Will Estrada run on 2008?

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By : Francis Earl A. Cueto, Reporter | Manila Times

Not running

Estrada said he is no longer keen on making a return to the Palace as the chief executive as he dashed rising speculations that he will pursue plans to join the race in the 2010 presidential elections.

Estrada said he doesn’t wish to return to Malacañang after he was unceremoniously kicked out in 2001 by the second popular EDSA uprising that installed his predecessor, his Vice-President Gloria Arroyo.

“I am not running. Somebody else is running,” the 70-year-old Estrada said.

A newspaper report earlier said former Sen. Ernesto Maceda, a close Estrada ally and a leader of the United Opposition, was quoted as saying that the former president would run if the opposition fails to unite the “five or six” presidential aspirants.

The five aspirants are Senate President Manuel Villar Jr., Senators Panfilo Lacson, Loren Legarda and Francis Escudero and Mayor Jejomar Binay of Makati.

Estrada said he will merely be a supporter of the official opposition running candidate, as he hinted that his choice for a candidate will be made with the help of the popular surveys.

He also clarified that the gift-giving activities he and his allies have been conducting for the past days is not part of any political campaign.

Estrada, along with his wife Loi, Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, former Sen. Ernesto Maceda and defeated Batangas Governor Ricky Recto, started giving away food packages, containing rice, cans of sardines and other food items, in the Baseco Compound.

Ronaldo Lumbao, president of People’s Movement Against Poverty (PMAP), was also seen with the Estrada group during the gift-giving activity.

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