Get your own Triskelion Shirt of your choice, choose from various designs. Also available mugs, cups, bags and more. Collect them all!Atty. Jay de Castro, MDG (Tau Gamma Phi UST Chapter) authors a book on the life of the ‘whistle blower’
ON January 16, 2001, thousands of Filipinos were glued to their television sets watching the real-life drama of former president Joseph Estrada’s impeachment trial unfold.
A long and heated debate over the controversial “second envelope,” reportedly containing the Jose Velarde bank records, led the senator-judges to vote on whether or not to rip the seal. Lead prosecutor Joker Arroyo, then a member of the House of Congress, demanded for the release of the mysterious documents as evidence, while Estrada’s defense lawyers emphatically disagreed.
After the votes were cast and counted, Chief Justice Hilario Davide declared, “The no’s have it.” Then Senate President Aquilino Pimentel tendered his resignation, and the prosecution team walked out. Within minutes, disgruntled citizens, including the militant sector, rallied to the EDSA Shrine that same night. Text messages spread like wild fire calling on all Filipinos to join the vigil that began.
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