The Filipino Profiles

Joseph Marcelo Ejercito, popularly known as Erap, was born on April 19, 1937 in Tondo, the poorest district of Manila. He belonged to an upper middle class family, and was the eighth of ten children of Emilio Ejercito, a government engineer, and his wife Maria Marcelo. He finished his primary studies at the Ateneo de Manila University, but was expelled in his sophomore year of high school for unruly behavior. He went to Mapúa Institute of Technology to continue schooling with an engineering course, but dropped out from studies altogether two years later.

Estrada gained popularity as a film actor, playing the lead role in over 100 films in an acting career spanning 33 years. He leveraged his popularity as an actor to make gains in politics, serving as mayor of San Juan for seventeen years, as Senator for one term, then as Vice President of the Philippines under the administration of President Fidel Ramos.

Estrada was elected President in 1998 with a wide margin of votes separating him from the other challengers, and was sworn into the presidency on June 30, 1998. However, allegations of corruption spawned an impeachment trial in the Senate, and in 2001 Estrada was ousted from power after the trial was aborted. In 2007, he was found guilty of plunder and sentenced to reclusion perpetua, but was later granted a pardon by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Estrada was inaugurated on June 30, 1998 in the historical town of Malolos in Bulacan province in paying tribute to the cradle of the First Philippine Republic. That afternoon the new president delivered his inaugural address at the Quirino Grandstand in Luneta. He assumed office amid the Asian Financial Crisis and with agricultural problems due to poor weather conditions, thereby slowing the economic growth to -0.6% in 1998 from a 5.2% in 1997. The economy recovered by 3.4% in 1999 and 4% in 2000. In 2000 he declared an “all-out-war” against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and captured it’s headquarters and other camps. However, allegations of corruption spawned an impeachment trial in the Senate, and in 2001 Estrada was ousted from power after the trial was aborted.

In his Inaugural Address, Estrada said:

“One hundred years after Kawit, fifty years after independence, twelve years after EDSA, and seven years after the rejection of foreign bases, it is now the turn of the masses to experience liberation. We stand in the shadow of those who fought to make us free- free from foreign domination, free from domestic tyranny, free from superpower dictation, free from economic backwardness.”

Early into his presidency President Estrada removed all sovereign guarantees which would require the sovereign Filipino people to assume the financial losses of private companies doing business with the government. His programs as president was under the name “Angat-Pinoy 2004″. On the day he took office, a new agency in government called the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), which institutionalizes the processes of the Social Reform Agenda (SRA) in order to sustain its gains, Joseph Estrada became its first chairman. The law also mandates the NAPC to enhance the programs, approaches and strategies to strengthen the partnership between government and the basic sectors. In terms of peace and order, President Estrada created the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) with the objective of minimizing, if not totally eradicating, car theft and kidnapping in Metro Manila. With the help of this task force, the Philippine National Police for the first time in history achieved a record-high trust rating of +53 percent. Panfilo Lacson was its first head. President Estrada also created the Presidential Commission for Mass Housing (PCMH) and with the help of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) provided 190,000 households with housing units, construction and improvement of roads and bridges, and construction of classrooms. The president also proposed improvements to the curricula to meet both global standards and local needs, and controlled the hiking prices of transportation fair, food and medicine. In 1999, President Estrada signed into law and implemented Republic Act no. 8749, better known as Clean Air Act, which “The State shall promote and protect the global environment to attain sustainable development while recognizing the primary responsibility of local government units to deal with environmental problems”. Also on September the same year, he issued Executive Order(EO) 151, also known as Farmer’s Trust Fund, which allows the voluntary consolidation of small farm operation into medium and large scale integrated enterprise that can access long-term capital. President Estrada launched the Magkabalikat Para sa Kaunlarang Agraryo or MAGKASAKA. The DAR forged into joint ventures with private investors into agrarian sector to make FBs competitive. In 2000 he formed the Information Technology and Electronic Commerce Council (ITECC) by the virtue of Executive Order No. 264 with the objective to lead the Philippines’s ICT industry by providing a clearly defined direction through strong and capable leadership^.

The Estrada administration upheld the foreign policy thrusts of the Ramos administration, focusing on national security, economic diplomacy, assistance to nationals, and image-building. The Philippines continued to be at the forefront of the regional and multilateral arena. It successfully hosted the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in July 1998 and undertook confidence-building measures with China over South China Sea issue through a meeting in March 1999. President Estrada strengthened bilateral ties with neighboring countries with visits to Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea.

On 1999 a Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States, which was ratified in the Senate. The country also sent a delegation of 108 observers to the Indonesian parliamentary elections, and engaged in cooperative activities in the areas of security, defense, combating transnational crimes, economy, culture, and the protection of OFWs and Filipinos abroad.

Other Information

• Born : April 19, 1937
• Birthplace: Tondo, Manila
• Birth name : Jose Marcelo Ejercito
• Also known as : Erap
• Father: Emilio Liza Ejercito, Sr.
• Mother: Mary Marcelo
• Nationality : Filipino
• Schoolos Attended :
  • Ateneo de Manila High School
  • Mapua Institute of Technology
• Political party : Laban ng Makabayang Masang Pilipino (1998-present)
• Other political affiliations : Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (1986),Partido ng Masang Pilipino/ Nationalist People’s Coalition (1992),Laban ng Makabayang Masang Pilipino (1998-present)
• Spouse : Luisa Pimentel, MD
• Children:
  • Jose (“Jinggoy”) Ejercito, Jr.
  • Jacqueline Ejercito
  • Jude Ejercito
  • Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito
• Profession : Professional Actor
• Religion : Roman Catholic

Positions held

Government

• Mayor of San Juan, Metro Manila, 1969
• Philippine Senator, 1970
• Philippine Vice-President, June 30, 1992 to June 30, 1998
• Philippine President, June 30, 1998 to

Notable Events

• Perjury case (2008)
• Pardon and release from detention (2007)
• EDSA II Revolution (2005)
• Impeachment by the House of Representatives (2001)
• All-out-war against the MILF, (March 21, 2000)

Awards and achievements

• 1962 FAMAS Best Actor for Markang Rehas
• 1964 FAMAS Best Actor for Geron Busabos
• 1966 FAMAS Best Actor for Ito ang Pilipino
• 1969 FAMAS Best Actor for Patria Adorada
• 1971 Outstanding Mayor and foremost Nationalist by the Inter-Provincial Information Service
• 1972 One of the Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) in Public Administration by the Philippine Jaycees
• 1981 FAMAS Best Actor for Kumander Alibasbas
• 1981 FAMAS Hall of Fame
• 2007 Most Outstanding Citizen of San Juan