Former Philippine President Joseph Estrada, alcoholic, gets his comeuppance
Runner Up:
Former Philippine President Joseph Estrada, who got a life sentence after being found guilty of taking $85 million in bribes and kickbacks six years after he was ousted. The 70-year-old former action-film star became a hero to millions of poor and homeless Filipinos, no doubt by engaging in a variation of the tactics used by Hugo Chavez of Venezuela: give to the poor while consuming the country’s capital through a failure to invest. Estrada’s government began to unravel in 2000 after a self-confessed racketeer and “one-time drinking buddy of Estrada,” provincial Gov. Luis Singson, admitted to paying bribes to Estrada. According to the L.A. Times, Estrada, “a notorious playboy, lived the high life during the trial, holding parties at his…luxurious vacation home two hours from Manila…” We must always be on alert that high office beckons to those who have the greatest need to wield power over others–alcoholics.