Former President Joseph Estrada who was ousted by the so-called "text messaging and online chatroom" crowd in the 2001 EDSA Dos now faces the same conviction by the tech-savvy generation.

After the Malu Fernandez controversy, Pinoy bloggers have once again united on discussing a single topic. And this time, it was former President Estrada's turn to enter the blogging limelight.

Last September 12, the Sandigan Bayan convicted Estrada, who was allegedly embezzling government funds during his term, for two out of the four charges of plunder while he was acquitted on his perjury charges. Senator Jinggoy Estrada, his son, and lawyer Edward Serapio were also acquitted from plunder charges by the anti-graft court.

After the controversial verdict was announced, many bloggers have expressed their opinions on the outcome of the six-year trial.

Blogger Jon Mariano of An OFW Living in Hong Kong expressed that Estrada's fall is complete. "The wheels of justice finally reached an end point in Erap's case and satisfied or not, the Filipino people will move on." Jon said in his blog. "What awaits him is life imprisonment in a very comfortable setting."

Meanwhile, Inquirer columnist Manuel Quezon III pointed out in his blog that Estrada's verdict came to no surprise. "Estrada himself leaked what the verdict would be". He also pointed Estrada's battle is not yet over since he can appeal to the Supreme Court.

Blogger Connie Veneracion of My Sassy Lawyer weighed in the pros and cons of convicting or acquitting Estrada. "If Estrada was acquitted, the opposition will conclude - naturally - that the Arroyo government is illegitimate because EDSA 2 would have no legal, moral or factual basis. If Estrada was convicted, the opposition will claim that the Malacaņang pressured the Sandiganbayan and will use that as a basis for its own call to arms."

But she felt that there are still some questions that weren't answered on the trial. "What does Atong Ang know, and could have testified to, that could have ruined the prosecution's case against Estrada?"

However, many bloggers feel that it is the turn of the President Gloria Arroyo's turn to face trial for corruption.

BluePanjeet.net expresses that he feels that political corruption gets worse every time. And that Gloria Arroyo will have to face corruption accusations just like Estrada. "Goliath has fallen, and the Estrada Case is only the beginning of a much heated ousting of a leader. Erap was found Guilty as expected and as common sense dictates. The next chapter is Gloria's turn to caress the cold steel bars with her hubby with much help from most of the Opposition Senators."

Meanwhile on the supposed pardon grant for Estrada, the blogger of Alleba Politics said that he should not be granted pardon. "PREPOSTEROUS! That is an injustice to all the Filipino people! Let us remain vigilant of this very, very, very dubious deal between Estrada and the administration."

However, even if the entire blog community seemed to have agreed on the guilty decision, there are bloggers who find the decision unfair.

Blogger Aldrin, an IT student, disagrees with the decision and feels that Estrada should be set free. "I think that Estrada is innocent and must be set free. Each one of us has a chance to be forgiven. Our former president is in need of your understanding and forgiveness and they give so much focus on this issue while having no care on drug dealers or murderers swarming the streets".

Meanwhile, online discussion boards and forums are also filled with various commentaries relating to the conviction of Estrada.

In PinoyExchange.com (PEX), one of the largest Philippine forum databases, users have also shared their views on the conviction of Estrada.

PEX User Lunedi said "Erap's conviction is a step closer to helping eradicate corruption. I don't think anyone was naive to think that once he's in jail, corruption will go away in the blink of an eye. Rather, it's more of a warning to all officials of the government that no one is exempted from the law." However, the user entails that even regular citizens should change as well. "Even regular citizens like you and me can help change the overall image the world has of us. The problem is we're too busy try to pull each other down that we're not getting anywhere."

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