Ex-president shows his mettle on TV show

Manila: Waxing the same brand of brinkmanship and resolve that he had shown as a president of the Philippines, deposed leader Joseph Estrada gambled everything he had and lost.

All in the name of good fun, Estrada, during the evening game show "Deal or No Deal" August 1 episode, gambled an assured take home pot of 275,000 Philippine pesos (about Dh22,800) for a shot at the 500,000 peso prize - the result, he went home nearly broke with just 750 pesos in winnings. Estrada had endured several minutes of questions from host Kris Aquino. But at the end of the game where he had lost, he decided to shell out some of his own money so that the game show's beneficiaries would not be left with nothing.

"I will just add more money for the Bantay Bata," Estrada said, referring to a popular charity programme by the ABS-CBN Network. Estrada was playing the game, a local franchise of the popular American show, on behalf of the victims of child abuse.