Enrile: Erap mobbed everywhereBy Christine Avendaño
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 04:27:00 07/31/2009
MANILA, Philippines — Former President Joseph “Erap†Estrada is being mobbed everywhere he goes and can easily outdraw any other presidential aspirant anywhere.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, who had been in a number of places Estrada visited recently ostensibly to thank his unwavering supporters, is putting a bet on this.
“You want to test this? Put Erap in any corner here in Metro Manila and put any of these candidates in other corners, we’ll see where the crowd will go,†Enrile said in a meeting Wednesday night with Philippine Daily Inquirer editors and reporters.
Enrile said he was looking forward to another trip with Estrada, this time in Cebu, bailiwick of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who lashed out at the movie actor-turned-politician in her nationally televised State of the Nation Address on Monday.
Ms Arroyo claimed she inherited a government “on the brink of bankruptcy†when she took over from Estrada after he was ousted in 2001 for corruption.
Bought choppers, planes, vans
Enrile reiterated his belief that Estrada, who was convicted of plunder in 2007 but was pardoned by Ms Arroyo, would contest the presidential elections next year.
“Based on my personal observation, he will run,†said Enrile, president emeritus of Estrada’s Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino.
He said earlier that Estrada was preparing to run for the presidency again as shown by his recent purchase of two helicopters, an airplane and vans apparently for use in his campaign sorties.
Likely court challenge
Enrile said he expected that Estrada’s bid would be challenged. “Some people will file a disqualification proceeding against him,†he said, adding that Estrada’s lawyers have prepared for this.
The Constitution provides that “the president is not eligible for any reelection,†according to Enrile. Estrada will insist that he is not the president contemplated in the Constitution, said Enrile and he expected that the issue will reach the Supreme Court. “You can argue either way,†he said.
Having been granted executive clemency shortly after his plunder conviction, Estrada started to go around the country last year.
“He’s actually campaigning,†Enrile said. “He says pasasalamat (thanks) but whether you call it pasasalamat, whether you call it some other name, the moment you appear in a crowd like that and you wave your hands and show yourself in effect you’re reviving a political spirit in your favor.â€
He wants to complete term
“According to (Estrada), he wants to complete his presidency which was disrupted,†said Enrile.
The 85-year-old Enrile said that from the trips he had gone to upon the invitation of Estrada, he couldn’t help but marvel at the huge crowds, especially in Mindanao, that followed him around.
People’s reaction
He said he had been in many political campaigns but the crowds that swarmed around the ousted President were “just great.â€
“We could hardly move,†he said. People just wanted to “empathize†with Estrada.
“I also ask myself the question what makes people react the way they react (to Estrada). People are running after him. Why? I don’t know. But it’s a fact that you can’t ignore, you can’t deny it, you can’t shove it away,†Enrile said.
He said it wasn’t simply because Estrada was a movie star. He said that he campaigned with Estrada and the late action king of filmdom Fernando Poe Jr., who ran and lost in the 2004 vote against Ms Arroyo. He said Estrada drew more crowds than Poe.
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