Estrada to head for Tanay villa

After spending the night at a San Juan hospital, ousted President Joseph Estrada will be heading back to his Tanay rest house to fully recover from his gastrointestinal illness. Doctor Lorenzo Hocson, Estrada's personal physical, told reporters waiting at the San Juan Medical Center (SJMC) that the former president will be travelling to Tanay via helicopter at around 11 a.m. Police and security officials, however, have yet to confirm if a helicopter will indeed be deployed for Estrada's trip, GMA 7's DZBB reported. Estrada was admitted at the SJMC Thursday noon after complaining of severe stomach pains. He reportedly ate fat-rich foods such as kare-kare, lechon baka and chicharon during the 101st birthday party of his mother Doña Mary Ejercito last Wednesday. Estrada, who has been consuming intravenous (IV) fluids from a dextrose bottle, told Hocson that he would feel much better resting at the Tanay villa. Hocson on Friday said, "I could not say no. He (Estrada) said it's not very comfortable here at the hospital so he'd rather go home." Hocson said he will remove the dextrose needle from Estrada ten minutes before the latter leaves the SJMC. The former president was told to stay on a strict "soft diet" for the next two to three days. Hocson said Estrada should stick to eating "soup, [and] nothing oily" to normalize the latter's gastrointestinal tract and to avoid suffering from diarrhea. Estrada's electrolyte levels have also been found to be two points lower than healthy levels. The development comes about an hour after Sandiganbayan Special Division approved the request of defense lawyers to postpone Estrada's scheduled Friday morning hearing. Estrada has been accused of amassing millions in tobacco excise taxes and receiving payola from illegal gambling lords.-GMANews.TV