Arroyo has claimed that having her pictures taken with these men doesn't mean they are going to escape criminal charges, but she has had a harder time explaining what they were doing in the palace in the first place. Most analysts suspect that the businessmen, both of whom have switched their support to Arroyo, hope to have the favour returned. Shortly after his visit, Tan was publicly demanding better government protection of Philippine Airlines. It remains to be seen whether Arroyo will cave in to that demand. But she might have already cut some deals with San Miguel Corp. Chairman Eduardo Cojuangco, Jr., who was Estrada's most important business backer.
Manila is awash with many rumours bordering on the absurd.
Dozens of other pro-Estrada politicians in Congress have also been greeted with open arms by the new president. Senator Ramon Revilla, for example, has left Estrada's LAMP coalition and joined the administration's Lakas party. Both were among the 11 senator-judges who voted in the impeachment trial against opening an envelope thought to contain damaging evidence against Estrada. May. It is not hard to understand why these people want to distance themselves from a disgraced president. And strange coalitions can evolve in any country.