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By Jomar Canlas and FranciS Earl
A. Cueto, Reporters
THE Sandiganbayan Special
Division allowed deposed President Joseph Estrada to leave his
detention cell for his birthday furlough today.
According to Sandiganbayan
sheriff Eduardo Urieta, the antigraft court allowed the former
strongman to go first to the Cardinal Santos Memorial Hospital at 8
a.m. for his medical examination.
After his medical examination,
Estrada will be allowed to stay inside his house on Polk Street,
Greenhills, San Juan, to visit his 102-year-old mother, Doña Mary
Ejercito.
In the meantime, the Genuine
Opposition unveils the omnibus GO senatorial advertisement today as
part of their gift to Estrada.
The television advertisement will
finally carry the faces of the 11 senatorial candidates of the
opposition.
Adel Tamano, spokesman for GO,
revealed that the new 30-seconder TV campaign advertisement will be
aired soon since its first GO ad was thumbed down by Estrada and the
candidates themselves.
“The new ad will feature the
faces and names of the candidates with President Estrada calling for
a revolt, a revolt against corruption and poverty,” said Tamano,
adding that it will also introduced a new acronym for the
campaign—PLAN CO REVOLT.
Tamano said the former leader
also called for the public to support the candidates of the GO in
the upcoming May election.
He also revealed that Estrada
voiced over the new ad to boost further the senatorial bids of their
candidates, particularly those who are having a hard time in getting
it into the winners’ circle even in the recent poll surveys.
“PLAN CO REVOLT” stands for
the names of the candidates—(Aquilino) Pimentel 3rd, (Panfilo)
Lacson, Alan Cayetano, (Nikki) Coseteng, (Sonia) Roco, (Francis) Escudero,
(Manuel) Villar, (John) Osmeña, (Loren) Legarda and (Antonio)
Trillanes 3rd.
Since Coseteng’s ratings have
poorly improved in the recent surveys, Tamano said the political
opposition’s strategists decided to put the first two letters of
her surname—CO—in the slogan for the TV viewers to have better
recall of her name.
The Philippine National Police
was tasked by the Sandiganbayan to provide the usual security
measures in coordination with the sheriff’s office.
Urieta said that his men would
also oversee the transfer of Estrada from Tanay, Rizal, to
Greenhills, San Juan, to ensure the safety of the former president.
It will be recalled that the
Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Teresita de Castro said that Estrada
can be allowed to visit his mother, provided a separate and
individual motion is filed in court, and will be granted on a
case-to-case basis.
But normally, every time Estrada
visited his house on Polk Street gives him a chance to talk with his
political supporters, especially during this campaign season with
the candidates visiting him at his mother’s Greenhills residence.
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