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Former President Joseph Estrada on Sunday refused to
rule out running
for re-election in 2010 but hinted that he might be content with the
role of kingmaker ahead of the vote.
In an interview at his home in
San Juan City, Estrada, who was released from jail last year,
alternately poked fun at his political misfortunes and repeated his
call for rival and incumbent leader Gloria Arroyo to step down.
“Honestly, I would just be in
the sidelines [to] unite the opposition,” said Estrada, who
remains the de facto head of the fractured opposition and who still
wields a considerable following among the majority poor.
Pressed on what the chances are
of his running again, he said: “50-50 percent.”
Estrada branded his critics,
including the business elite and the Roman Catholic Church,
“hypocrites” for describing him as a sinner for heavy drinking
and womanizing in the past.
A former action movie star,
Estrada took his fame into politics and became mayor in the 1960s.
He later became a senator, a vice-president and in 1998 won the
presidency with the biggest margin in history.
But surrounded by shady
characters with whom he discussed state policy over drinks,
Estrada’s regime was marked by massive corruption and
incompetence.
A popular revolt orchestrated by
the Church and the business elite, and backed by the military, cut
short his six-year term in 2001. He was replaced by his then
Vice-President Arroyo.
Estrada was jailed for life but
Mrs. Arroyo in September last year pardoned him, citing humanitarian
reasons.
 --AFP
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