Joseph Estrada

Who is Joseph Estrada?

Joseph "Erap" Ejército Estrada is a Filipino politician who served as the 13th President of the Philippines from 1998 until 2001. Estrada was the first person in the present Fifth Republican period to be elected both President and Vice-President. He is currently the Mayor of the City of Manila, the country's capital, after the 2013 mid-term elections.

Estrada gained popularity as a film actor, playing the lead role in over a hundred films in an acting career spanning some three decades. He used his popularity as an actor to make gains in politics, serving as mayor of San Juan for 16 years, as Senator for one term, then as Vice-President under President Fidel V. Ramos.

Estrada was elected President in 1998 with a wide margin of votes separating him from the other challengers, and was sworn into the presidency on June 30, 1998. In 2000 he declared an "all-out-war" against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and captured its headquarters and other camps.