December 11, 2000, The Philippine Star, Even in Islam Estrada won't find moral solace, by Ding Cervantes,

December 11, 2000, The Philippine Star, Even in Islam Estrada won't find moral solace, by Ding Cervantes,

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — President Estrada cannot find moral redemption even in the Muslim religion which allows a man to have more than one wife. In fact, Mr. Estrada would probably have been meted the death penalty had he been a Muslim, said party-list Rep. Muhammad Omar Fajardo, a Muslim who represents the overseas Filipino workers' sector. 

"For one thing, the Muslim religion can never be a religion of convenience," he said. Nevertheless, the tenets of Islam, Fajardo said, disqualify the President, and he cites several reasons for this. "While Muslim men are  allowed more than one wife, the number of wives is limited to a maximum of four," he said, noting reports that Mr. Estrada allegedly has more "partners." 

  
And then, too, the Muslim religion specifies wives, not mistresses. "Maintaining mistresses is something deserving of the death penalty according to the Koran," Fajardo said. But granting that Mr. Estrada, as a Muslim, would marry three of his alleged mistresses to meet the maximum number of four wives, he would have to abandon his other alleged mistresses. 

Fajardo said Mr. Estrada would also fail in the requirement that a Muslim man ought to treat his women fairly and provide for them equally. "Reports that he seems to pamper Laarni Enriquez with mansions is already an  indication that he has not treated his women equally," Fajardo added. 

With Guia Gomez, with whom the President sired JV Ejercito, reportedly engaging in several businesses, Mr. Estrada faces another disqualification, the lawmaker said. "The Muslim religion does not allow wives to be the breadwinner," he said. "While the wife can be allowed to work, the money she earns cannot be shared with the husband." 

Fajardo, 41, said he himself now has only one wife. A second wife had died, while he had divorced another. He said that while Muslim men are allowed to marry women belonging to other religions, Muslim women cannot marry men from other faiths. Fajardo said majority of Muslims in Mindanao do not support the President for his lifestyle that runs counter to Muslim ways. 

  
But he admitted that some of the President's programs in Mindanao are initially attractive. He cited some presidential sorties to Mindanao wherein he awarded housing units to some families. "But the fact is that such  strategies seem to be only for show, considering the number of Mindanaoans who are in need of housing," he added.