I had a first in my career today.

For the first time, I’m coming out on the Inquirer front page with an article several time zones away from my area of expertise.

I’ve had my share of front page experiences before. But it mostly came from covering two Manny Pacquiao fights, including the one against Erik Morales in Vegas, and one story about a cancer survivor who won a rowing tournament abroad.

This one, though, is different.

 

Yup, Joseph Ejercito Estrada, Erap to his minions, visited the Inquirer office Tuesday night. And out of curiosity, I sat down with him as he dined with the paper’s editors.

And while I was at it, I started taking notes.

And before I knew it, I had a story in mind.

This was, after all, a former president convicted of plunder and then pardoned with such swiftness, it narrowly lost to the pace by which the Arroyo credibility dropped.

At first, I was content watching him eat. He lined up the buffet table along with us mere mortals and picked his serving of pescado medralino, roast beef, pilaff rice and mixed veggies. On a smaller plate, he fished in desserts–proscuitto with melon and angulas. Someone later served him three shotglasses full of grand marnier pate.

Okay, I don’t recognize anything save for roast beef. But the dishes for the evening were tagged. I merely copied their names.

He started cracking jokes, Erap style, and bared his plans for 2010.

And it was somewhere in the middle of going through the names of possible candidates the opposition could field that I had to break to him the bad news.

I am running for president in 2010 and I already have three supporters.

He didn’t take the news well.

Oh well, at least I got my front page cameo appearance and that’s all that matters. And besides, he was a fun interview, jabbing verbally at opponents and really showing that he was out to smoke the peace pipe with the one paper he nearly bled dry via an ad boycott in 1999 for the simple reason that it was critical to him.

And it looks like that bad blood is over.

Between Erap and me, however, it has just began. The war in 2010 will be fought, and we will fight it the best we can.

And just a little past the stroke of midnight, he accepted the challenge with a show of bravado, recalling how, when he run in 1998, a prominent businessman wrote him a check for P3 million in campaign contribution.

“I returned the money with a little message. I told my people to tell [name of prominent businessman] thank you, but I’m running for president, not barangay captain,” Erap said.

It did not fluster me.

And before he left, he called me again for a little show of sportsmanship.

2010, here we come.