| Joseph "Erap" Ejercito Estrada (born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937) is a Filipino politician who was the 13th President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001. He has been Mayor of the City of Manila, the country's capital, since 2013.[1]
Estrada gained popularity as a film actor, playing the lead role in over a hundred films in an acting career spanning some three decades. He used his popularity as an actor to make gains in politics, serving as mayor of San Juan for 16 years, as Senator for one term, then as Vice-President under President Fidel V. Ramos.
Estrada was elected President in 1998 with a wide margin of votes separating him from the other challengers, and was sworn into the presidency on June 30, 1998. In 2000 he declared an "all-out-war" against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and captured its headquarters and other camps.[2][3] However, allegations of corruption spawned an impeachment trial in the Senate, and in 2001 Estrada was ousted by "People Power 2" after the prosecution walked out of the impeachment court when the Senator-Judges voted "no" in the opening of the second envelope. The EDSA 2 protests resulted from the concerted efforts of political, business, military, and church elites who were displeased by Estrada's policies that included removal of sovereign guarantees on government contracts.[4] In October 2000, the Daily Tribune reported about elite plans to "'constitutionally' oust President Estrada under 'Oplan Excelsis."[5] Emil Jurado of the Manila Standard reported as early as 1999 about a PR demolition work designed to embarrass Estrada "by attributing to his administration all sorts of perceived faults and scams with the end in view of covering up anomalies and scams also committed during the Ramos administration." Former First Gentleman Mike Arroyo also admitted in an interview with Nick Joaquin that he and then-Ilocos Sur Gov. Chavit Singson and certain military officials plotted plans to oust Estrada in January 2001, with the alternative "plan B" being violent "with orders to shoot. And not only in Metro Manila."[6]
In 2007, Estrada was sentenced by the special division of the Sandiganbayan to reclusi�n perpetua for the plunder of stealing $80 million from the government and was sentenced a lifetime in prison, but was later grantedpardon by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. He ran for president again in the 2010 presidential election, but placed second behind Senator Benigno Aquino III.
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Joseph Ejercito Estrada was born at 8:25 PM on April 19, 1937 at Manuguit Maternity Hospital (now known as Amisola Maternity Hospital) in Tondo, an urban district of Manila.[7] His family later moved to the wealthy suburb of San Juan.[8] He belonged to an upper-middle-class family, and was the eighth of ten children of Emilio Ejercito and his wife, Maria Marcelo.[9] He was expelled during his primary studies at the Ateneo de Manila Universityand subsequently enrolled in an engineering course at the Map�a Institute of Technology in an effort to please his father, but dropped out.
In his twenties, he began a career as a drama actor. He adopted the stage name "Joseph Estrada", as his mother objected to his chosen career and his decision to quit schooling.[9] He also acquired the nickname "Erap" (a play on the Tagalog slang "pare", meaning 'buddy') from his friend, fellow actor Fernando Poe, Jr..
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