Estrada prays for luck in Cagayan church

If faith can move mountains, can prayers save a presidency?

President Estrada said yesterday he fervently prayed before Our Lady of Piat in Tuguegarao, Cagayan that a miracle would come in the light of the corruption charges against him.

"I prayed that luck will come," he told reporters after attending Mass at the basilica there.

The President also said that he prayed for peace and unity amid the raging controversy over jueteng.

"The reason why I went there is to pray, too, for a speedy trial at the Senate so that the suffering of the people would end," he said.

Mr. Estrada admitted that he went to pray before the miraculous Our Lady of Piat in 1998, when he was running for president. He said his wish was granted.

After the Mass, the Chief Executive told the people there about his commitment to uplift the lives of the poor.

"I came here, despite the pressing work in Manila, because I believe that it is more important to bring joy to you this Christmas," he said.

"You voted me into office to serve you. Now I commit to you that I will never turn my back on the promises I have made. I will serve you until the last moments of my being President," he said.

However, Mr. Estrada said he cannot deliver his campaign promises all at the same time because of the government’s scarce resources.

He said the government has been trying to save mo-ney and has so far generated enough revenues to implement several programs.

"Our economy was starting to look well if not for this trouble," he said referring to the jueteng scandal.

The country’s gross national product registered 5.7 percent growth during the third quarter of this year, but economists fear that the fourth quarter may be not too rosy because of political uncertainties.

Former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman Perfecto Yasay Jr. said that only Mr. Estrada’s impeachment could help buoy the economy.

In particular, Yasay said the President’s resignation or impeachment could also help the SEC regain its old glory and thus restore investors’ confidence.

"The SEC still suffers from an image problem because of the culture of corruption and cronyism cultivated by the Estrada administration," he said.

Yasay warned that if the President stays in office until the end of his term, the SEC will continue to be perceived as a "puppet of Malacañang."

"You know how perception plays tricks on you and it is everything in business as well as in politics," he said, stressing that the SEC still remains as the last line of defense of the business community.

If the SEC cannot protect the business community from the perceived cronies of Mr. Estrada, then "our economy will never recover," Yasay said.

"And if it can’t be independent of Malacañang’s influence and the President’s cronies, it can spell disaster for us," he added.

Yasay blamed the President for "fielding cronies in the business community to wreak havoc on corporations perceived to be hostile to the Estrada administration."

For instance, he said Jaime Dichavez, a presidential drinking buddy, has been known to expand his influence in the SEC to speed up Mr. Estrada’s associates in controlling big companies.

Yasay also cited a report by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism about the SEC’s reverse research facility that has conked out. The facility is actually a network of computers that allows any researcher or investigator to know the type of business one owns or manages.

"If the President gets acquitted, then his cronies will stay with him, wreaking havoc on the business community and eroding further investor confidence … So the only answer to economic slowdown is Mr. Estrada’s resignation or impeachment," Yasay said. – Marichu Villanueva, Rommel Ynion