Joseph Estrada still has no presidential candidate to endorse

Former President and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada is still mum which presidential aspirant he will endorse in the 2016 elections.

“Baka hindi, baka mag-endorse. Ang hinahanap ko ‘yung higit na makapaglilingkod sa maraming Pilipino,” Estrada told reporters after endorsing the senatorial bid of Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares at the San Andres Sports Complex in Manila on Wednesday.

Estrada said he was looking for someone who would echo his own advocacies, on top of which were peace and order and infrastructure.

“Ang akin kasi, iba ‘yung sa kanila, hindi sumusuporta sa aking plataporma. Ang aking prayoridad peace and order. There can never be economic growth without peace and order,” he said.

“Hanggang ngayon nandiyan ang NPA, nandiyan ang MILF… Number one priority should be peace and order. Hindi uunlad ang ating ekonomiya kung walang kapayapaan at katahimikan,” Estrada said.

“I will always endorse somebody whose platform is the greater good for the greatest number. Kailangan ilabas muna nila ‘yung plataporma nila,” he added.

Asked about the platform of government that his goddaughter and poll frontrunner Sen. Grace Poe laid out when the lady senator formally declared her bid for the presidency last Sept. 16, Estrada said: “Hindi pa sapat.”

Estrada was a close friend of fellow movie actor and Sen. Poe’s late father, Fernando Poe Jr.

He was also a former pillar of the United Nationalist Alliance of Vice President Jejomar Binay, another presidential contender.

Despite ties with Poe and Binay, the former President previously said that administration standard-bearer Manuel “Mar” Roxas II was the most qualified to be the country’s next leader for his experience and credentials. Yuji Vincent Gonzales/TVJ

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