After denying to death that she is not calling for Erap's resignation, Gloria has confessed the obvious truth. A wily trapo, she however dressed it up not as her personal ambition but as the economy's salvation. Yet Gloria's slip shows when she rejects demands for her own resignation and snap elections. Gloria aspires to glory as presidential successor through Erap's resignation, nothing more nothing less.

With Gloria's open admission of her ambition to succeed as President through Erap's resignation, more than ever it is obvious that this is a fight between two rival factions of the ruling elite. It is a lose-lose situation for the masses if either Erap stays at Malacanang or Gloria grab power. A ruling elite rigodon is a defeat for the people.

The people must have a third way. It need not be a choice between Erap and Gloria, between the party of cronyism and the party of elitism.

The masses deserve a chance at good government not a choice between two evils. The opportunity for change is by way of thorough reform of the bankrupt system that begets trapos by the dozens.

If there is one lesson from the people's bitter experience with Erap, it is that the system is so rotten that it could bring to the height of power a gambler and drunkard, womanizer and liar so brazen. The system deserves nothing less than a complete overhaul. Political and electoral reforms is a must so that another Erap, even another Gloria, cannot take advantage of the people's poverty to make a mockery of Malacanang.

We call on workers and the poor to lead in forging the third way - neither Erap nor Gloria but reform. Let us build the people's movement against the Estrada regime independent of the anti-Erap elitists. This movement that demands the resignation of both Estrada and Macapagal-Arroyo to pave the way for a caretaker government and constitutional revisions that will institute political and electoral reforms.