After his arrest on April 25, 2001, on charges of plunder, his supporters rallied and marched to Malacañang Palace and attempted to storm the premises in EDSA III.

In 2007, Estrada was sentenced by a special division of the Sandiganbayan to reclusión perpetua under a charge of plunder for the embezzlement of the $80 million from the government but was later granted a pardon by the president and his former deputy, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Estrada began dating his St. John's Academy schoolmate Mercedita "Ditas" Carmona at the age of 15, later losing his virginity to her at 17 years old.

He adopted the stage name "Joseph Estrada", as his mother objected to his chosen career and his decision to quit schooling multiple times.

In 1974, Estrada founded the Movie Workers Welfare Foundation (Mowelfund), which helps filmmakers through medical reimbursements, hospitalization, surgery and death benefits, livelihood, alternative income opportunities, and housing.

[9] Estrada entered politics in 1967, running for mayor of San Juan, failing and only succeeding in 1969 after winning an electoral protest against Braulio Sto.

These included the establishment of the first Municipal High School, the Agora complex, a modern slaughterhouse, a sprawling government center with a post office, a mini-park, and the paving of 98 percent of the town's roads and alleys.

[11] In the Senate, Estrada sponsored bills on irrigation projects and the protection and propagation of the carabao, the beast of burden in the rural areas.

[citation needed] In 1992, Estrada initially ran for president under the Partido ng Masang Pilipino (PMP), with Vicente Rivera Jr. as his running mate and fellow actor Fernando Poe Jr. as his campaign manager.

[15] Though Cojuangco lost to former National Defense Secretary Fidel V. Ramos for the presidency, Estrada won the vice-presidency garnering more votes than his closest opponent Marcelo Fernan, Ramon Mitra Jr.'s running mate.

He also gave his inaugural address at the Quirino Grandstand where he promised to bring peace and harmony to the people and pledged to fight corruption and continue the economic reforms of the previous Ramos administration.

He assumed office amid the Asian Financial Crisis and with agricultural problems due to poor weather conditions, thereby slowing the economic growth to −0.6% in 1998 from 5.2% in 1997.

Singson's allegation caused controversy across the nation, which culminated in the House of Representatives' filing of an impeachment case against Estrada on November 13, 2000.

This was the first time the Filipino public witnessed, through radio and television, an elected president stand in trial and face possible impeachment with full media coverage.

That night, anti-Estrada protesters gathered in front of the EDSA Shrine at Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, not too far away from the site of the 1986 People Power Revolution that overthrew President Ferdinand Marcos.

On January 19, 2001, Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Angelo Reyes, seeing the political upheaval throughout the country, decided to "withdraw his support" of Estrada and pay his allegiance to the vice president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

It is for this reason that I now leave Malacañang Palace, the seat of the presidency of this country, for the sake of peace and to begin the healing process of our nation.

His supporters marched to the EDSA Shrine to stage a protest demanding Estrada's release and his reinstatement as president, among whom were his wife Loi Ejercito and political allies such as Juan Ponce Enrile, Panfilo Lacson, Gringo Honasan and Miriam Defensor Santiago.

In the early morning of May 1, supporters of Estrada marched straight to the gates of Malacañang Palace, where violence erupted and forcing President Arroyo to declare a state of rebellion.

[1] On September 26, 2007, Estrada appealed by filing a 63-page motion for reconsideration of the Sandiganbayan judgment penned by Teresita de Castro (submitting five legal grounds).

The court was also to resolve Banco de Oro's (formerly Equitable PCI Bank) plea that it could not determine "without hazard to itself" whom to turn over to the P1.1 billion Jose Velarde assets due to claims by Wellex Group / William Gatchalian and a Bureau of Internal Revenue stay order.

[42] On October 22, 2007, Acting Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera stated that Estrada was seeking a "full, free, and unconditional pardon" from President Arroyo.

"[46] Bunye noted that Estrada committed in his application not to seek public office,[47] and he would be free from his Tanay resthouse on October 26, at noon.

[56] His senatorial lineup included Francisco Tatad, Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada, Joey de Venecia, and Miriam Defensor Santiago.

In October 2010, the magazine Foreign Policy included Estrada in its list of five former heads of states/governments who did not make "a positive difference in the world", but "faded away into obscurity."

Also included in this "Bad Exes" list were Thailand's Thaksin Shinawatra, Spain's Jose Maria Aznar, and Germany's Gerhard Schroder.

[59] Estrada announced in November 2010 that he would be selling his 3,000-square-meter (32,000 sq ft) home in San Juan for about ₱200 million to pursue his real estate business.

[69] This time, his running mate was former 4th District Councilor and OIC - City Social Welfare Officer Dr. Honey Lacuna Pangan.

[73][74] On September 28, 2018, Estrada settled the city's ₱200 million tax liabilities, left unpaid by former mayors Lito Atienza and Alfredo Lim, to the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

[80] Estrada is the first president to have previously worked in the entertainment industry as a popular artist, and the first to sport any sort of facial hair during his term, specifically his trademark acting mustaches and wristbands.