Cojuangco backed the successful 1998 presidential campaign of Joseph Estrada. In 2001 the former movie star -- nicknamed Erap -- was ousted in a Catholic Church-backed uprising after allegations that he had plundered state funds and Arroyo, his vice-president, took over.
"What Cojuangco cares about is himself and his financial empire, which bankrolled Erap to victory in 1998 and could bankroll another winner in 2004," wrote Ana Marie Pamintuan in the Philippine Star newspaper.
"But Cojuangco's finances -- and his hold on San Miguel -- will depend a great deal on decisions that will be made by the Supreme Court," Pamintuan said.
Cojuangco has deftly mixed business with politics since his younger years in Tarlac province, north of Manila, where he grew up on his father's sugarcane farm.
Many believe it is Cojuangco's business interests that will force him again to wade into the country's murky political waters, most likely on the side of the opposition.
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