Estrada on GMA, the TV star: Seductive

Deposed President Joseph Estrada may be facing plunder charges that could warrant the death penalty if his ailing knees and eyes don’t kill him first, but this doesn’t stop him from appreciating the latest "info-mercials" of his successor.

"Seductive," Estrada said, chuckling, when asked how he finds President Arroyo’s television spot where the cameras zoom in on her face and she begs in a highly emotional voice: "Kailangan ko kayo!"

The second in a series of the Inang Bayan info-mercials of Mrs. Arroyo, in which she appeals for her countrymen’s help, was aired Sunday, a day after it was taped in state-run NBN-Channel 4.

Estrada, however, expressed appreciation for Mrs. Arroyo’s efforts to continue what he started, including regular radio-TV programs to reach out and connect with the people.

The ad is a brainchild of the President’s chief publicist, Dante Ang, after she decided to scrap her regular Saturday morning program, "May Gloria ang Bukas Mo."

Estrada noted that "May Gloria" was obviously patterned after his own "Jeep ni Erap," both of them airing on the same time slot.

"Pero mas tumagal naman ang programa ko (But my show lasted longer)," he quipped.

Mrs. Arroyo decided to scrap "May Gloria" after only 19 episodes.

Yesterday, Mrs. Arroyo launched her new radio program, "Panawagan ng Pangulo," aired from Malacañang with news anchormen from major stations in Metro Manila.

She said she prefers this new format of her program, which airs Mondays from 7:30 to 8 a.m.

"I think a radio program on an early morning weekday is better," she said.

Mrs. Arroyo said she found it too "dragging" having to conduct a 90-minute radio-TV program every Saturday morning, in effect competing for viewership with the children’s shows.

Estrada also got tired of his weekly one and a half hour radio-TV show, that he resorted to calling up early morning radio programs where he said the possibility of being misquoted was nil because he talked directly to the public.