Former Philippine president Estrada pardoned

By Manny Mogato

MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo pardoned former president Joseph Estrada on Thursday, setting aside his conviction and life sentence on charges of plunder.

Critics said Arroyo had rushed through the pardon just six weeks after Estrada's conviction to curry favour with the opposition and to deflect mounting charges of corruption within her own administration.

"I hereby grant executive clemency to Joseph Ejercito Estrada," chief presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye said on television, quoting Arroyo's order. "He is hereby restored to his civil and political rights."

Estrada, 70, has been under house arrest since he was ousted as president in 2001 and Arroyo, his then vice-president, took his place. An anti-graft court jailed him for life in September but allowed him to remain under house arrest pending an appeal.

Officials said Estrada, a former movie star with a strong following among poorer Filipinos, would be freed on Friday morning, after the court had received a copy of the presidential order.

"I would like to thank this administration, specifically President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, for granting this pardon," Estrada's son, Senator Jinggoy Estrada, said on television. "This is coming from my heart."

He however brushed aside suggestions that the pardon implied that the opposition would go slow in pursuing accusations of bribery and kickbacks in Arroyo's administration.

"As a senator I will continue to do my duty," he said. "If there are anomalies in this government, I will continue to expose it."