state.
Mr Estrada is expected to be transferred to a detention centre ringed by three fences at the Speciation Action Forces camp in Santa Rosa, Laguna province, south of Manila.