QUICK TAKES - July 30, 2009

Former Philippine President Joseph Estrada, once an action movie star, is returning to the big screen with his first film since he was toppled on corruption charges.

Estrada, 72, on Wednesday started filming a comedy about a minibus driver trying to deal with his daughter’s plans to marry her Filipino-American boyfriend.

“I am back. I am happy,” Estrada told ABS-CBN television, the sister company of the film’s production company, Star Cinema. “This is where I came from, where I became known.”

Estrada built his political career as a champion of the poor, largely based on his movie roles as an underdog. He stepped down amid massive protests in 2001 after serving only half of his six-year term. He was convicted of “plunder” in September 2007 but was immediately granted a pardon by his successor.