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Erap not closing door on possible third shot at the presidency


Saying that gaining the presidency was "providential," former President and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada on Tuesday said he was keeping his options open as far as running for President in 2016 was concerned.

"Marami ngang nagsasabi sa akin na tumakbo muli. Sabi ko nga sa kanya, presidency is providential. I'm not closing my (options)," Estrada said in an interview aired over GMA News' "24 Oras."



As it stands, however, Estrada might need to choose between Vice President Jejomar Binay, his party mate in the opposition, and Sen. Grace Poe, the daughter of his late best friend Fernando Poe Jr.

Poe, an independent, ran under the administration coalition in the 2013 senatorial elections.

Binay has openly said that he would run in the 2016 presidential elections.

Poe, on the other hand, has yet to declare whether she would run for a higher position next year.

She, however, confirmed that she had met with President Benigno Aquino III to discuss presenting Filipinos with an alternative to the opposition in the coming elections.

Estrada first ran for President in 1998. He won and served until 2001 when he was deposed by a popular uprising on EDSA.

He was convicted of plunder during the Arroyo administration but was pardoned.

Estrada again ran for President in 2010 but placed second to President Benigno Aquino III. -Rie Takumi/NB, GMA News

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