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A detached political observer who is not even a great fan of Joseph Estrada remarked that the administration seems to be “playing with fire” in trying to pin down the Dacer-Corbito murder on the former president to derail his surging popularity, as recent surveys seem to indicate.

Considering that people’s emotions continue to be negative against the administration due to recent events beginning with the death of former president Cory Aquino, the lavish dinners in New York and Washington plus the unfortunate interview of Mikey Arroyo on “Unang Hirit,” Palace spokespersons should temper their pronouncements with more prudence.

If they wanted to get rid of Estrada politically, they should not have pardoned him in the first place, or perhaps they should have waited until after the November 30 deadline for the filing of certificates of candidacy has passed if they are so afraid of him getting back into the political fold. As it is, all they got themselves is the proverbial “batong ipinukpok sa sariling ulo.”

The not-so-veiled “parinig” attributing the death of witness Jimmy Lopez to unnamed persons who want to “crush the truth and escape their just punishment” did not sit well with many, since the man himself is on the watch list for illegal drugs and could have died of drug-related reasons, as Calabarzon Police Chief Superintendent Perfecto Palad admitted.

People who know the former president well like Tony Lopa say that Erap may be “a character,” but what they’re trying to pin on him is simply “out of character.” Tony is one of the closest friends of the former chief executive and knows him “inside and out.” Even when Estrada was detained in Tanay, Tony used to visit the former president regularly especially during Erap’s lowest moments.

In fact, Tony recalls that when Estrada was the mayor of San Juan, he asked then Philippine Airlines president Jun Cruz to reinstate PAL pilot Capt. Frank Puzon, who was unfairly dismissed. His request was denied, but Erap forgave Jun Cruz right away. But of course, he has never forgotten it because as Tony says, Estrada probably follows JFK’s principle—he forgives all his enemies but never forgets their names.

What is even more telling is the fact that when Chavit Singson went to the wake of Doña Mary (who died at the age of 103), Joseph Estrada was very gracious, very civil and in fact said, “I have forgiven him (Chavit) a long time ago.”

This alone should tell you what kind of a man Joseph Estrada is, and as Bishop Ted Bacani attests, it was just simply “out of character” for Estrada to order Dacer’s assassination. On the contrary, he pictures Erap as someone who does not have a vengeful streak but rather, a man with a soft heart—too soft, in fact. Being the spiritual adviser of Joseph Estrada, the Bishop knows whereof he speaks and where Estrada is coming from. We have to remember, Bishop Bacani is one who has always been straightforward whenever he talks about people.

Of course, everyone knows about Kris Aquino’s interview where she virtually described Joseph Estrada as a true friend. If one will recall, Mrs. Aquino was at the forefront of EDSA Dos that unseated Erap. And yet in the end, he kept the friendship, always sending fruits regularly to Mrs. Aquino when she was diagnosed with cancer. Erap’s sincerity must have been so apparent that Kris Aquino publicly acknowledged Estrada as a good man and a true friend of her mother—even admitting that her respect for Erap went even higher when he did not use his private visit to Mrs. Aquino for political mileage and even denied that he saw her when in fact, he did.

And in vintage Erap fashion, the former president says he does not really blame Mancao because he understands the latter’s predicament: He is jobless, he needs to support his family, and the offer to give him back his job must have been too tempting.

For many, the fact that Estrada was a godfather to one of Bubby Dacer’s daughters and that the relationship between the two had always been jovial plus the admission of the Dacer family that they don’t believe Erap was involved should be enough reason to consider that the former president should not be indicted for the murder in the first place.

One thing is clear however: a lot of people believe the timing of this whole thing is really suspect, and many seem to agree with Joseph Estrada’s suspicion that former police senior superintendent Cezar Mancao may have been offered all sorts of things to implicate the former president. As many simple and ordinary folks have commented, “mukhang pine-frame-up nila si presidente.”

There is no denying that Joseph Estrada continues to be very popular especially among the lower ranks of society. As Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said, put Joseph Estrada on one side of a big crowd and the other so-called presidentiables on the other side, and you would see everyone flocking to the former president—like what happened during a wedding in Cebu where GMA, Noli de Castro and Loren Legarda also stood as sponsors.

Given the very volatile political landscape in this country, the administration should tread carefully and avoid playing with fire. This whole thing is simply “out of character”—and “out of timing.”