Friday, November 21, 2008

Curriculum Vitae of Former Pres. Joseph Estrada


Jose Marcelo Ejercito (born on April 19, 1937), better known as Joseph Ejercito Estrada or Erap, is a film actor in the Philippines and was the 13th President of the Philippines from June 30, 1998 to January 20, 2001. He was peacefully overthrown by the Second People Power Revolution after his aborted impeachment trial in the Senate, where eleven Philippine senators refused to examine the second envelope of the Jose Velarde bank account that would supposedly prove acts of political corruption. On April 4, 2001, the trial of Estrada began as Ombudsman Aniano Desierto filed before the Sandiganbayan, a Philippine anti-graft court, a PHP 4-billion plunder suit and a minor perjury charge for falsely declaring his assets and illegally using the Jose Velarde alias. On September 12, 2007, he became the first Philippine President to be convicted of a crime after the Sandiganbayan found him guilty of plunder, which is punishable by reclusion perpetua.He was detained in his Tanay, Rizal resthouse but then pardoned by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on October 25, 2007.

José Marcelo Ejército was born in Tondo, one of the poorest parts of Manila. He is the son of Emilio Ejército, Sr. (1898-1977), a small-scale government contractor, and María Marcelo (born 1905), a housewife. He is the brother of Antonio Ejercito (1932-2005) and Emilio Ejercito, Jr. (George Estregan) (1928-1999)

Ejército graduated from elementary at the Ateneo de Manila in 1951. He was later expelled from high school at the same institution for disciplinary reasons. He pursued college education at the Mapúa Institute of Technology before dropping out of school altogether. Dropping out of college and involvement in a street gang so displeased his family that they forbade him from using his family name. He adopted the surname "Estrada" (Spanish for 'platform') as a last name. As an actor he acquired the nickname "Erap" (from the reversed spelling of pare, Filipino slang for 'pal' or 'buddy'). He played the lead role in more than 100 movies, and was producer of over 70 films. He was the first FAMAS Hall of Fame awardee for Best Actor (1981) and also became a Hall of Fame award-winner as a producer (1983). He often played heroes of the downtrodden classes, which gained him the admiration of a lot of the nation's many unschooled and impoverished citizens. This later proved advantageous to his political career.

He is married to (the former Doctor and first lady-turned-senator) Luisa Pimentel and had three children by her: Jose Ejercito, Jr. (better known as "Jinggoy Estrada"; former Mayor of San Juan turned Senator/married to Precy Vitug), Jackie Ejercito (married to Beaver Lopez), and Jude Ejercito (married to Weng Ocampo). Joseph Estrada met his wife Loi while working as an orderly at the National Center for Mental Health (NMCH) in Mandaluyong City.

He also had a child from an out-of-wedlock relationship, Joseph Victor "JV" Ejercito (from socialite Guia Gómez) who also made a name for himself in Philippine politics by following his father's footsteps as the current mayor of San Juan City. Pagsanjan, Laguna Mayor Emilio Ramon Ejercito III, known in Philippine showbiz as George Estregan, Jr. or E.R. Ejercito, is his nephew.

During the 2000 impeachment proceedings, reports of Estrada's numerous out-of-marriage relationships and offspring surfaced in the press.As an actor with no prior political experience, Estrada ran for mayor of San Juan, a municipality of Metro Manila, in 1968 and ended up losing his bid for mayor. He was only proclaimed mayor in 1969, after winning an electoral protest against Dr. Braulio Sto. Domingo.When Corazon Aquino assumed the presidency in 1986, all officials of the local government suspected of malfeasance and anomalies were removed and replaced by appointed officers-in-charge. Estrada was then removed from his position as mayor. The following year, he ran and won a seat in the Senate under the Grand Alliance for Democracy (GAD). He placed 16th place in the said elections (out of 24 winners).

He served as Vice President of the Philippines under Fidel V. Ramos from 1992–1998.

Resource:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Estrada





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