MANILA — Former President Joseph ‘Erap’ Estrada said he will be celebrating his 74th birthday with poor communities on Tuesday as he has done over the past decades as a politician.
"I owe my life's successes to the masses so, I want to continue celebrating my life with them," the ex-leader said in a statement.
On April 19, his birth date, Estrada will celebrate with the relocated residents of San Juan City, where he served as mayor for 17 years, at the resettlement area called "Erap City" in Taytay, Rizal.
“The masses always showed me their love by always giving me an overwhelming number of votes. When I was unjustly incarcerated, they fought for me and stood by me. That is why now, even as Citizen Erap, I want to continue to show my eternal gratitude to the Filipino masses," Estrada said.
Estrada, who was convicted yet pardoned for plunder in late 2007, ran for president again in the May 2010 elections and garnered almost 10 million votes, finishing second to then Senator Benigno Aquino III. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)