MANILA, Philippines — The deadly blasts that tore through Manila on Saturday capped a devastating year for the Philippines.
During the year 2000, the Philippines was belted by typhoons, a volcanic eruption forced thousands from their homes and more than 220 people were crushed to death by a towering pile of garbage in Manila. Filipinos watched as their economy ran into the ground and the guerrilla war escalated, and they coped with their country's worst-ever plane crash.
The new year hardly holds promise: 2001 will begin with the resumption of President Joseph Estrada's impeachment trial for alleged corruption. The trial, which began Dec. 7, is in recess until Jan. 2.
Saturday's bombings, which killed at least 14 people and injured more than 90, dealt yet another blow to a country already suffering from the scandal surrounding the immensely popular Estrada, a former film star who was elected on promises of prosperity for the poor.
Nobody has claimed responsibility for the bombs. Police blame Muslim extremists, the government accuses communist rebels and opposition politicians say Estrada allies staged the attacks to distract attention from the trial.
Estrada is facing impeachment on charges of bribery, graft, betrayal of public trust and violating the constitution. His former drinking buddy, Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis Singson, came out in October with charges that the president pocketed millions of dollars in illegal gambling payoffs and tobacco tax kickbacks.
But the bad news began much earlier. In February, the Mayon volcano east of Manila erupted, displacing as many as 8,000 people. In April, an Air Philippines jet crashed in a coconut grove on a southern island, killing 131.
The typhoon season killed 345 people and displaced hundreds of thousands. And in July, the looming Payatas garbage dump in greater Manila collapsed, killing 220 garbage pickers.
In the southern Philippines, where an Islamic separatist movement persists, the Abu Sayyaf guerrillas seized more than 50 schoolchildren and teachers in March. A few weeks later, they kidnapped scores of tourists and workers from a Malaysian beach resort, a hostage crisis that left the area's tourism industry in tatters.
Saturday's bombings deal another serious blow to the Philippines' struggling economy, the National Economic Development Authority said in a statement.
Estrada's trial alone has spooked the stock market, weakened the Philippine currency, frightened foreign investors and riveted the nation of 76 million people.
Analysts said the economy could sink into a recession next year.
In a New Year's message delivered before the bomb attacks Saturday, Estrada urged Filipinos not to lose heart.
"Let us embrace the new year with a smile," Estrada said. "Now more than ever, we must remain firm and united."