Former Philippine president Joseph Estrada was given a full pardon, just weeks after he was jailed for life on charges of stealing tens of millions of dollars from the nation's coffers.
The announcement came just days after Estrada, a former action movie hero, asked his successor - President Gloria Arroyo - to grant him a pardon in what his lawyers called the "national interest".
Mr Arroyo's spokesman said the pardon was granted after the popular 70-year-old agreed not to pursue any other elective office. He said the pardon was granted under a policy of releasing prisoners who have reached 70 years of age.
But he made no mention of the political pressure exerted by Estrada supporters for his release, after he was sentenced to life behind bars for massive corruption.
Estrada, who had earlier insisted he had rejected a deal with Mr Arroyo, was convicted by a special anti-corruption court on September 12 after a six-year trial that he repeatedly insisted was politically motivated.
The court confiscated $A97 million from his bank accounts that had been frozen during the trial.
The case has marked a bitter chapter in Philippine politics that began when the one-time action hero was ousted from power in 2001, a move which led to violent street protests.
The pardon was granted despite warnings from another influential former president, Fidel Ramos, who said in a television interview earlier that he warned Arroyo "not to be hasty in giving clemency" to Estrada.
"It will be a terrible calamity to the great majority of the Filipino people who suffered from plunder," Ramos said.
In a letter to Mr Arroyo made public on Monday, Estrada lawyer Jose Flaminiano said the former leader deserved compassion and understanding.
"His ouster from the presidency - and to live with that humiliation for the rest of his life - was a severe punishment in itself and may be equivalent to serving a long jail term," Mr Flaminiano wrote.
The letter said Estrada believed there was a "slim chance" that his conviction would be reversed, and that he was concerned his eventual transfer to a proper prison cell "may generate bad feelings" among his supporters. © 2007 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
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