120 Chasing the Wind: Assessing Philippine Democracy, Second Edition processes as they enable even the basic sectors to organize, be actively involved and have a greater say in dening projects to be nanced by the national government. Notwithstanding the constructive engagement of CSOs of the Aquino administration, the impact of CSOs on democratization from the political transition remains limited. Aside from the observation that many CSOs are mutual benet organizations that typically prioritize membership benets rather than inuencing public policy, another possible reason for the limited inuence of CSOs, as noted by a renowned scholar of the Philippines is that: “ the capacity of civil society to rise in indignation has outpaced its ability to produce able, public-spirited, and honest leaders at all levels of government.” (Lande 2001) Holding the state, or the leadership, accountable With respect to holding the state, or more precisely, the leaders accountable, the impact and response of civil society groups varied in two instances, during the impeachment of former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada, and second, in the aftermath of the alleged electoral manipulation involving former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. As regards the rst, civil society groups were among the rst to bewail allegations of jueteng pay-offs and ill-gotten wealth leveled against former President Estrada by his erstwhile close associate, Ilocos Sur Governor Luis “Chavit” Singson. When the telling allegations were made, civil society groups lost no time in organizing themselves into a broad coalition known as the Kongreso ng Mamamayang Pilipino 2 (KOMPIL 2). The coalition, composed of moderate and leftist civil society organizations was as broad as the earlier coalitions of interest groups after the assassination of former Senator Benigno S. Aquino Jr., in 1983. KOMPIL 2 organized rallies, and a group within even “cyber-blasted” a signature campaign called e-lagda (e-signature), continually asking then President Estrada to consider his option and two scenarios that were captured by the call for R.I.O. (Resign, Impeach, Oust). The drive to hold President Estrada accountable for the allegations made against him, not only by Governor Singson, but also those that surfaced in numerous investigative reports by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), did not let up. Eventually, when the majority of the Senators acting as the Impeachment Court decided to withhold the opening of an envelope that was believed to contain damning evidence linking former President Estrada to the jueteng payoffs, and as the prosecution team walked out of the trial, emotional outrage ensued in the evening of January 18, 2001. Most immediately, text messages from various civil society groups circulated urging the public to mass at the EDSA shrine and the protest lasted for four days until the 21st of January 2001 when then Vice-President Gloria MacapagalArroyo was sworn in as president.