Rallyists at EDSA paid — Estrada

President Estrada lashed out yesterday at the political opposition which called for his resignation during last Saturday’s mammoth prayer-rally at the EDSA Shrine, saying the rallyists were paid by Makati-based business groups with vested interests.

In a radio interview, Mr. Estrada said the Makati-based businessmen have been making contributions to stage rallies and have been waging a "PR campaign where they conduct (destabilizing) operations through the Internet and through texting."

"They spent huge sums for the rally and I saw who contributed and they paid each rallyist P300. They must remember that I was elected by the people," Mr. Estrada said.

He said the prayer-rally was really a political rally because former President Corazon Aquino endorsed estranged Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as the "soon-to-be president."

"I think what happened was not a prayer-rally but a political rally. They use the name of God but it was really politics. They are even fooling God," the President said.

He said he did not give much weight to the rally – the largest against Mr. Estrada, with about 130,000 attending – as it was a gathering of candidates who lost to him in the 1998 elections.

Ignoring warnings from the political opposition not to turn the jueteng scandal into a class war pitting the rich against the poor, the Chief Executive said the rally was organized by power-hungry social elites.

"Since I assumed the presidency they never stopped hitting me. Through newspapers owned by elitists, the black propaganda continued. They cannot believe I am President," he said, adding that he would identify the businessmen at the appropriate time.

Mr. Estrada vowed not to resign and said he would leave office only if impeached by Congress.

"I am ready to face all the allegations against me. I am just waiting for the constitutional process to move forward and there I will answer all the charges against me," the President said, referring to an imminent Senate trial.

"If they can prove that I am guilty according to the Constitution, that’s the only time I will step down," the President said.

He chided the political opposition for pushing for his ouster instead of waiting for the constitutional process of impeachment to proceed, saying they were the same ones who opposed him for his plans to amend the charter early in his term.

"This time it is they who refuse to follow the Constitution. They must remember that I was overwhelmingly elected by the people," he said.

Mr. Estrada said the latest survey by the Social Weather Stations showing public support for him affirmed that he still enjoys popular support despite the clamor for his resignation.

Mr. Estrada will convene today the National Security Council (NSC) to discuss the political and economic crises besetting his administration – with or without Aquino and Arroyo.

He has been trying to woo Aquino and Arroyo for talks. Aquino rejected the offer while Arroyo said she would only talk about a transfer of power.

He is expected to announce the replacements of former Trade Secretary Mar Roxas and political affairs adviser Angelito Banayo, who both resigned last week in the wake of the jueteng scandal.

The President’s critic and predecessor, Fidel Ramos, is expected to attend the NSC despite the former president’s support for the clamor for Mr. Estrada’s resignation.

Ramos attended Saturday’s prayer-cum-protest rally at the EDSA Shrine.