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Sunday, November 04, 2007
Estrada visits slum area for first time
MANILA -- Former President Joseph Estrada visited one of Manila's poorest districts Saturday to reassure his supporters that he did not commit any crimes -- a week after he was pardoned for graft.
Malacanang's pardon order
Post comments here on President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's grant of pardon to former President Joseph Estrada.
“I love all of you," Estrada told the crowd that greeted him for his first trip to the impoverished district of Vitas since he was ousted more than six years ago.
“Erap can never repay his debt of gratitude to the poor. If not for the poor, Erap would not be where he is," he said, referring to himself by his popular nickname.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo pardoned Estrada, 70, on October 25 -- six weeks after an anti-graft court sentenced him to life in prison for plunder through kickbacks and illegal gambling payoffs following a six-year trial.
After accepting the pardon, Estrada promised to stay out of "dirty politics," and vowed to dedicate the rest of his life to helping the poor.
In a speech on a makeshift stage, Estrada insisted on his innocence.
“Even if I accepted that pardon, it doesn't mean I have committed a crime. I have not committed any crime," he said. "If I ever committed any wrongdoing during my presidency, stealing was not one of them, corruption was not one of them. I did not steal even a single cent from our coffers."
Estrada, wearing his trademark wristband with the presidential seal, waved to the crowd, occasionally throwing candies at them and reaching out to shake hands from the back of a pickup truck.
He brought along volunteer doctors, including his wife -– a physician and former senator -- to give free medical services and medicines. He also invited residents to apply for scholarships with his foundation.
A brass band played as the crowd greeted Estrada with chants of "Erap pa rin!" (We are still for Erap), holding up his presidential portrait and homemade placards to welcome him.
Estrada -- loved by millions of poor Filipinos for the underdog heroes he portrayed in his days as a movie actor -- won with the largest margin in any Philippine presidential election in 1998.
He was forced to step down amid massive protests in a "people power" revolt in January 2001, about two months after he was impeached for corruption.
He has denied any wrongdoing, and accuses Arroyo of conspiring with the elite, some Roman Catholic Church leaders, and military officers to oust him.
Critics said Arroyo's decision to pardon her predecessor had more to do with her political survival than justice.
A Senate inquiry heard testimony the same day Estrada was pardoned, accusing Arroyo and her husband of bribery and accepting kickbacks in the awarding of a government broadband contract. (AP)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star General Santos. (November 4, 2007 issue)
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