Ousted Philippine leader Joseph Estrada said Monday that he was ready to concede defeat to opposition front-runner Benigno Aquino III, who has an unbeatable lead in the vote count from last month's presidential elections, and would no longer return to his first love – the movies. Estrada, who is trailing Aquino by about 5.6 million votes with just about a million left to be counted, said he will abide by the results of official congressional canvassing, which is expected to be concluded this week. Aquino's apparent victory has been largely attributed to his family name and strong anti-corruption campaign. His late parents – opposition Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. and former President Corazon Aquino – are deeply revered figures in the country for their roles in fighting late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Estrada's departure will put an end to one of the most colorful political and movie careers in this impoverished Southeast Asian nation. The former action movie star will continue to help the poor, who make up a third of about 90 million Filipinos with a $1-a-day income, and will help Aquino unite the fractious political opposition to battle poverty and corruption, his spokeswoman Margaux Salcedo said. “While elections are over, Estrada's mission to help the poor is not. The next administration will need a lot of help after the damage from the present administration,” Salcedo said in a statement. Estrada, 73, “is no longer inclined to pursue acting at his age,” Salcedo said. The former president was in Europe for a weeklong break following the grueling campaign that preceded the May 10 nine-way presidential race, she said. Estrada rose to stardom in his early 20s, playing tough guys with a soft spot for the needy – roles that earned him the hearts of the masses. In the 1970s, he won five best actor awards in the Philippines' version of the Oscars. He used his stardom as a springboard to politics, first becoming mayor of Manila's San Juan suburb, a post he kept for 17 years. He was later elected senator, vice president and president in 1998 despite a life of boozing, gambling and womanizing. Estrada stepped down amid massive anti-corruption protests in 2001 after serving only half of his six-year term. He was convicted of economic plunder in 2007 but was immediately granted a pardon by his successor and political nemesis, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Estrada has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing. He said his impressive showing in the elections, where he garnered more than 9 million votes, showed the extent of his backing from Filipinos. “I believe I have already been fully vindicated,” Estrada said.
