MANILA: Graft-tainted former Philippine president Joseph Estrada was mobbed by fans yesterday as he applied to run for mayor of Manila, nearly 12 years after a military-backed revolution ousted him.
The 75-year-old actor-turned politician vowed he had the energy to return to politics, and was ready to turn around the fortunes of the country’s rundown capital.
“I am still strong, and I will not stop serving the people until the end,” Estrada said shortly after registering his candidacy to run for mayor of Manila in midterm elections next year.
“Manila needs a change. There is urban decay, people are without jobs, the government is in deficit.”
Estrada said that, if he won, he would continue his programmes for the poor that were halted when an uprising forced him to step down as president in 2001, only halfway through his six-year term.
Estrada was convicted in 2007 of corruption for plunder and taking kickbacks worth tens of millions of dollars while president. But his successor, Gloria Arroyo, quickly pardoned him.
Estrada, whose enduring popularity derives from an acting career in which he typically played heroes of the poor, finished second in the 2010 presidential race won by incumbent Benigno Aquino.
AFP
