Former President Joseph Estrada will definitely run for President in 2010, affirming his threat that if the opposition cannot get united under a common candidate, he?ll run. Erap has told associates and friends that he?ll make this announcement come April 19, his birthday.

I have always suspected that Estrada will run for two reasons?first, he wants vindication after his ouster in 2001 and his conviction for plunder by the Sandiganbayan. He believed that his ouster was unconstitutional and his conviction was railroaded.

Comes now the question of his possible disqualification with the Constitution banning former presidents from running again in any election. Estrada and his legal advisers believe that since his six-year term of office was cut short when he was ousted, he did not finish his term. Thus, the constitutional ban does not apply.

The problem here is whether or not the Supreme Court can rule on his disqualification before the May 2010 polls. I wonder what will happen if he gets disqualified after winning the presidency, if and when he pulls a victory. Knowing how cases like these cannot be ruled on instantly, what happens then if Erap gets elected in May 2010? Will the people accept his disqualification? What will happen if they don?t?

And if Erap gets disqualified after winning, who can take over? The Constitution says that it?s the Vice President, assuming that his vice presidential candidate wins. Is this the reason why Senator Loren Legarda is always by Erap?s side now in his provincial sorties? Santa Banana, with 15 more months to election day, things are getting to be very exciting.

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If in the long run, as the May 2010 polls approach, senatorial wannabes among the newcomers should realize early enough that the senatorial race will be very tight for them.

There are in fact seven re-electionists in the Senate: Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Senate President Protempore Jinggoy Estrada, Senators Miriam Santiago, Dick Gordon, Jamby Madrigal, Pia Cayetano, Bong Revilla and Lito Lapid. Since there are returnees like former Senate President Frank Drilon and former Senator Serge Osme?a, that leaves only two seats open. And don?t forget Koko Pimentel, who will surely run again. He may make it this time around.

Even granting that Pia Cayetano will opt to run for mayor in Taguig City, Bong Revilla will choose to run for president under the administration party, and Lito Lapid will return to Pampanga to challenge the governorship of priest-politician Gov. Ed Panlilio, there will still be five re-electionists for the Senate. Five plus two returnees and one possible wannabe elected leaves only four seats for newcomers. My gulay, that?s a very tight possibility.

Considering the fact that so many senatorial wannabes are coming out of the woodwork, they should take note of this: It takes about P200 to P300 million to get some assurance of winning. And even if they join the senatorial slate of possible winners in the presidential race, it takes more than popularity, name recall and being endorsed by a possible winning presidential aspirant to make it. In the grassroots level, it?s the Golden Rule ?he who has the gold rules ? that applies.

But then, people run for the presidency or the Senate not really hoping to win. They are there for the funds of it?to solicit contributions they don?t spend. Santa Banana, some are smarter, indeed.

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Ombudsman Mercedes Gutierrez getting impeached for alleged violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust for her alleged failure to indict so many government people, and individuals like the First Gentleman Mike Arroyo, accused of so many scams and anomalies?

Come again? How can the Ombudsman charge people, both public and private, with crimes based on hearsay, innuendoes, insinuations and uncorroborated allegations of misdeeds and what-have-you? For me, that?s what it comes down to.

The people, mostly from the same group thinking that they have a monopoly of noble and good intentions, are really after the necks of the First Couple, and when they can?t, they blame the Ombudsman and want her impeached.

Unfortunately for them, impeachment is purely a political exercise and will go along party lines. Thus, in the end, this impeachment case against Gutierrez will end up in the trashcan where it belongs.

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?Young hearts run free,? or so goes the 1976 song from Candi Staton. My gulay, the fact that I?m using a 33-year-old song as a reference immediately confirms that my own heart is not that young. But, going back to the point, the freedom to choose meaningful pursuits is something that we all strive to bestow on our children. Their young hearts deserve the chance to love fully, to aspire for great things, to seek new adventures, and to beat with an unbridled passion that they can reminisce upon when they grow old.

Sadly, this is not the case for thousands of children born with congenital heart defects. Quite literally, they come into the world with an abrupt expiry date, often passing away before they can even comprehend a world without constant pain and weakness. For some of them, the sound of their own crying is all that they will ever hear. A few will make it past their fifth birthday, only to face a hectic battle against constant pneumonia and other respiratory and cardiovascular complications.

Heart disease is often referred to as the great traitor, although the equivalent Filipino term ?traydor? captures its nature more accurately. At the risk of sounding insensitive or dismissive, a damaged ticker inside those who have lived a long and vibrant life almost become an afterthought. But to afflict an innocent child inside a mother?s womb?Santa Banana, that?s a treachery against nature itself.

Fortunately, these frail hearts have inspired selfless hearts to action. Since December 2004, the Rotary Club of Makati West has helped almost 120 children undergo life-saving open heart surgery through their ?Gift of Life? project. The result of these surgeries is almost immediately evident, with the children gaining weight, recovering their appetite, and generously becoming stronger and more active. That is ?Service Above Self,? a credo of Rotary.

Another initiative of the club on March 15 is ?Run For Their Lives.? The organization?s objective is clear. I can only commend it.