Joseph Estrada

This article is about the person Erap, a nickname of Joseph Estrada. For the French investment company Erap, see ERAP .

Joseph Estrada 1998

Joseph Estrada (also Erap ) (born April 19, 1937 in Tondo ), actually: José Marcelo Ejército , is a Filipino actor and politician. He was Vice President of the Philippines from May 11, 1992 to June 30, 1998, and then President of the Philippines until January 20, 2001 . He was the Mayor of Manila from 2013 to 2019 .

Life

He was born in Tondo, now a suburb of the capital Manila , into a lower-middle-class family. He studied at the Ateneo de Manila University , but left it and went on to study engineering at the Mapua Institute of Technology . He then also dropped out of his studies to become an actor.

He played the leading role in more than 100 films, mostly that of the avenger of the oppressed. These roles made him popular with the people, which helped his later political career. In 1968 he was elected mayor of the city of San Juan in Metro Manila . He held this office until 1986, when the new President Corazon Aquino removed him from office because of a suspicion of corruption that has never been proven.

In 1991 he founded the Fight of the Filipino Masses (LMP) party.

In 1992 he ran for the office of Vice President. He won as Vice President, while the presidency went to Fidel Ramos , who ran for another party. Ramos gave Estrada the role of head of the Presidential Anti-Crime Commission.

In 2013 he was elected Mayor of Manila . In 2019 he was clearly defeated in the mayoral election and lost office.

Election to president

In 1998 Estrada won the presidential election by a long way behind the runner-up. Its electorate consisted largely of the common people who felt increasingly alienated from the wealthy elite of the Philippines and saw in Estrada a man of the people. Estrada's PR people built on his popular image that he had built up over decades through his films. Vice-president became Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and not Estrada's list partner Eduardo Angara .

Estrada made itself increasingly unpopular with the country's elite. He angered the military by appointing the first civilian in the country's history as defense minister. He appointed a former communist minister for agrarian reforms, which snubbed the oligarchy of big landowners.

Estrada's consistent action against some clans in Mindanao who built up private armies like "warlords" (e.g. the Ampatuans) proved to be farsighted. In November 2009, the Ampatuan clan reportedly initiated a massacre of political rivals in Mindanao, which sparked worldwide reactions.

Corruption and bribery allegations

Accusations of corruption and enrichment continued to be launched, until in 2000 the dubious Chavit Singson, governor of Ilocos Sur, who was known for his business in the field of illegal gambling, claimed that he had paid Estrada 400 million pesos from the proceeds of an illegal, a lottery-like gambling game called Jueteng and 180 million pesos from tobacco growing subsidies. This led to impeachment proceedings against Estrada. However, the surveys, which were only carried out in 2006, have shown that Estrada did not give in to illegal inquiries and possibly for this reason was in the way of the powerful family clans.

Impeachment proceedings

On January 16, 2001, the impeachment court, which consisted mostly of Estrada supporters, decided not to open a letter with potentially incriminating material. A former Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) official , Federico Manrique, testified in 2007 that he had been asked to provide false information about Estrada's corruption.

resignation

Mass protests fueled by the old family clans and parts of the Catholic Church led to the refusal of support by the army. On January 19, 2001, she openly switched to the side of the previous Vice President, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who thanked the army immediately after the change with salary increases and other perks. In 2006 a film about the life of Estrada was released, which caused great excitement for the Arroyo government because a. It is documented that Arroyo had already been preparing the illegal change of power for a year. The current government would only allow the broadcast if all sections relating to Estrada's presidency and his impeachment were removed.

In the meantime, the chairman of the Bishops' Conference, Angel Lagdameo, described the support for these mass protests as a "mistake". ("Sadly, People Power II installed a leader who lately has been branded as the 'most corrupt' and our government is rated 'among the most corrupt governments'")

Former President Corazon Aquino also apologized to Estrada in 2008 for her role in his fall. ("She is 'also guilty of being part of the Edsa Dos' that ousted then President Estrada. She said“ Lahat naman tayo ay nagkakamali. Patawarin mo na lang ako ”(We all make mistakes. Please forgive me). At this point , President Erap stood up, bowed to her and clasped his hands in an Asian gesture of thank you. (The Daily Tribune December 24, 2008)

Macapagal-Arroyo is sworn in as the successor to Estrada

On January 20, 2001, the Supreme Court of the Philippines declared the presidency in an international criteria barely withstanding decision for vacant and sworn in Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as president. Estrada quickly left the presidential palace.

Although formally one must speak of a coup , Arroyo was accepted internationally as the new president, especially by the USA. Estrada never recognized Arroyo's presidency. He was arrested in April 2001 and was under house arrest until 2007.

In 2004 he supported his friend Fernando Poe Jr. in the presidential candidacy. Poe passed away shortly after the election. The government also spoke of murder by poisoning.

According to the government, on May 1, 2006, a violent uprising would break out. Obviously, it was a pretext to prevent the expected mass demonstrations against the President, who has meanwhile been extremely unpopular in the Philippines, which only partially succeeded.

Before that, on February 24, 2006, there was an alleged attempted coup in the Philippines. A few younger military officers in particular had withdrawn their support from President Arroyo. However, security forces arrested the military who were critical of the government.

Legal proceedings against Estrada

On September 12, 2007, Estrada was found guilty of corruption and sentenced to life house arrest . Opposition lawyers as well as Estrada himself question both the jurisdiction of the court and the conviction without evidence. (Compilation of legal questions e.g. by Alan F. Paguia, Daily Tribune September 13, 2007). The Archbishop of Manila, known as Arroyo opponent, Oscar V. Cruz, clearly showed the government's dilemma before his conviction between acquittal - according to surveys expected by the majority of Filipinos - which would then confirm the illegitimacy of the current government, and one Guilty verdict that could lead to an "EDSA IV". In October 2007, Estrada was granted an unconditional “pardon” by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Candidate for the 2010 Philippine presidential election

Estrada ran for the presidential election , which took place on May 10, 2010, with its own party Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP). As with his first election victory, he tried again to win over the impoverished masses. He focused on security policy, with Estrada presenting himself as a law-and-order representative and announcing tough measures against the rebels in the south. However, he was defeated by his competitor Benigno Aquino III.

His son Jose Pimentel Ejercito junior is also a politician and was a member of the Senate and its president pro tempore .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Neue Zürcher Zeitung: Devastating defeat of the Estrada clan
2. ↑ Daily Tribune, December 4, 2009 "... Erap rejected Ampatuans" by HTLaurel
3. ↑ http://www.tribune.net.ph/20060630/headlines/20060630hed3.html
4. ↑ http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20070831hed1.html  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
5. ↑ Daily Tribune August 30, 2006, http://www.tribune.net.ph/20060830/commentary/20060830com1.html
6. ↑ http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/20080220hed1.html
7. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
8. ^ Daily Tribune September 13, 2007
9. ↑ Tribune of March 31, 2010 Archive link ( Memento of the original from April 5, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
10. ↑ Deutschlandradio: After a decade under President Arroyo, the Filipinos are facing another election , May 8, 2010

Web links

• rulers.org
• Joseph Estrada in theInternet Movie Database(English)