The Philippine Online Chronicles

After almost being impeached and later on being convicted of plunder, albeit pardoned, Joseph Ejercito Estrada is back with a new movie and a second presidential bid, the latter leaving his legions of fans and supporters ecstatic, and his critics, among others, in an uproar, and me aghast. Leave the question of whether or not he could run again for president to the courts and join me in my crusade against his second bid for presidency, should it come to be. Start by being informed and inform the less knowledgeable.

Estrada’s political career began with a high note as the mayor of San Juan, serving for 16 years. He was an effective local official. He was once chosen as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) in Public Administration, was voted Outstanding Mayor and was made the “Most Outstanding Metro Manila Mayor.” From there, he became Vice President, and eventually, President. Let’s focus on the last position he held.

As President, political analysts credit him for almost solving the war in Mindanao, and for allowing the system to work. This is political analysts’ way of saying that Erap was a lame duck president—no wonder he has not made any significant contribution in addressing the major problems in our country.

A president should be knowledgeable about our country’s problems and should have a clear program of governance to go about solving it, not just motherhood statements and empty promises. The poor who catapulted him to the Presidency are still poor, and many of them have expressed their disillusionment.

Estrada did not have a clear program of governance the first time he ran, winning as he did by sheer popularity, and the unfortunate misplaced trust, if not our ignorance and political immaturity as voters. A President should not be overly reliant on presidential advisers and should he rely on them, he must pick credible and trustworthy ones. Just look at his former line-up of political advisers and the company he keeps. His program against corruption is ineffective and worse, he was part of the corruption! The man was convicted for plunder and by his own admission, for goodness’ sake. How soon can we forget the impeachment trials and the fact that for many years, the Philippines became a political laughingstock because of our bad choice of President?

Our choice of leaders is crucial in steering our nation in these difficult times. For certain, a president cannot single-handedly solve all our national woes but his is a key position in this all-important task. The president is our most powerful official, and a bad one spells disaster, if not doom. The presidency is not a position to be trifled with. History is replete with examples of this, and we need not look further than our own. If there is anything that history has taught us about Erap Estrada is that the shame will be on us a people if we let the likes of him fool us a second time around.

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