ERAP AT MOPC. Former President Joseph Estrada delivers his speech at the Manila Overseas Press Club (MOPC) held at a hotel in Makati City on Wednesday. (ALI VICOY)

President Joseph Estrada, speaking for the first time in the aftermath of the national mourning for the late President Cory Aquino in a profound expression of respect, appealed on Wednesday to the nation to honor her memory by working together, and standing united for the return and respect of democratic institutions and the survival of the country’s Constitution.

Estrada was invited to be the guest speaker of the Manila Overseas Press Club (MOPC) Tuesday night “to correct history,” and amid reports that he had topped the most recent Social Weather Survey (SWS) among potential presidential contenders despite the absence of a categorical declaration from him that he may run in next year’s May elections.

Addressing a huge gathering of officers and members of the MOPC, Estrada paid tribute to Mrs. Aquino as an icon democracy, and said:

“Let us not allow her life and death to be in vain. We as a nation have to work together to honor our most loved President, and our Constitution which continues to be constantly violated by those in power because only then will we achieve a true democracy.”

The popular opposition leader admitted that while he and Mrs. Aquino, at one point came from separate directions of the political spectrum, they became “real friends in her last few years.”

“When President Cory publicly admitted that EDSA II was a mistake, it truly meant a lot to me. That was real vindication for me because President Aquino is someone whose words carry much weight and value, someone who was known for her sincerity,” Estrada said.

During the launch of Rep. Jose de Venecia’s biography, Mrs. Aquino admitted before a big crowd that EDSA II, which saw the departure of Estrada from Malacañang, “was a mistake.”

“ Lahat naman tayo nagkakamali, kaya patawarin mo na lang ako.” (Everybody commits mistakes, and I apologize for that mistake. Please forgive me),” Mrs. Aquino said before an audience that included Estrada.

Estrada also said that despite the betrayal of those whom he trusted very much, he has learned to forgive them, finding comfort in the public recognition led by the foreign press that EDSA II was a mistake, with the New York Times and the International Herald Tribune quickly observing that “EDSA II was not a triumph, but a failure of Democracy.”

Quoting worldwide comments among world leaders on EDSA II, Estrada said: “World leaders agreed. The celebrated statesman of Singapore, the Honorable Lee Kuan Yew, in an interview with the Strait Times in January 2001 commented that the change of power in the Philippines was not a boost to democracy because it was done outside the Constitution.”

Right here at home, Estrada mentioned that no less than the chairman of the 1986 Constitutional Convention, the late Supreme Court Justice Cecilia Munoz-Palma stated publicly that “EDSA II was a failure of democracy.”

He quoted Justice Muñoz-Palma who declared:

“The 1987 Constitution suffered... When the ongoing impeachment trial of President Joseph Estrada was unceremoniously disrupted and discontinued, and the issues on hand were brought to the parliament of the streets, the Rule of Law was set aside and the Rule of Force prevailed.”