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Former President Joseph Ejercito Estrada seems to be running again for the position he has vacated during the year 2000. According to Estrada’s spokesman Margaux Salcedo, the former president is “99.9 percent” sure about running.

This decision seems to have come to pass because of Estradas’s frustration because the two opposition candidate – Senators Mar Roxas and Manuel Villar – are determined to run for the country’s top position. Because of the apparent disarray, launching a single candidate against the administration will be difficult.

However, there is still a “.01 percent” of uncertainty. Salcedo stated that the three months prior to confirming candidacy is still a long time to settle the uncertainty. Estrada who was recently eyed as a participant in the Salvador “Bubby” Dacer but received the good news that Daccer’s loved ones will not push for his indictment is hoping to unite the opposition for a better chance on winning against the administration. Further problems are cleared as it seems that the ousted president is still eligible for candidacy despite of the major corruption allegations attributed to his name. However, the Supreme Court is still to come up with a decision on Estrada’s re-election campaign. The 1987 Constitution clearly states that “The President shall not be eligible for any re-election”. However, Estrada only served for two and a half years because of a people power revolution, prompting questions regarding to the 1987 Constitution.

However, the most important question is whether or not the people will still vote for the president who has already failed the country once. The older members of the country seem to want him back but the younger and new voters are reluctant to cast their votes for the actor turned president. Hopefully, the one vote allowed each citizen will not be futile this time.

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The Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the United States and Philippines has been featuring in most newspapers as word leaks about some of the agreements concerning the document. Senator Joker Arroyo has let loose a well kept secret document signed on Oct 9, 1998 by then US Ambassador to the Philippines Thomas C. Hubbard and Foreign Secretary Siazon Jr. who is currently the Philippine Ambassador to Japan. The VFA was ratified by the Philippine Senate in 1999.

The gist of the secret agreement is that American soldiers who commit a crime in the Philippines will be detained in a US embassy or penal facility. However, a Philippine soldier who commits a crime in US soil will be detained in penal institutions of the United States with the Philippines only having the choice of picking the prison where the Filipino soldier may be detained.

The reason for the sudden interest in the VFA concerns the high profile case of Filipino rape victim “Nicole” by Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith who is continuously detained as the US Embassy.

Immediate transfer of Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith from the US Embassy is being called for by some cause-oriented groups to the Supreme Court. Included in those who filed the petition are “Nicole”, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, Bayan Muna, Gabriela and a few more. According to them, the continued detention of Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith at the US Embassy is equivalent to him being exempted from Philippine penal law.

Meanwhile, Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago has announced that she will be seeking renegotiation of the Visiting Forces Agreement between the US and Philippines. The senator bravely added that if the US rejects renegotiation, then the agreement should be scrapped altogether.

According to Senator Joker Arroyo, Philippines “have not learned how to walk” because of the centuries of the dependence on the US. “It’s time we got up unaided.”

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During a meeting of the Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences (FABC) held in Manila, bishops discuss and express their grief over sad events affecting the Catholic church in Asia. According to Philippine Archbishop Orlando Quevedo, marriage of couples with different religions has resulted in dwindling numbers of Catholics. More specifically, Asians who marry into families with different religious beliefs tend to convert to their spouse’s religion, especially if he or she is the only one dissimilar in the area.

Another problem seems to be the dwindling of young men entering priesthood. According to Cardinal Oswald Gracias of India, secularisation has prompted Christian families into having fewer children. He added that the number of girls entering convent is significantly more than the number of boys entering seminaries.

A reason cited by Pakistani Archbishop John Saldanha mentions that poverty prevents parents from sending their sons to seminaries as the move is a “big sacrifice”.

The meeting was concluded with a call for strengthening the Eucharistic celebration. According to the high ranking member of clergy of Asia, the Eucharist must be made into a “transforming event” through sufficient preparation, celebration and encouraging homilies. The meeting was attended by more or less 120 church leaders with the present Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments Francisco Cardinal Arinze representing Pope Benedict XVI.

However, some Filipino’s seem to be leaning away from religion as more and more church leaders are expressing their intent to join politics. With policy affairs generally getting negative views from the people, it is sometimes not surprising that church goers are starting to become hesitant with the emergence of priests turned politicians. The Palace has also commented on such through Presidential Spokesman Gary Olivar saying that religious leaders planning to enter politics must be the first ones to practice the humility that they preach.