Estrada dealt setback on first day in office<\/p>\n
SUBIC BAY, Philippines (Agencies): A Philippine court dealt
\nPresident Joseph Estrada a setback on his first full day in
\noffice yesterday by stopping his attempt to oust a political foe
\nas head of a major industrial estate.<\/p>\n
Estrada had ordered the removal of Richard Gordon as chairman
\nof the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) but a defiant
\nGordon went to court to challenge his dismissal.<\/p>\n
Judge Eliodoro Ubiadas, in his temporary restraining order
\nreleased to media, called a hearing of the case for Monday and
\ndirected Estrada and his staff \"to cease and desist\" from ousting
\nGordon.<\/p>\n
The court handed down its order as hundreds of supporters of
\nGordon, some armed with clubs, barricaded the gates of Subic Bay
\nto prevent Estrada's newly designated SBMA chief from entering
\nthe complex.<\/p>\n
The judge said Estrada's order and Gordon's refusal to obey it
\nhad created a \"highly tense and emotional situation...(that)
\ncould result in violence.\"<\/p>\n
There was no immediate reaction from Estrada but he told
\nreporters earlier that he was ready to withdraw his appointment
\nof Felicito Payumo if the court ruled against him. Estrada added
\nthe fight over Subic leadership was \"scaring away investors.\"<\/p>\n
U.S. air cargo company Federal Express diverted yesterday
\nthree planes from its Asian hub at the Subic Bay freeport after
\nthe rival groups threatened a violent showdown.<\/p>\n
The three planes, each carrying about 10 tons of cargo, were
\ndiverted to Manila late Tuesday and early yesterday, airport
\nofficials said.<\/p>\n
But the former movie action star was clear that unless stopped
\nby the courts, he was ready to physically evict Gordon from the
\ncomplex. \"If necessary, we will carry him bodily if he resists.\"<\/p>\n
Already, one person has died -- a woman after a heart attack
\n-- in the standoff.<\/p>\n
Police said the woman collapsed during the night while she was
\nat the barricades at the Subic gates with hundreds of other
\nGordon backers to prevent Payumo from entering.<\/p>\n
One of the first orders Estrada issued on taking office on
\nTuesday was to scrap his predecessor Fidel Ramos's order
\nreappointing Gordon to another six-year term as SBMA chairman.<\/p>\n
Subic, 80 kilometers west of Manila, was formerly a U.S. naval
\nbase. After American forces withdrew from the Philippines in
\n1992, Ramos turned it into an industrial zone.<\/p>\n
Under Gordon's stewardship, Subic has become a booming free
\nport, with exports totaling $1.4 billion during the past four
\nyears. About 300 foreign and Philippine firms operate in the
\nzone.<\/p>\n
Bad blood has existed between Estrada and Gordon since 1991
\nwhen Estrada, then a senator, successfully took part in a
\ncampaign to oust U.S. military bases from the country.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/estrada-dealt-setback-on-first-day-in-office-1447893297",
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