Erap to host dinner for former Malaysian deputy PM, Cory

MANILA, Philippines – Pardoned former President Joseph Estrada will host tonight a dinner with former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and former Philippine President Corazon Aquino.

Estrada said he would welcome Ibrahim with a dinner, which will also be attended by Mrs. Aquino, at his house on Polk Street in North Greenhills, San Juan.

Estrada, however, refused to elaborate on the highlights of his meeting with Ibrahim and Aquino.

“I do not want to preempt our dinner meeting. But we will meet tomorrow night in my house,” Estrada said yesterday.

But in an earlier interview over abs-cbnNEWS.com, Estrada said he would discuss with Ibrahim and Aquino their respective problems in Malaysia and the Philippines.

“We’ll have dinner with Cory (and discuss) our respective countries’ problems, talk about general views of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations),” Estrada told abs-cbnNEWS.com.

Estrada said that considering the short visit of Ibrahim, he might not be able to take him on a tour of the country.

Ibrahim and his wife Azizah and two other Malaysian nationals arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport from Kuala Lumpur and were met by businessman Fernando Peña, honorary consul to the Philippines of the Republic of Estonia.

“I was touched by the kindness of President Estrada and was pleased to come back and eager to see him after a long break,” Ibrahim said during a brief interview upon his arrival.

He said that he and his wife would also visit former President Aquino, after hearing that she had been stricken with cancer.

“Of course, Azizah and myself are interested to meet up with Cory Aquino since she has been unwell and we would be inquiring about her health,” Ibrahim added.

Ibrahim is expected to be busy during his Manila visit and he and Estrada have a lot to talk about.

“As you know, we were former prisoners,” Estrada said.

Ibrahim was detained from 1999 to 2004 after he was found guilty of corruption and sodomy, while Estrada was jailed for six years and six months for plunder.

Ibrahim was freed in 2004 while Estrada was released from detention in his rest house in Tanay, Rizal in October 2007 after President Arroyo pardoned him.

Estrada’s spokeswoman Margaux Salcedo said Ibrahim will also attend a forum entitled “Islam, Politics and the Prospects for Peace” at the RCBC Plaza in Makati.

“This (visit) is primarily for a social visit to old friends, including former President Estrada, and to attend a forum at the RCBC Makati,” Salcedo said.    – With Rudy Santos