Thousands cheered former President Joseph Estrada’s much-awaited public announcement to seek a fresh mandate in the May 2010 presidential elections during the genuine opposition’s proclamation rally late Wednesday night in Tondo, Manila, the city of his birth.

The announcement was made in front of the Sto. Nino Church nestled in one of Metro Manila’s poorest districts where Estrada was born 72 years ago. He rose to fame and became one of the highest paid stars in the movies and became the 13th president of the Philippines.

The mammoth crowd in Wednesday’s proclamation rally indicated that Estrada’s pro-poor platform continues to resonate among the poorest-of-the-poor who gave him 10.8 million votes to win the 1998 presidential elections.

Speaking in both Pilipino and English before a huge crowd chanting “Erap, Erap”, Estrada said that having firmed up his decision to run for president again “only means I am more than prepared to confront the storms along the way as we face a difficult chapter in our nation’s history.”

He said he did everything to reach across factions within the opposition, but admitted the sharp political divide was impossible to bridge to come up with a single candidate next year.

Estrada’s announcement came in the aftermath of almost seven years in prison on plunder charges, for which he was eventually convicted.

He was later pardoned by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Estrada is widely seen by leading political luminaries as the survivor to reckon with in next year’s race after humbly resurrecting himself from the agony of universal humiliation.

“You have seen me face and confront the twists and turns of my life, but never abandoned me. And I rise again on a position of the same vote of confidence you gave me in 1998 to deliver the very same pro-poor platform that I sought to implement as your Commander-in-Chief,” Estrada said.

Estrada’s spokesperson, Margaux Salcedo, earlier in the day said the former president’s ranking in presidential surveys will vastly improve after his declaration of his candidacy.

Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III has taken over the top spot in the Filipinos’ preferred successors to President Arroyo in 2010, garnering an overwhelming 60 percent nod among the electorate, the third quarter Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey results showed.

The second most popular choice was Senator Manuel Villar with 37 percent, followed by Estrada who garnered 18 percent.

"Kapag nakapag-file na rin siya ng certificate of candidacy niya sa Commission on Elections (Comelec), pwede na siya makapaglabas ng campaign ads niya sa TV, radyo at diyaryo kaya makakatulong ito sa kanya. Aside from that, the release of his movie with Ai-Ai delas Alas next month will also help improve his bid for 2010," Salcedo said.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines meanwhile said it is leaving to the electorate to judge whether a political candidate is good or bad.

“The CBCP won’t say to people that this candidate is good or bad. We are not allowed to do that,” CBCP spokesperson Msgr. Pedro Quitorio said.

The CBCP official made the statement in reaction to Erap’s declaration to run again for the presidency.

Quitorio admitted that there are some bishops who are opposed to Estrada’s plan.

“There are some against it but it was not the official position of the CBCP. The bishops are not prohibited from commenting in their own individual capacity,” he said.

Quitorio said what the Catholic Church can do is guide the faithful in choosing the right candidate by enumerating the qualities they should look for.

“The CBCP earlier encouraged the people to think of possible candidates that will be of help to the country. We also urged them to look for competent candidates who meet our qualifications,” he said.

Last May, CBCP president and Jaro, Iloilo Archbishop Angel Lagdameo called on Estrada to retire from politics and give others a chance to lead the country.

"Be like Presidents Cory Aquino and Fidel Ramos… act as a kind of adviser and even ‘tutor’ to the newly elected president. This is a very rare and extraordinary office and he has already tested it," he said.

And with Estrada vowing to wage war on Muslim and communist rebels if elected, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) lost no time in scoring him for reviving the animosity brought about by his all-out on the MILF in 2000.

The MILF, which lost its main stronghold in the war, recalled that Estrada showed "his total disrespect for Muslims and Islam when he feasted on roasted pigs and flowing beer and other intoxicants inside Camp Abubakre As-Siddique on July 19 that year."

Estrada said he would "earn peace" through war once he gets to Malacañang for the second time.

After Estrada and military officials' feasting on roast pigs at Camp Abubakre in a building near a mosque, offended Muslims in the Philippines performed many prayers asking God to punish him.

Islamic religious leaders said the prayer was answered when Estrada was ousted as president in 2001 and convicted by the courts as a criminal.

Muhammad Ameen, chairman of the Secretariat of the MILF's Central Committee, said Estrada's war policy should be enough to reject him.

"Estrada has a war policy in case he wins the presidency again and this alone can be a basis for not electing him because the Philippine Constitution clearly disallows war as a national policy," said Ameen.

Meanwhile, Solicitor General and Acting Justice Secretary Agnes VST Devanadera refused to comment on the legal implications of Estrada’s candidacy in 2010. Estrada was granted executive clemency by Mrs. Arroyo in October 2007.

Devanadera told the Manila Bulletin that “mere declaration of intention (to seek the presidency) will not make him (Estrada) liable for anything. Let him do his thing.”

When asked whether Estrada would be legally liable once he files his candidacy, Devanadera quipped: “We will cross the bridge when we get there.”

She admitted though that in the deliberations prior to the grant of executive clemency to Estrada, the President and her cabinet considered three things – Estrada’s age (he was 70 years old and the law provides that no convict shall spend more time in prison when he reaches the age of 70), his detention for six-and-a-half years and Estrada’s public commitment to no longer seek any elective post or office once he gets out of jail.

The third condition, Devanadera explained, was not a condition made by the government but the President and her cabinet took cognizance of Estrada’s political commitment when the President granted him executive clemency barely six weeks after the Sandiganbayan convicted him for plunder.

Estrada opted not to seek a reconsideration of the Sandiganbayan’s ruling but sought for a “full, free and unconditional pardon” instead. (Reports from Brenda Piquero, Francis Wakefield, Leslie Ann Aquino, Edd Usman and Amor Lopez)