How easily do we forget. It was just 11 years ago when the common shout being heard on the streets was “Erap resign, Erap resign,” pertaining to the overwhelming desire of the Filipino people to do away with Joseph Estrada as president. By reason of his rampant womanizing, his alleged connection to jueteng, and his obtrusive way of managing the country, nobody wanted him to continue as a leader. By virtue thereof, he was toppled in what is now commonly referred to as the second People Power revolt. Insofar as president Erap was concerned, it went further than that. He was arrested, incarcerated, tried for plunder, and convicted. If not for the pardon granted to him by (then) president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, he would still be in jail now. Still, he remains unfazed. His political career appears to be far from over.

Look at where he has gone from thence. He ran for president in the 2010 national elections and, surprisingly, he almost won. True, he did not win the most coveted position of the land for a second term. However, he did not lose either. The last election only enhanced his popularity. Placing second to Noynoy Aquino in a race where the biggest name and the biggest spenders cast their candidacies, was not that bad for a man whose political career was deemed to be on the downtrend. I guess you cannot really put a popular man down. After all, the measure of politics in this country is more on popularity rather than efficacy. That is why as long as the name Joseph Estrada rings a bell, he will be a force to reckon with in any election. As long as Erap remains as charismatic as ever with his vocal jargons, he can always skirt his conviction and persuade the people to install him as a leader.

That is what he is doing. In spite of the fact that he has not categorically admitted it, all his moves and actions point to no other conclusion than that he will be seeking an elective post in the forthcoming election. Consider that he changed his residence from San Juan to Manila. Consider that he has evoked political slogans designed to have him remembered during the next election. Consider that he has consolidated his resources into going after Mayor Fred Lim, to the extent of criticizing his administration. You bet, Joseph Estrada will be the next mayor of Manila.

Thank God it is not the presidency he is seeking. He is seeking for a lower position of a mayor and nobody is discouraging him. For good reason, he was a more effective mayor than a president. Nobody is even doubting his sincerity to be one. His predicament is not like that of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. When Arroyo filed her candidacy as congresswoman for her Pampanga district, there was a wail of protest. They asked the questions: Why will an outgoing president remove the glamour of her previous office by running for a lower one? Why will an ex-president stoop to a lower position when she had already occupied the highest one? Is it for power? Is it for protection? Or, is it for a genuine desire to serve the people? Filipinos did not believe in the nobility of Arroyo’s intention. She was theretofore severely admonished. But not Joseph Estrada. They are cheering him on, egging him to be the next mayor of Manila. And, although it is a position very much lower in rank than a president, his supporters really do not mind at all. All they long to see is for him to be back as a leader, in whatever capacity it may entail.

In fact, everybody is looking forward to his return in the limelight. Everybody wants him to take Fred Lim “head on” and unseat him as the mayor of Manila. Everybody wants Joseph Estrada back in his ways as the unconventional and hardnosed leader who gives no quarters and takes none. Watch out, Asiong Salonga is back!