RP's VP to visit Jakarta

RP's VP to visit Jakarta

JAKARTA (JP): Philippine Vice President Joseph Estrada will make a three-day private visit to Jakarta on Thursday, an embassy spokesman said here yesterday.

Estrada, accompanied by a party of eight people, arrives in Bali today where he is scheduled to deliver a keynote address at a conference on Law Enforcement in the Asia Pacific.

Popular among his people, the 57-year-old Estrada, whose nickname is Erap, is considered a strong contender for the Philippine presidency in 1998. Currently he also heads the Presidential Anti-Crime Commission.

During his stay in Jakarta, Estrada will pay a courtesy call on his Indonesian counterpart, Try Sutrisno, and hold a meeting with the Filipino community here, before leaving for Manila on Saturday.

This is Estrada's first visit since became vice president of the Philippines in 1992. President Fidel Ramos visited Indonesia to attend the leadership meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum last November. (ego)