MANILA, Philippines—What he says in his campaign advertisements are true while those of his rivals are “just commercials,” according to the one candidate for president who is a convicted plunderer.

Deposed President Joseph Estrada deplores the way other presidential candidates are supposedly selling themselves to voters through expensive television advertisements.

At the very least, there should be truth in the message being conveyed, said the first Philippine president to be convicted of a capital crime.

“Theirs are really just commercials, like advertising a product but with no truth in it,” Estrada told reports in Makati on Monday.

“My commercials are all true. (My accomplishments) are all documented,” said Estrada.

Estrada cited in particular the advertisements of Sen. Manuel Villar for presenting the Nacionalista Party standard-bearer as a “pro-poor” candidate. Villar’s television advertisements portray the billionaire-politician as the “real champion of the poor.”

“He’s been a billionaire for more than 10 years now, so how come he became pro-poor only now?” asked Estrada, whose “Erap para sa mahirap (Erap for the poor)” campaign line catapulted him to victory in 1998.

“My political ads are true. They’re not scripted,” he said.

As for the other candidates, Estrada said they are “still making promises” while he “[has] done these things. It’s now just a matter of continuing them.”

Estrada, who was ousted in the people power revolution of 2001 for corruption and incompetence, complained that the administration of his successor had taken the credit for projects that he claimed were conceptualized and funded during his abbreviated term from 1998 to 2001.