Estrada refuses to pull out of presidential race

Manila: Former president Joseph Estrada will not back out of the presidential race, his chief political ally Senator Juan Ponce Enrile has said.

"If others are expecting Estrada to back off from his presidential bid, they are mistaken. Erap [Estrada's show business and political monicker] is pushing through with his attempt to get the presidency," Enrile, the incumbent Senate President was quoted in an interview by radio station dzBB.

Enrile revealed that presidential candidates Senators Benigno ‘Noynoy' Aquino and Manuel Villar had urged Estrada on separate occasions to back out from the race. However, both Aquino and Villar's spokespersons have denied this.

Reports over Estrada's alleged plan to withdraw came in the wake of surveys that saw the former leader trail Aquino and Villar.

Risk

A total of 10 candidates are vying for the country's top executive post. They include former defence secretary Gilberto ‘Gibo' Teodoro, Senators Richard Gordon and Anna Consuelo ‘Jamby' Madrigal, Eddie Villanueva, Nicanor Perlas, Vitallano Acosta and John Carlos ‘JC' delos Reyes.

Estrada is running for the presidency despite the risk that his candidacy could later on be declared null by the courts. Estrada was elected president in 1998, winning by the widest margin ever for any elected Philippine president. However, he was forced to step down in January 2001 after an uprising.

The former 1950s matinee idol-turned public official had been hounded by accusations that he took bribes from underground lottery syndicates and that he had a hand in several shady transactions his business friends had with the government.

In September 2008 he was sentenced to life imprisonment by a specially formed anti-graft court. A month later, he was pardoned by his successor, incumbent President Gloria Arroyo. The executive clemency was given on the condition that Estrada would not engage in any attempts to undermine the government.

Legality

Observers said the government can at any time invoke the conditions of Estrada's clemency.

Aside from this, if Estrada wins in the May 2010 elections, lawyers can challenge the legality of his presidency.

A provision in the country's constitution bars an elected president from seeking re-election.