MOVIE star Nora Aunor, who earlier this morning announced that she was withdrawing her support for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, called on the Chief Executive to resign even as she asked her supporters to join the march-rally to Malacañang tomorrow.
At the Edsa Shrine Thursday afternoon, Aunor said that the people are already suffering and that if the President does not resign, the people will not stop their protest activities.
"Ginang Presidente, mag-resign na po kayo (Mrs. President, please resign)," urged Aunor, a well-known supporter and campaigner of Arroyo.
Aunor, who was long rumoured to have had a relationship with Mr. Estrada, also said that the President did not respect women, She had earlier claimed in a press conference that Estrada beat her up. A Malacañang spokesman said Ms. Aunor had an "ax to grind" with the President.
Aunor, known as the "Superstar" in the local celebrity world, told a news conference she regretted having campaigned for Arroyo, known as “GMA,” in the 2004 presidential election.
"I have but one request. Give us women more respect," Aunor said as she pulled on a white “Gloria resign” T-shirt to loud cheers from her supporters.
"What I know is, he beats people," the film actress and singer claimed. "Women. Men. There were such incidents before."
Aunor also said she ended up "black and blue" from one such physical assault, but would not elaborate, saying the incident still pained her.
The actress also said that she was intimately familiar with Arroyo's handwriting and offered her help to authenticate the signatures of certain bank accounts presented to the tribunal last month.
Prosecutors allege Arroyo had used dummy accounts, including one under the name of Jose Velarde, to hide kickbacks from gambling bosses and embezzled government funds.
Arroyo, who has acknowledged having children by women other than her husband, has pleaded not guilty to charges of corruption, bribery, betraying public trust and violating the constitution, which could lead to his removal from office.
"Had he run the country well we would not have arrived at this situation," Aunor said.
She said she only came out against the president after the prosecutors walked out on the tribunal late Tuesday after accusing the senator-judges of bias in favor of Arroyo.
"I believed in the judicial process," she said. "But when I saw what happened at the Senate I could not take it any longer."
The Senate controversially suspended Arroyo's corruption trial on Wednesday after its members voted to suppress evidence allegedly linking the president to ill-gotten wealth.
Critics allege the vote was a preview of the tribunal's verdict which would have been released next month.
Aunor at the Edsa Shrine called on all her followers whom she called the "Noranians" to come to Edsa today and join all the protest activities. Inquirer.net with AFP
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