Erap fears his pet ducks may soon talk back to him

Is former President Joseph Estrada quacking up?

Detained at his Tanay, Rizal rest house and prevented from seeing most visitors due to heightened security after fresh coup rumors, Estrada joked that his closest friends now are the ducks on his private farm.

"Walang akong kausap dito kundi mga pato ko. Baka magsalita na ang mga pato sa akin balang araw (I have nobody to talk to here except my ducks and I fear that the ducks might talk back to me someday)!" Estrada quipped the other day.

Through his lawyers led by former senator Rene Saguisag, Estrada — who faces plunder charges before the Sandiganbayan — recently filed a petition reiterating his desire to post bail and be granted provisional liberty. He deplored anew the "isolation" being imposed upon him under the "no visitor" rule at his estate in Tanay, where he is under house arrest.

"Why do they isolate me? Is it because I get higher popularity rating even while I am just taking care of my ducks here?" Estrada said sarcastically. He was referring to polls showing President Arroyo’s popularity had recently dropped lower than the ousted leader’s.

Estrada has been detained for the past four years on charges that he amassed hundreds of millions of pesos illegally, a non-bailable offense.

The detained former president lamented that his police guards in Tanay have been more strict about implementing the "no visitor" rule after he spoke to the media about fresh coup plots being sown against Mrs. Arroyo by no less than her former EDSA II allies, including retired military generals like ex-defense secretary Fortunato Abat.

After Estrada blew the whistle on them, Abat and his fellow retired generals launched the so-called Coalition for National Salvation last April 30 at Club Filipino in San Juan, a movement that openly called for the ouster of Mrs. Arroyo.

A day after his exposé against Abat and his group, Estrada noted with dismay that his guards had once again confiscated his cellular phone, which he complained was his only link to the outside world.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita earlier told The STAR they had received intelligence information that Estrada, contrary to his denials, was providing "logistical support" to the rumored destabilization attempts against the Arroyo administration. This, he said, justified the new security restrictions for the detained former president.

Estrada did get to see the world outside his Tanay estate earlier this month when the Sandiganbayan approved his petition to join his mother’s centennial birthday held at the Manila Hotel. The few hours of temporary freedom were precious, but even then, he couldn’t stop boasting that he would be a "free man" by next year — leading to speculation that an amnesty deal was cooking with Malacañang.

And when he returned to Tanay after his furlough, Estrada told The STAR, the visitation rights were canceled anew.

Even though he has since managed to obtain a new cellular phone — without going into details as to how he got it — Estrada complained that it is now getting too expensive for him to talk to people outside.

"Kaya lang nauubusan lagi ako ng load (My load always gets used up)!" Estrada fretted. "So I have not talked to anybody since then."

Then again, maybe talking too much is what gets him into trouble.