Estrada's wish: Opposition unity

MANILA, Philippines - Former President Joseph Estrada voiced hopes that the opposition will soon be united in time for next year’s general elections.

However, Estrada criticized Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. for expressing concern over who the leader of the opposition really is.

Pimentel was quoted as saying in a report that he was in “quandary” over the real political affiliation of those who claim to be members of the opposition.

Estrada, who turns 72 today, said Pimentel should not feel bothered because in the Philippine Constitution and political system, there is a multi-party system and that is normal.

“He (Pimentel) should get used to it (a multi-party system). In fact he (Pimentel) has his own party, PDP-Laban,” said Estrada in an exclusive interview with The STAR Friday night at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM) graduation ceremonies, where he was the special guest speaker.

“Under our Constitution, nawala na ang two-party system. You have to live by it, unless a new constitution would be enacted,” he added.

Estrada, however, hopes that in the near future, this would be changed, and that there would only be one opposition party to unite everybody under this party.

“It is not a question of having one head. It is a question of having only two parties – opposition and the administration party,” said Estrada.

When asked if he would run for president again, Estrada reiterated that he would if the opposition does not unite.

“I’m trying my best to unite. But it seems that up to now, we are not united. But it is too early. Let all presidential candidates feel for themselves if they are winnable,” said Estrada.

He said they would eventually unite, just like what happened in the 2007 elections when in the end, they were able to unite the opposition.

“That’s why we had the majority of the senators winning. And majority of the local officials won in key cities of Metro Manila – Alfredo Lim, (Enrico) Echeverri, Peewee Trinidad. We had many. We were able to unify the whole opposition,” he said.

Estrada said the initial list he gave as possible candidates for the presidential and senatorial positions contained “just probable candidates” and there might be changes.

Estrada said they might finalize the list by October this year.

On Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim’s wish to join the United Opposition, Estrada said he is welcome to join them.

“If he wants to. I still do not know. But this would depend on the executive committee. I do not dictate. This would depend on the collegial body composed of the executive committee of the opposition,” he said.

At a weekly Kapihan sa Senado forum, Pimentel said that with the 2010 elections fast approaching, some senators were “straddling both horses in the presidential race.”

Pimentel had called for a “national unification convention” so that the opposition could choose a single standard-bearer for next year’s presidential election.

Estrada also hit the Arroyo administration for the bad economy made worse by numerous cases of corruption.

“It would be an understatement to say that our country today is faced with many problems, burdens, difficulties, and hardships. The global financial crisis has created worldwide economic problems of unprecedented proportions,” he said.

“This generation is a witness to the worst economic crisis since the great depression of the 1930s. Even the most advanced economies in the world such as Japan have dipped into recession or are moving toward it,” Estrada told the PLM graduates during the commencement rites.

The corruption scandals of the present administration and the global financial crisis have had major implications on the Philippine economy, he said.

He said the country’s growth rate is expected to go down to two percent this year, the worst since the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s.

“This is also because funds that should be used to alleviate poverty are going into the pockets of corrupt government officials under this administration,” he said.

Estrada said education has also been gravely neglected. While the Constitution mandates that education must be valued and given the highest priority in the national budget, unfortunately, this constitutional provision is all too often violated at the expense of the youth and the nation’s future, he said.