Estrada launches new career as recording artist

From Famas hall of famer to around 30 years in government service as mayor, senator, vice president and president, what more can ousted President Joseph Estrada possibly do? He’s decided to sing the prison blues away, and his first compact disc (CD) will be launched today.

Estrada "the singing farmer" has a CD single featuring two compositions, which will be played today at the formal launching of the Rebolusyon Kontra Gutom at Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan, the political opposition’s movement to counter hunger.

The songs on the CD are the original "Kahit Magtiis" and "Magtanim Di Biro," the latter of which he actually reworded to "Kung Tayo ay Magtatanim" to be the battle hymn of the anti-hunger revolution spearheaded by the Partido ng Masang Pilipino (PMP).

"Kahit Magtiis" was first sung by Estrada when he was still president during a Valentine fund-raising event in February 1999, in which he was accompanied by the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra at the Manila Hotel.

The second song on the CD is an original Filipino folk song that Estrada reworded to give it a more positive spin:

"Kung tayo’y magtatanim, dadami ang pagkain. Giginhawa ang buhay, yayaman pa ang bayan."

Refrain: "Magtanim, magtanim, mayroon kang aanihin. Magtanim, magtanim, mayroon kang isasaing." "Sa kubo matulog, katawan mo’y lulusog. Sa bukid manirahan, kay linis ng amihan." (Repeat refrain). "Ang sabi ng Diyos natin ay dapat natin sundin. Ang lahat ng kakanin, sa pawis manggagaling." (Repeat refrain).

"Halina magsikap upang umunlad. Sa bayan ay maglingkod nang tapat. Kapag nagsikap, tayo’y uunlad, para sa araw ng bukas."

Through his official spokesman, former Maguindanao congressman Didagen Dilangalen, Estrada announced that the PMP would sponsor seminars to be conducted by agricultural experts from Taiwan to train and teach PMP’s three million card-bearing members, mostly coming from low income families, on how to become self-made farmers to produce their own crops even in pots of soil.

The formal launch of the Rebolusyon Kontra Gutom would be led by Estrada’s wife, former first lady now Sen. Luisa Ejercito, and their son, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, and other PMP leaders headed by Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Jamby Madrigal, former agrarian reform secretary Horacio Morales and Dilangalen.

Dilangalen said aside from the songs, Estrada will deliver his message to the Filipino people in a pre-taped audio visual presentation taken at his resort in Tanay, Rizal where he is being held under "resthouse arrest."

The Revolution against Hunger campaign virtually coincides with President Arroyo’s first 100 days in office, and fast on the heels of a survey that showed hunger incidence in the country has reached a near record high.

The Social Weather Stations in its non-commissioned survey from Aug. 5-22 had 15.1 percent of household heads declaring they had nothing to eat at least once in the last three months. The SWS also found that in a national sample size of 1,200 statistically representative households, 53 percent rated themselves as poor.

Dilangalen disclosed that Estrada expressed his deepest concerns about the reported growing number of Filipino families who can barely provide food on the table.

The ex-leader also had misgivings with the government’s food coupon program to address the situation, saying this was a "band-aid solution" and would encourage mendicancy. Dilangalen said Estrada, a college dropout from Ateneo, even quoted the Greek philosopher Aristotle, who once said, "The father of revolution is hunger and poverty."