ERAP for President, again?

We just came across this picture from one of the presidential candidates for the coming elections – ERAP. Joseph “ERAP” Estrada (born Jose Marcelo Ejercito on April 19, 1937) was the 13th President of the Philippines, serving from 1998 until 2001.

Estrada, like U.S. president Ronald Reagan, gained popularity as a film actor, playing the lead role in over 100 films in an acting career spanning 33 years. He leveraged his popularity as an actor to make gains in politics, serving as mayor of San Juan for seventeen years, as Senator for one term, then as Vice President of the Philippines under the administration of President Fidel Ramos.

Estrada was elected President in 1998 with a wide margin of votes separating him from the other challengers, and was sworn into the presidency on June 30, 1998. In 2000 he declared an “all-out-war” against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and captured it’s headquarters and other camps. However, allegations of corruption spawned an impeachment trial in the Senate, and in 2001 Estrada was ousted from a power grab after former Chief Justice Hilario Davide allowed the prosecution to walked out of the impeachment court when the Senator Judges voted no in the opening of the second envelope which is not part of the impeachment complaint.

In 2007 he was sentenced by a “special court” to reclusion perpetua for plunder, but was later granted pardon by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

I dont think it is a good idea to vote for a convicted plunderer and ex-president. There are enough better choices to go for this time. Not really sure who is the best out of the candidates for the Presidential Election of the Philippines this coming  May 10, 2010. But ERAP? Better think before you vote. Make your choice…