Joseph Estrada Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Joseph Estrada, original name Joseph Marcelo Ejercito, and widely known as Erap (born April 19, 1937) is a popular film actor in the Philippines and was the 13th President of the Republic of the Philippines from June 30, 1998 to January 20, 2001.
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Born in Manila, he dropped out of college to pursue acting, which so displeased his family that he was forced to adopt the surname Estrada. As an actor he acquired the nickname Erap (from the reversed spelling of pare, Filipino slang for 'pal'). He often played heroes of the downtrodden classes, which gained him the admiration of a lot of the nation's many impoverished citizens and thus later proved advantageous to his political career. He was the mayor of San Juan municipality in Metro Manila between 1969 and 1986.
After Corazon Aquino assumed the presidency, following the ouster of Ferdinand Marcos in the EDSA Revolution of 1986, President Aquino removed all officials of the local government and replaced them with her appointed officers-in-charge. Estrada was then removed from his position as mayor. He ran and won a seat in the Senate the following year under his own party, Partido ng Masang Pilipino.
In the 1992 presidential election Estrada initially intended to run for President but later decided to be the running mate of Eduardo Cojuangco of the Nationalist People's Coalition. Estrada won the vice-presidency although Cojuangco was defeated by Fidel Ramos of the LAKAS party. Shortly after the inauguration of Ramos, he appointed Estrada to head the Presidential Anti-Crime Commission (PACC) even though Estrada was from the political opposition.
In the 1998 presidential election, Estrada ran and soundly won as President over his closest rival, Jose De Venecia. Estrada's running mate, Edgardo Angara, was defeated by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. During the campaign, Estrada's political rivals tried but failed to discredit him while publicizing his womanizing, drinking and gambling.
Estrada was inaugurated on June 30, 1998. However, his presidency was soon dogged by charges of plunder and corruption, and he was rumored to spend long hours drinking with shady characters. In October 2000, an acknowledged gambling racketeer, Luis Singson, governor of the province of Ilocos Sur, alleged that he had personally given Estrada the sum of 400 million pesos as payoff from illegal gambling profits. Singson's allegation caused an uproar all over the nation, which culminated in Estrada's impeachment by the House of Representatives in November of 2000. He was the first Philippine President be impeached. The articles of impeachment were then transmitted to the Senate and an impeachment court was formed, with the Chief Justice, Hilario Davide, Jr., as presiding officer.
During the trial, the prosecution (composed of congressmen and private prosecutors) presented witnesses and evidence to the impeachment court regarding Estrada's involvement in illegal gambling and his maintenance of secret bank accounts. However, the president's brilliant legal team (composed of a former chief justice, former congressman, former solicitor-general and other lawyers) was quick to deny these allegations and did its best to destroy the claims of the witnesses during cross-examination.
On January 16, 2001, the impeachment court, whose majority were political allies of Estrada, voted not to open an envelope that was said to contain incriminating evidence against the president. The prosecution panel walked out of the impeachment court in protest of this vote. That night, anti-Estrada protesters gathered on the historical EDSA highway. A political turmoil ensued and the clamor for Estrada's resignation became stronger than ever.
On January 19, 2001, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, seeing the political upheaval throughout the country, decided to withdraw its support from the president and transfer its allegiance to the vice-president. Without military support, and with mass resignations from his cabinet, Estrada's government quickly fell.
On January 20, 2001, the Supreme Court declared the presidency vacant and the Chief Justice swore in the constitutional successor, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, as the 14th President of the Republic. Estrada and his family were quickly evacuated from the presidential palace. The overthrow of Estrada has been popularly known as EDSA II.
Estrada returned to his old home in San Juan where he constantly maintained that he never resigned and therefore implying that Arroyo's government was illegitimate, despite the fact that the international community recognized Arroyo's succession and that all government offices, the military and the national police acknowledged Arroyo as the new president.
The new government charged him with plunder and had him arrested in April. Estrada's supporters among the poor marched straight to the presidential palace and demanded Estrada's release and reinstatement as president. Violence erupted and the government declared a state of rebellion. Many of Estrada's supporters, even the politicians who were accused of provoking the anti-government protests, were arrested. The government called out the military and was able to quash the rebellion.
Estrada is currently detained in a military facility outside of Manila and is still facing the charges of plunder and corruption. Under Filipino law, plunder has a maximum penalty of death or life imprisonment so Estrada is fighting hard to be acquitted of those charges. He supported his best friend, fellow actor Fernando Poe, Jr, in the presidential election of 2004 against incumbent Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, in which Poe lost.
Estrada's trial is far from over as numerous witnesses and evidence have been presented by the prosecution and a fierce repudiation is expected from Estrada's lawyers. The verdict may not come out for many years. This is an Article on Joseph Estrada. Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About Joseph Estrada Early life
Vice-Presidency
Presidency
Post-presidency