Joseph Estrada
| Born: | April 19, 1937 |
|---|---|
| In Office: | June 30, 1998 – January 20, 2001 |
ose Marcelo Ejercito (born on April 19, 1937), better known as Joseph Ejercito Estrada[1], or Erap, is a film actor in the Philippines and was the 13th President of the Philippines from June 30, 1998 to January 20, 2001. He was peacefully overthrown by the Second People Power Revolution after his aborted impeachment trial in the Senate, where eleven Philippine senators refused to examine the second envelope of the Jose Velarde bank account that would supposedly prove acts of political corruption. On April 4, 2001, the trial of Estrada began as Ombudsman Aniano Desierto filed before the Sandiganbayan, a Philippine anti-graft court, a PHP 4-billion plunder suit and a minor perjury charge for falsely declaring his assets and illegally using the Jose Velarde alias. On September 12, 2007, he became the first Philippine President to be convicted of a crime after the Sandiganbayan found him guilty of plunder, which is punishable by reclusion perpetua.[2] He was detained in his Tanay, Rizal resthouse but then pardoned by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on October 25, 2007
José Marcelo Ejército was born in Tondo, one of the poorest parts of Manila. He was the son of Emilio Ejército, Sr. (1898-1977), a small-scale government contractor, and María Marcelo (born 1905), a housewife. He is the brother of Antonio Ejercito (1932-2005) and Emilio Ejercito, Jr. (George Estregan) (1928-1999) Dropping out of college and involvement in a street gang so displeased his family that they forbade him from using his family name. He adopted the surname "Estrada" (Spanish for 'road') as a last name. As an actor he acquired the nickname "Erap" (from the reversed spelling of pare, Filipino slang for 'pal' or 'buddy'). He played the lead role in more than 100 movies, and was producer of over 70 films. He was the first FAMAS Hall of Fame awardee for Best Actor (1981) and also became a Hall of Fame award-winner as a producer (1983). He often played heroes of the downtrodden classes, which gained him the admiration of a lot of the nation's many unschooled and impoverished citizens. This later proved advantageous to his political career. Joseph Estrada married Luisa Pimentel (former Doctor and first lady turned senator) and had three children with her: Jose "Jinggoy" Ejetcito (better known as "Jinggoy Estrada"; former Mayor of San Juan turned Senator/married to Precy Vitug), Jackie Ejercito (married to Beaver Lopez), and Jude Ejercito. Joseph Estrada met his wife Loi while working as an orderly at the National Center for Mental Health (NMCH) in Mandaluyong City. He also had a child from an out-of-wedlock relationship, Joseph Victor "JV" Ejercito (from socialite Guia Gómez, and is married to Cindy Lotuaco), who also made a name for himself in Philippine politics by following his father's footsteps as the current mayor of San Juan City. Pagsanjan, Laguna Mayor Emilio Ramon Ejercito III, known in Philippine showbiz as George Estregan, Jr. or E.R. Ejercito, is his nephew. During the 2000 impeachment proceedings, reports of Estrada's numerous out-of-marriage relationships and offspring surfaced in the press. As an actor with no prior political experience, Estrada ran for mayor of San Juan, a municipality of Metro Manila, in 1968 and ended up losing his bid for mayor. He was only proclaimed mayor in 1969, after winning an electoral protest against Dr. Braulio Sto. Domingo. When Corazon Aquino assumed the presidency in 1986, all officials of the local government suspected of malfeasance and anomalies were removed and replaced by appointed officers-in-charge. Estrada was then removed from his position as mayor. The following year, he ran and won a seat in the Senate under the Grand Alliance for Democracy (GAD). He placed 16th place in the said elections (out of 24 winners). He served as Vice President of the Philippines under Fidel V. Ramos from 1992–1998.
The 1998 presidential election campaign, like most presidential election campaigns in the Philippines, had hardly anything to do with a contest between political platforms and programs. Estrada’s political strategists and financial backers were aware that a large share of the Philippine electorate, the "masa" (the poor and undereducated masses), were looking for a leadership they could relate to. Estrada’s financial backers designed a campaign strategy that reflected Estrada’s pro-poor image that he had built up throughout his movie career. Central in the campaign was Estrada’s campaign slogan "Erap para sa Mahirap" (Erap for the poor) that succeeded in inspiring the masses with the hope that Estrada would be the president of and for the masses. Estrada's running mate, Edgardo Angara, was defeated by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. During the campaign, Estrada's political rivals tried but failed to discredit him while publicizing his womanizing, drinking and gambling. Estrada was inaugurated on June 30, 1998 in the historical town of Malolos in Bulacan province. Like all presidential election campaigns in the Philippines, billions of Pesos (hundreds of millions of US Dollars) were spent by most of the financial backers of the candidates. The most inefficent presidency that the Philippines had. With his large followers, he could change the economic policies of of our country but he wasted it due his lack of understanding of the world.
The Estrada presidency was soon dogged by charges of plunder and corruption. He was reported by his Chief of Staff Aprodicio Laquian to have allegedly spent long hours drinking with shady characters as well as "midnight drinking sessions" with some of his cabinet members during meetings. In October 2000, an acknowledged gambling racketeer, Luis "Chavit" Singson, governor of the province of Ilocos Sur, alleged that he had personally given Estrada the sum of 400 million pesos ($8,255,933) as payoff from illegal gambling profits, as well as 180 million pesos ($3,715,170) from the government price subsidy for the tobacco farmers' marketing cooperative. Singson's allegation caused an uproar across the nation, which culminated in Estrada's impeachment by the House of Representatives in November 13, 2000. The articles of impeachment were then transmitted to the Senate and an impeachment court was formed, with Chief Justice Hilario Davide, Jr. as presiding officer. Major television networks pre-empted their afternoon schedules to bring full coverage of the Impeachment Trial. There were three sets of cameras in the Impeachment Court (normally the Senate Chamber): one from ABS-CBN, one from the GMA Network, and one from NBN (Then, it was PTV, or the People's Television Network. (used as a pool camera). During the trial, the prosecution (composed of congressmen and private prosecutors) presented witnesses and evidence to the impeachment court regarding Estrada's involvement in illegal gambling, also known as jueteng, and his maintenance of secret bank accounts. However, the president's legal team (composed of a former chief justice, former congressman, former solicitor-general and other lawyers) denied these allegations. Ilocos Sur Governor Chavit Singson was one of the witnesses who testified against President Estrada. The President and the governor of Ilocos Sur were said to be "partners" in-charge of the operations of illegal gambling in the country. Governor Singson feared that he would be charged and stripped of power (there have been talks about the governor making a deal with the opposition... he was to help incriminate Estrada and he would be compensated for his service), but he was offered immunity by anti-Estrada lawmakers. He was then asked to accuse the President of having committed several illegal acts. He gave personal accounts that may or may not have been biased. Singson's credibility has been questioned several times in the past, and he has been involved in various scandals that have not been resolved up to this day. On December 11, 2007, Pulse Asia October 20-31 survey result showed Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as the most corrupt President topping the list with 42% of respondents nationwide. Ferdinand Marcos was 2nd with 35% and Joseph Estrada was 3rd with 16%. Fidel Ramos (5%) and Corazon Aquino (1%). The Arroyo administration was also the most corrupt(Metro Manilans with 56%).
On the evening of January 16, 2001, the impeachment court, whose majority were political allies of Estrada,[citation needed] voted not to open an envelope that was said to contain incriminating evidence against the president. The final vote was 11-10, in favor of keeping the envelope closed. The prosecution panel (of congressmen and lawyers) walked out of the Impeachment Court in protest of this vote. Others noted that the walkout merited a contempt of court which Davide, intentionally or unintentionally, did not enforce.[citation needed] The afternoon schedule of television networks covering the Impeachment were pre-empted by the prolongation of the day's court session due to the issue of this envelope. The evening telenovelas of networks were pushed back for up to two hours. That night, anti-Estrada protesters gathered on the historical EDSA highway at EDSA Shrine, not too far away from the site of the 1986 People Power Revolution that overthrew Ferdinand Marcos. A political turmoil ensued and the clamor for Estrada's resignation became stronger than ever. In the following days, the number of protesters grew to the hundreds of thousands. On January 19, 2001, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, seeing the political upheaval throughout the country, decided to withdraw its support from the president and transfer its allegiance to the vice president, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. On January 20, 2001, the Supreme Court declared that the seat of presidency was vacant. At noon, the Chief Justice swore in the constitutional successor, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, as President of the Philippines.[5] Estrada and his family were quickly evacuated from the presidential palace. On January 18, 2008, Joseph Estrada's Partido ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) caused full-page advertisement in Metro Manila newspapers, blaming EDSA 2 of having "inflicted a dent on Philippine democracy". Its featured clippings questioned the constitutionality of the revolution. The published featured clippings were taken from Time, New York Times, Straits Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Asia Times Online, The Economist, and International Herald Tribune. Supreme Court justice Cecilia Muñoz Palma opined that EDSA 2 violated the 1987 Constitution.[6] On March 13, 2008, Joseph Estrada named Lucio Tan, Jaime Cardinal Sin, Fidel Ramos, Luis Singson, and the Ayala (and Lopez clans who were both involved in water businesses) as co-conspirators of EDSA Revolution of 2001.
Estrada returned to his old home in San Juan. He maintained that he never resigned, implying that Arroyo's government was illegitimate, despite the international community's recognition of Arroyo's succession and the acknowledgment of Arroyo as the new president by all government offices, the military, and the national police. The new government charged him with plunder and had him arrested in April. Estrada's supporters, particularly those among the poor, marched to the EDSA Shrine demanding Estrada's release and his reinstatement as president, attempting to replicate the success of the previous revolution. On the morning of May 1, the protesters marched straight to the presidential palace. Violence erupted and the government declared a State of Rebellion. Many of Estrada's supporters were arrested, including politicians accused of provoking the violence. The government called out the military and was able to quell the rebellion. The rebellion came to be known as EDSA III. Estrada was initially detained at the Veteran's Memorial Medical Center in Manila and then transferred to a military facility in Tanay, Rizal, but he was later transferred to a nearby vacation home, virtually in house arrest. He was still facing the charges of plunder and corruption. Under Philippine law, plunder has a maximum penalty of death, though it was unlikely that Estrada would be given that sentence. On April 2, 2005, the United Opposition movement named Estrada "Chairman Emeritus". The unexpected death of Fernando Poe, Jr., after the election brought with it uncertainty as to the opposition's direction and leadership, yet with Estrada still facing charges and trial some had been left to speculate how much of an influence or support this declaration would create in the formation of an opposition front to the current Presidency, and her Lakas-CMD party. On September 5, 2007, Leonardo-de Castro, and Sandiganbayan Associate Justices Diosdado Peralta and Francisco Villaruz were assigned 2 extra bodyguards per initiative of the Sheriff, after getting threatening messages from an anonymous person. Renato Bocar, executive clerk of court confirmed the “new face" in De Castro’s office who has been “acting like a bodyguard."[8] On September 7, 2007, the Sandiganbayan's Teresita De Castro announced that the graft court would promulgate the judgment on September 12, 2007 in the 6-year-old plunder trial (October 2001 to June 15, 2007) of ousted President Joseph Ejercito Estrada. The verdict would also inclued his son, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada; and lawyer Eduardo Serapio. Court Sheriff Ed Urieta said tight security would include 4,000 police and 2,000 soldiers, and military. Estrada was accused of stealing 4 billion pesos (US$81 million; €62 million) in illegal funds and falsely declaring his assets[9]. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed Proclamation 1362 "Declaring Sept. 12, 2007 as a National Day of Prayer for Peace and Reconciliation of our Nation." She lead the nation in praying for peace and reconciliation on the day the Sandiganbayan would announce the judgement of Joseph Estrada. Within a year, Arroyo declared September 12 as National Day of Prayer, Reparation and Consecration for the Nation[10]. On September 11, 2007, the Supreme Court of the Philippines allowed live television coverage of the promulgation on September 12, 2007 -- granting the petition to the Kapisanan ng Brodkaster ng Pilipinas. The court, however, directed media to install a video camera in the Supreme Court public information personnel office