MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A provincial governor charged Monday that President Joseph Estrada received more than $11 million in payoffs, much of it from illegal gambling.
A spokesman for Estrada called the allegations "all lies."
The politically explosive charges are the most serious yet against Estrada, and quickly triggered discussions of impeachment proceedings.
"I personally handed to President Estrada . . . 10 million pesos ($215,000) every month," said Gov. Luis Singson, who claimed he oversaw the gambling operations.
Singson said he believed police attempted to assassinate him last week to prevent him from making the allegations. Heavily armed police in several cars stopped his vehicle and "were all poised to shoot," he said.
The alleged assassination attempt was foiled when he summoned a group of mayors by cellular phone, and they intervened, he said.
Singson, governor of northern Ilocos Sur province, said he collected payoffs for Estrada from a popular illegal numbers game called "jueteng." More than $8.6 million went to the president, he said.
Estrada also insisted that he agree to pay $2.8 million before the president would approve the release of the province's share of tobacco excise taxes, Singson said.
"I have broken my silence knowing that I am opening myself up to all possible retaliations from the most powerful man in the country," Singson told a news conference.
Presidential Press Undersecretary Mike Toledo called Singson's accusations "all lies."
"It's not only the president who will get hurt, but our country as well," he said.
Opposition Congressman Heherson Alvarez said he believed there was sufficient evidence to impeach Estrada and would file proceedings to do so as early as Tuesday.
"From the evidence I saw, there is probable cause," he said. "After everything is revealed, we will file an impeachment case."
Estrada's party has a heavy majority in Congress, and passage of an impeachment vote would be difficult.
Although allegations of cronyism and corruption have long dogged Estrada's administration, this is the first time that a high official has claimed that Estrada has personally lined his pockets.
A Senate committee also began hearings Monday into the bribery allegations, which are likely to further erode the country's already precarious standing among foreign investors.
The accusations sent the peso sharply lower against the dollar and dragged the main stock index to a two-year low.
Philippine newspapers have said Singson is at odds with one of Estrada's friends, prominent gambler Charlie Ang, who promoted a competing legal form of jueteng called "Bingo 2-Ball."
The government, through its gambling agency, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., launched "Bingo 2-Ball" last month in an effort to eradicate jueteng, boost government revenues and stop payoffs by jueteng operators to police, the military and government officials.
Ang is a consultant of the gambling agency, known as Pagcor, and also heads a company which has a contract with the government to collect the proceeds of "Bingo 2-Ball."
After Singson warned of his accusations last week, Estrada ordered Pagcor officials on Sunday to terminate the contract with Ang's company and indefinitely suspend "Bingo 2-Ball" operations nationwide to allow a review of its profitability and effectiveness against jueteng.
Jueteng is a numbers game popular among poor people in which the winner is determined by picking a two-ball combination in a lottery using 37 numbered balls.