Erap airs his pro-jueteng agenda on GMANews.TV's ‘Examine’

On his maiden appearance on GMANews.TV's web show Examine, former president Joseph Estrada renewed his call for the legalization and social acceptance of jueteng, the underground "poor man's gambling game" that may forever be associated with his downfall in 2001. He said the continued stigmatization and illegal status of jueteng is a form of discrimination of the poor, because the gambling pasttimes of the well-to-do have long been legal. “Why did the government legalize casinos, why did we legalize cock-fighting, millions are involved there, why did we legalize horse-racing? And then this lotto, it's a foreign game," Estrada said. “Where is standard justice? Why don't we legalize our own invention at kikita pa ang gobyerno (and the government would even earn from it)," he added. Citing a study conducted by the Philippine Gaming Corporation (Pagcor), which runs government-owned casinos, Estrada said the government would earn P5 billion annually in revenues if the game of chance, which is done clandestinely in many areas of Luzon under the auspices of so-called jueteng lords, was made legal. The money, in turn, could be used to fund government projects that would benefit the poor, he added.

In an interview on GMANews.TV's Q&A web show 'Examine,' former president Joseph Estrada discusses his 2010 plans, his sentiments about his competitors and critics, his stand on the reproductive health bill, and his continuing support for the legalization of jueteng. Joe Galvez

Government measures to eliminate jueteng are simply unrealistic, Estrada said, because at least 163,000 people rely on it as a source of livelihood. If the critics wanted to remove the numbers game, then they should come up with alternative jobs for the people who would be affected, he stressed. He said many congressman, local officials, and police officers profit illegally from jueteng, which is the reason it remains underground and out of reach of tax collectors. Estrada has been pushing for legalized jueteng for over 20 years. It was one of his advocacies when he was still senator in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The legalization of the game was also among his priorities when he won the presidency in 1998. Ironically, his alleged involvement in jueteng-related payoffs and shady deals – as charged by his former close friend Luis “Chavit" Singson – triggered investigations that exposed a wider set of plunder and corruption cases that led to his impeachment trial by the Senate in 2000-2001. That led to a middle-class peaceful uprising backed by the military that forced Estrada to step down, paving the way for the incumbent Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. He was imprisoned for over six years while undergoing trial before he was convicted of plunder and pardoned by Arroyo. He said he wants to run again because his term in Malacañang was "abruptly interrupted." If he wins in May 2010, the legalization of jueteng would be part of his agenda, making the huge commissions to government officials like himself a thing of the past. That is if he is allowed to run in the first place by the Supreme Court. The Comelec and probably the Supreme Court will have to decide on his eligibility soon after he files his certificate of candidacy. Article VII, Section 4 of the 1987 Constitution states that, “The President shall not be eligible for any re-election. No person who has succeeded as President and has served as such for more than four years shall be qualified for election to the same office at any time." But Estrada stressed that the Constitutional provision applies only to incumbent presidents and those who were able to serve for more than four years. Estrada was only on his second year when he was removed from office. According to him, there is no more turning back and his camp has already prepared for the possible cases that might stem from his election bid. He even formed a new panel of legal luminaries that would represent him before the Comelec should the need arise. On the day Estrada announced his new presidential bid last October 21 in Tondo, the proverbial plebeian district of old Manila, he told media in an interview, "This will be the final, final performance of my life," adding that "I should not fail the Filipino people in this next chapter." - Aie Balagtas See, GMANews.TV Watch out for the full interview of former President Joseph Estrada on Examine, coming soon at Your Vox.