Joseph Marcelo Ejercito Estrada - Presidential Candidate

Joseph Marcelo Ejercito Estrada (Jose Marcelo Ejercito) was born on April 19, 1937 in Tondo Manila. He was the eight of the ten children of Engr. Emilio Ejercito, a government engineer and to Maria Marcelo. Joseph Estrada took his primary education at the Jesuit-run Ateneo de Manila University and he later took up an Engineering course at the Mapua Institute of Technology.

In his twenties, Estrada gained his popularity as a film actor and was popularly known as “Erap” given by his good friend Fernando Poe Jr. which means “pare” or buddy. He shoots more than 100 films and received five-time Best Actor awards. Through those awards he earns a place in the FAMAS Hall of Fame.

He used his popularity as an actor in running for politics. He serves as a Mayor in San Juan for seventeen years. During his term as Mayor in San Juan, he paid particular attention to education by renovating and improving school building. He is the Founder and President of the ERAP Para sa Mahirap Foundation, a foundation that offers scholarship assistance to poor but deserving college students. Through the foundation’s educational grants, more than a thousand students have since earned a college degree. As a Senator for one term, he passed major pieces of legislation, among of this are the bills on irrigation project and the protection and propagation of carabaos. He was also appointed as Chairman of the Committee on Public Works, Vice-Chairman of the Committees on Health, and Natural Resources and Ecology and Urban Planning. In 1992 he won as a Vice President of the Philippines under the administration of President Fidel Ramos and was designated as Presidential Adviser on Crime Prevention and Law. And in 1998 he became the 13^th President of the Philippines. During his administration as president he was accused as being corrupt and led him to an impeachment trial in the Senate and was ousted from power in 2001. In 2007, he was found guilty of plunder and sentenced to reclusion perpetua, but was later granted a pardon by President Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo.

Election Plans for 2010:

Kaya’t sa puntong ito, sa huling yugto ng aking buhay, wala na akong hinihiling o hihilingin pa kung hindi ang masaksihan ang katuparan ng pangarap ng mga mahihirap, ng masang pilipino.

This is the last performance of my life. And I will not fail you.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Estrada

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