Frustrated by the perceived failure of national officials and institutions, and gripped by the dread of greater instability, if not violence, in the weeks and months ahead, these Filipinos let their tears speak their fears. Some senators who voted no, along with key members of Estrada's defense team, were seen smiling and even punching the air in triumph as the Tuesday session ended. They evidently saw no reason for tears or fears. They had argued that keeping the envelope sealed was only right and just, since the charge that its contents were intended to prove that Estrada held enormous sums of money in false-name accounts was not explicitly included in the articles of impeachment. As for the threat of growing unrest, Estrada spokesman Ernesto Maceda predicted that protests would in time subside.
Some people never learn.
Fifteen years ago next month, Filipinos rose in anger and drove into exile their corrupt, despotic ruler of two decades, his family and cronies in tow. Most disturbing of all, the very process undertaken to settle the political crisis peacefully and conclusively snap presidential elections in 1986 and the impeachment trial today had been woefully compromised in the eyes of the nation and the world. What debased the 1986 polls was massive fraud, including the manipulation of an electronic tally board which led to a walkout by computer operators shown nationwide on the evening news. Outraged by the blatant subversion of the popular will, Filipinos took to the streets and eventually mounted the People Power revolution. Now, amid blanket coverage by all major networks, the impeachment has been derailed in a way that makes it almost impossible to put it back on the tracks.