'Easterada' Sunday: Erap to launch bid to resurrect political career in Manila

March 31, 2013 4:45pm


For supporters of former President Joseph Estrada, it's “Easterada” Sunday in Manila.

Estrada is set to kick off on Sunday afternoon his campaign to resurrect his political career by running for mayor of the Philippines' capital city, Manila, years after he was ousted from the presidency and subsequently convicted of plunder.

Hundreds of orange-clad supporters gathered at the Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila to back Estrada's mayoral bid. Estrada won the presidency in 1998 by a landslide on a pro-poor platform.

Estrada's rival, incumbent Mayor Alfredo Lim, will launch his candidacy on Monday in an event set to be attended by President Benigno Aquino III. Lim won over 59 percent of city's total votes during the 2010 polls.

Manila has a total of 953,382 registered voters in the upcoming elections. It is the city with the second highest number of registered voters in Metro Manila, next to Quezon City.

The official campaign period for local bets was supposed to start last March 29, but since it was a Good Friday, candidates were only allowed to begin campaigning on Saturday. — Andreo Calonzo/BM, GMA News