MANILA, Philippines—Some came barefoot, others in well-worn slippers for what their idol described as “the last performance of my life.” Many more wore orange T-shirts emblazoned with his nickname: Erap.

Hoisting banners and placards, an estimated 10,000 supporters of ousted President Joseph Estrada Wednesday converged on Plaza Amado Hernandez in Moriones, Tondo, to hear him declare formally what he had long been threatening to do—run for reelection in May 2010.

In a 40-minute speech, Estrada laid out his political and economic platform and defended his record as president, criticizing the Arroyo administration and promising to continue programs to help the poor.

“This is the last performance of my life and I will not fail you,” the movie actor turned politician told his cheering supporters.

Estrada made the declaration amid fireworks and music and the crowd singing “Maligayang pagbabalik (Welcome back).”

He also formally declared Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay as his running mate under the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino-UNO, a merger of his party and the United Opposition of which Binay is president.

“I swear to run in the coming elections so I can again be of service to the masses as president of the Philippines,” Estrada said in Filipino. His audience broke into wild applause.

“Babalik si Erap (Erap will return)!” former Ambassador Ernesto Maceda, the candidate’s campaign manager and senior political adviser, announced, sending the crowd into wilder chants of “Erap! Erap! Erap!”

Estrada’s formal declaration makes him the third would-be candidate for president. The others who have formally declared their plans are Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III of the Liberal Party and Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro of the ruling Lakas-Kampi-CMD.

‘He hasn’t forgotten’

In this bastion of the working class, tattooed grandmothers carrying their grandchildren joined students, workers and show biz personalities to listen to Estrada, who was dressed in his signature red and who apparently has not lost his common touch.

When photographers crowded the stage and blocked their view of the man, they shouted at the “intruders” to get down: “Media baba! Media baba!”

“He has never forgotten us. Even when he was in jail, his wife and children still sent us canned goods,” said driver Joel Sacaging, 34, of Parola, a slum area in Tondo.

The gathering was a reunion of various personalities who kept the faith throughout Estrada’s years of house arrest.

Horacio “Boy” Morales and Benjamin Diokno, members of the then Estrada Cabinet, were present together with urban poor leader Ronald Lumbao. Comedians Bayani Agbayani and Tiya Pusit hosted the program; actors Lorna Tolentino and Rez Cortez graced the stage along with Estrada’s wife, former Sen. Loi Ejercito.

And there were the politicians led by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, and Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez.

Whistle-blowers Jose “Joey” de Venecia III (NBN-ZTE controversy) and Sandra Cam (“jueteng”) were also present.

Estrada named Enrile, his son Jinggoy and De Venecia III among his senatorial candidates.

The others are Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, Agusan del Sur Rep. Rodolfo Plaza, Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, and Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III (pending the resolution of his electoral protest).

Power grab

At 72, Estrada, who was convicted of plunder in 2007 and quickly pardoned by Ms Arroyo, would be the oldest candidate for president in 2010.

He also faces possible disqualification.

In a 45-minute speech, Estrada again slammed the Arroyo administration and the elite for his abbreviated term in Malacañang. He said he was a victim of a power grab by a “power-hungry elite.”

“I have not stolen a single cent from the country’s coffers,” he said, reiterating his defense against the charge that he had plundered the treasury as President.

“If I had sinned against you, I would not have the nerve to stand before you,” he said.

Color-coded shirts

Supt. Jojo Rosales, Moriones police station commander, said the crowd peaked at “around 9,000 to 10,000.”

Many in the crowd wore color-coded shirts printed with the slogans of their candidates.

Enrile supporters wore white with the words “Ang load nyo, ipaglalaban ko (I’ll fight for your phone load)!” echoing the Senate president’s campaign against overcharging by telcos.

Supporters of De Venecia III had the words “Palabra de honor… delicadeza…Joey de Venecia” on their blue shirts.

Binay’s admirers wore green shirts with the words “Binay is our only vice.”

A contingent of Manila councilors came in colorful flower-printed polo shirts, indicating their alignment with Environment Secretary Lito Atienza.

A giant banner read: “Erap para sa bansa (for the country), Atienza para sa Manila (for Manila).”

A supporter said Atienza, a former mayor of Manila, could not attend because he was still a member of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s Cabinet. But he insisted that Atienza was Estrada’s candidate for Manila mayor in 2010.

The incumbent, Mayor Alfredo Lim, is Estrada’s former interior secretary. But he is aligned with Aquino’s Liberal Party.

Idol

But most of the people in the crowd were clearly there to see their idol.

“I stayed for three days at the Edsa Shrine during Edsa Tres and survived the police truncheons near Malacañang, but I will still march for him,” said Sacaging, a community organizer of Estrada’s People’s Movement Against Poverty (PMAP).

Sacaging said that while Sen. Manuel Villar, another presidential aspirant, also claimed to have roots in Tondo, the working district remained an Estrada bailiwick.

“[Villar’s old] house is here but we haven’t received any help from him. He might get votes from Tondo but this is still Erap country,” he said.

(Plaza Amado Hernandez near the Sto. Niño Church is near Mary Johnston Hospital, where Estrada was born.)

Sacaging said it was the doles from Estrada’s camp that endeared him to the urban poor despite attempts by the Arroyo administration to woo their support.

“[Ms Arroyo] had her sari-sari stores [program] but the goods there were too pricey. There were also medical missions but those came with the soldiers. Of course, it was also good to have the military here because that kept the peace,” he said.

Teresita Alihibe, another Parola resident, said she would vote for Estrada, as in 1998, because he had remained true to the poor despite his plunder conviction for receiving bribe money from operators of the illegal numbers game “jueteng.”

“But jueteng is still here! We used to get rice and canned goods during his time, but now we don’t,” said the 52-year-old grandmother who came to the rally with her four grandchildren in tow.

Alihibe said she was working as a laundrywoman but decided to attend the rally with her neighbors after hearing that Estrada was going to speak and that food would be distributed.

Food lines

Sandwiches and bottled juice were distributed to the people, some of whom sat on the dirty pavement as they listened to the speeches.

As night fell, lines formed along two vans near the stage that were dispensing food.

The arms of those in the queues were stamped before being given food and drinks.