Comelec Clears Erap Run

[Mr Lee]

Estrada:

[Travis]

I think Erap would be a good pres for the poor & I am pretty sure he would get to the bottom of much of the illegally spent money & charge those who were responsible for him being put in jail

[TheMason]

Estrada: 'Decision lifts cloud of doubt on candidacy. All systems go'It's all systems go for former President Joseph "Erap" Estrada's second run for the presidency, a post he first held in 1998 only to be aborted by a coup d'etat instigated by the elite civil society and backed by treacherous military chiefs. All arguments, rumors and innuendoes that Estrada is banned from running for the presidency again, or that he is withdrawing from the race, came to a stop after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday junked the three petitions filed last December seeking the disqualification of the former leader and in the process allowed Estrada to run in this year's presidential elections.Link to the complete storyWhile politics of the Philippines are none of my business, I wonder what people think about Erap becoming the next president? And I really wonder what his first move will be regarding the current president, would he have her arrested or just let her be?

So, I did not live in the Philippines when Erap was president and I only have old news stories and info I've heard from family to go on but....As I understand it, Erap was ousted for taking money from organized crime figures running the illegal numbers game or lottery. The people that gave the information that led to his arrest and conviction were criminals from the Pampanga area. The Vice President at the time was GMA, who is, coincidentally, from Pampanga and has her political base there. That is enough of a coincidence to make me think that there were dirty tricks involved with ousting and jailing Erap and GMA gaining the Presidency. If Erap were elected again, I think he would return the favor.