Monday, December 13, 2004 (Philippines)

With his protest on the May 10 election results still pending, movie actor Fernando Poe Jr. (shown in a file picture from May 10, 2004) now faces the fight of his life. (AP photo) MANILA - Movie star Fernando Poe Jr., who narrowly lost last May’s presidential elections, has suffered a stroke and is in a coma, his spokesman said yesterday. As news of his ordeal broke, the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court allowed ousted president Joseph Estrada, a fellow actor and close friend of Poe, to leave detention to briefly visit him late last night, court sheriff Ed Urieta said. Estrada, who is being tried for plunder, called on his followers to pray for Poe. Poe complained of dizziness while drinking and dining with friends and employees in his film studio in San Francisco del Monte, Quezon City. He was brought about 11:20 Saturday night to a hospital, where he was in an intensive-care unit, said his spokesman, Sorsogon Rep. Francis Escudero. [full story]