TAGAYTAY CITY – If Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) standard bearer Joseph "Erap" Estrada were president, he would immediately fire and dismiss acting Justice Secretary Alberto Agra from the Department of Justice (DoJ).

Estrada, who was ousted as president in 2001, called the decision of Agra to clear Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan and Mamasapano Mayor Akhmad Ampatuan of murder charges regarding Maguindanao massacre "embarassing."

"If you will ask me, he needs to be fired immediately. I will immediately dismiss that justice secretary because of glaring injustice that he did to the family of the victims. This is embarrassing on a global scale," Estrada said.

"I would not only dismiss him. I would even charge him with (administrative) case (like) negligence (of duty). That has to be studied," he told reporters after a rally at the Tagaytay Convention Center Tuesday morning.

The former president expressed belief that Agra, who reportedly became the election lawyer of the Ampatuans and President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2004 to 2007, could be following an order from Malacanang for plans to rig elections or make the May 10 polls fail.

"In my opinion as a former president, a cabinet member will not do that to particularly important and sensitive issue without the knowledge of the president. A cabinet member cannot decide on an important issue without consulting the president," he said.

After noting the connection, Estrada said the government could be mulling plans to release the Ampatuans to prevent them to expose their knowledge about the alleged massive cheating versus then presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr. in Maguindanao.

"The situation points out that. I've now a strong feeling that there might be a failure of elections because first, they have been conditioning the mind of the people that there is already a power failure  in the provinces," he said.

"You see the connection. Of course, who knows when the Ampatuans were prosecuted, they can be used as whistle blowers because they know everything in the cheating in Maguindanao," he said.