We really don’t know what prompted reelected Manila Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada to suddenly share a life lesson that he supposedly learned more than a month after the May 9 elections — but, hey, it makes for a good story.
Political pundits speculate that he still hasn’t gotten over the fact that, as a Philippine Daily Inquirer report put it, “some of his political allies turned on him during the campaign season, resulting in a close fight between him and rival Alfredo Lim.”
So, what’s Estrada’s life lesson from the polls? “I learned not to be too trusting,” he said. He made the statement on the sidelines of the launch of the 2016 Miss Manila beauty pageant at Diamond Hotel.
When asked by reporters if one of the alleged turncoats he was referring to was Vice Mayor Isko Moreno, Estrada simply replied: “I don’t have to identify them.”
Then, when probed further on his current relationship with Moreno, Estrada said: “We’re friends…casual friends.”
The Inquirer report by Annelle Tayao-Juego then noted that Estrada “proceeded to crack a joke about political butterflies.” He said, “Hindi niyo ba alam na wala nang durian sa Davao? Eh kasi puro balimbing na doon!”
(“Don’t you know that Davao has ran out of durian? It’s because all you can find there now is star fruit!”)
In the Philippines, the star fruit is used as a symbol for people who constantly switch sides.
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