From silver screen to presidency?

From silver screen to presidency?

Whatever people say about him, Joseph Estrada declares that he
is ready, willing and able to take on the toughest job in the
Philippines. The leading opposition party in the Philippines
evidently agrees. It has picked Estrada as its presidential
candidate.

Estrada, who has served as vice president since 1992,
certainly has name recognition in the Philippines. His show
business career has included action movie roles as well as
hosting a popular television anticrime show. He is certainly
endowed with charm and glamour. But does he possess the
appropriate qualities to lead his country through these difficult
times?

About 6,200 workers across the Philippines have lost their
jobs over the past two weeks due to belt-tightening measures by
companies hit by the decline in the value of the peso. Last week,
in a leaked letter to President Fidel Ramos, Economic Planning
Secretary Cielito Habito told the government to stop pretending
everything was fine with the economy.

At this time, the country is in need of a president capable of
making sound, sensible and balanced judgments about the economy.
But Estrada is not known to have these abilities. He has on many
occasions behaved in a rash and impulsive manner. Philippine
businessmen fear his limited grasp of economics could end up
throwing the economy off track once more. Yet the former actor at
61 continues to top opinion polls in the race to succeed Ramos
when his six-year term ends in June. Such a situation makes many
Asians wonder as to whether democracy really works.

-- The Hong Kong Standard