EDITORIAL - Friends in need

If we are to believe President Estrada, he has been getting by mainly with a little help from his friends. According to the President, these friends lend him planes and luxury vehicles. They allow him and his mistresses to use their mansions and vacation homes. They even pay for the general upkeep of his women. No wonder he has defended his friends despite criticisms that cronyism is destroying his administration. He has only good cronies who contribute instead of steal from national coffers, the President said; if that’s what you call cronyism, then he wants more of these cronies.

As for properties registered under the name of the President and First Lady Luisa Ejercito, he maintains they were acquired through his legitimate earnings from investments and mo-vies. The ownership of the mansions and vacation homes will be determined at the impeachment trial – that is, if the National Bureau of Investigation hasn’t yet scared away potential witnesses with its own "probe" of the properties.

Whoever emerges as the real owners, however, there are some questions that must be answered. One is whether the President can receive such expensive gifts from his friends without violating laws on graft and corruption. Another question is what these friends get in return for their generosity. Given the power of the presidency, cultivating the friendship of the Chief Executive could ensure a major return on investment. One juicy contract, one substantial tax break, even an appointment to a peso-a-year post as presidential consultant and fortunes are made.

The President will probably sneer that this is a matter between friends. But where does one draw the line between Joseph Ejercito Estrada the President and Erap the buddy, the private individual blessed with generous friends? In pondering this question, the President need only ask himself: Will these friends be as benevolent if he’s plain Joseph Estrada, aging movie star? He’ll probably be left only with Fernando Poe Jr. and Dolphy. The rest will be falling all over themselves bearing gifts to whoever is ensconced at Malacañang.