http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=542552&publicationSubCategoryId=63
MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Elections (Comelec) finally allowed former President Joseph Estrada to pursue his presidential bid in the May 10 elections by junking all the disqualification cases filed against him yesterday.
The poll body also ruled President Arroyo is qualified to run for Congress, dismissing the disqualification petition against her for lack of merit.
The Comelec’s Second Division dismissed for “utter lack of merit” the separate petitions made by Evillo Pormento, Mary Lou Estrada and lawyer Elly Pamatong seeking the disqualification of Estrada by citing the constitutional prohibition against former presidents seeking reelection.
The Comelec said constitutional provision against former presidents seeking reelection does not apply to Estrada.
“Reelection means running for the same position as the one currently held and/or occupied,” the Comelec pointed out.
“So that when ‘re’ is used as a prefix of the word ‘election,’ the resulting world ‘reelection’ means ‘repetition’ or repeated election or ‘election again’ or ‘election again and again’, i.e. an election that immediately follows a preceding election or an election of an incumbent to the same office to which he was elected in the immediately preceding election.”
The Comelec’s Second Division, composed of Commissioners Nicodemo Ferrer, Elias Yusoph and Lucenito Tagle, also ruled that Pamatong’s petition against the President has no legal basis.
Pamatong argued Mrs. Arroyo is not qualified to run for any position in the May elections, owing to the constitutional ban on reelection of the incumbent president.
The Comelec’s Second Division said “such an assertion should be dismissed outright.”
The Comelec said there is nothing in the Constitution that prevents Mrs. Arroyo from running for any public office other than the presidency.
Mrs. Arroyo is running in May to represent the second congressional district of Pampanga in the House of Representatives.
The Comelec said Pamatong’s petition against Mrs. Arroyo should be dismissed outright for being “improperly verified” and other procedural lapses.
The President’s lawyer Romulo Macalintal said he expected the Comelec decision.
“From the very start, we were confident that case should be dismissed for its utter lack of merit,” Macalintal said.
He said that if Comelec allowed Estrada to run, all the more reason should it allow Mrs. Arroyo to run again since she is seeking a different elective position.
Nuisance no more
The Comelec also rejected arguments that Mrs. Arroyo and Estrada should be disqualified for being nuisance candidates.
The poll body maintained Mrs. Arroyo cannot be considered a nuisance candidate “when (she) demonstrated a clear capacity to run for offices that (she is) vying for.”
The Comelec also said Estrada “possesses all the eligibilities for the position” of president.
“He (Estrada) has a (political) party, not to mention people support and monetary backing as well... he is not a nuisance candidate,” the Comelec said.
The Comelec also dismissed Pamatong’s argument that Estrada is not eligible as a candidate.
“In the end, it is the Filipino people as the final arbiter of whether they would have... Estrada sit again as president. It is the electorate’s choice of who their president should be... we should simply let the people decide and not substitute our own judgment for the people’s enlightened choice,” the Comelec said.
Estrada, for his part, said the Comelec’s decision favoring his bid to return to Malacañang was “significant.”
Estrada noted the Comelec ruling came exactly nine years after he was ousted from office during the second People Power revolution.
“This date of the promulgation of this decision... is significant to me personally because it was exactly on this day nine years ago - Jan. 20, 2001 – when the honor to serve the Filipino people as president was stolen from me,” Estrada remarked.
He said the decision gave him the opportunity to serve anew in Malacañang and complete what his administration had started in 1998.
With the Comelec deciding in his favor, Estrada said it would now be all systems go for him in the May elections.
Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay, running as Estrada’s vice president, said the Comelec’s decision would put to rest all doubts and questions about Estrada’s eligibility to run.
Binay said the Comelec’s ruling followed the Supreme Court (SC) ruling dismissing the motion for reconsideration of Eligio Mallari of the Vanguard of the Philippine Constitution, Inc. (VPCI), appealing the dismissal of his petition seeking the disqualification of Estrada.
The SC dismissed the petition for being premature and also cited the lack of legal arguments to back the allegations.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, who was among those who accompanied Estrada to the Comelec yesterday, declared the decision marks the return of Estrada to Malacañang.
“There is no doubt about it anymore, Erap is returning to Malacañang,” he said.
‘It’s not yet over’
Malacañang, on the other hand, said they respect the decision of Comelec in allowing Estrada to run in the May presidential elections.
The Comelec’s Second Division dismissed for “utter lack of merit” the separate petitions made by Evillo Pormento, Mary Lou Estrada and lawyer Elly Pamatong seeking the disqualification of Estrada by citing the constitutional prohibition against former presidents seeking reelection.
The Comelec said constitutional provision against former presidents seeking reelection does not apply to Estrada.
“Reelection means running for the same position as the one currently held and/or occupied,” the Comelec pointed out.
“So that when ‘re’ is used as a prefix of the word ‘election,’ the resulting world ‘reelection’ means ‘repetition’ or repeated election or ‘election again’ or ‘election again and again’, i.e. an election that immediately follows a preceding election or an election of an incumbent to the same office to which he was elected in the immediately preceding election.”
The Comelec’s Second Division, composed of Commissioners Nicodemo Ferrer, Elias Yusoph and Lucenito Tagle, also ruled that Pamatong’s petition against the President has no legal basis.
Pamatong argued Mrs. Arroyo is not qualified to run for any position in the May elections, owing to the constitutional ban on reelection of the incumbent president.
The Comelec’s Second Division said “such an assertion should be dismissed outright.”
The Comelec said there is nothing in the Constitution that prevents Mrs. Arroyo from running for any public office other than the presidency.
Mrs. Arroyo is running in May to represent the second congressional district of Pampanga in the House of Representatives.
The Comelec said Pamatong’s petition against Mrs. Arroyo should be dismissed outright for being “improperly verified” and other procedural lapses.
The President’s lawyer Romulo Macalintal said he expected the Comelec decision.
“From the very start, we were confident that case should be dismissed for its utter lack of merit,” Macalintal said.
He said that if Comelec allowed Estrada to run, all the more reason should it allow Mrs. Arroyo to run again since she is seeking a different elective position.
Nuisance no more
The Comelec also rejected arguments that Mrs. Arroyo and Estrada should be disqualified for being nuisance candidates.
The poll body maintained Mrs. Arroyo cannot be considered a nuisance candidate “when (she) demonstrated a clear capacity to run for offices that (she is) vying for.”
The Comelec also said Estrada “possesses all the eligibilities for the position” of president.
“He (Estrada) has a (political) party, not to mention people support and monetary backing as well... he is not a nuisance candidate,” the Comelec said.
The Comelec also dismissed Pamatong’s argument that Estrada is not eligible as a candidate.
“In the end, it is the Filipino people as the final arbiter of whether they would have... Estrada sit again as president. It is the electorate’s choice of who their president should be... we should simply let the people decide and not substitute our own judgment for the people’s enlightened choice,” the Comelec said.
Estrada, for his part, said the Comelec’s decision favoring his bid to return to Malacañang was “significant.”
Estrada noted the Comelec ruling came exactly nine years after he was ousted from office during the second People Power revolution.
“This date of the promulgation of this decision... is significant to me personally because it was exactly on this day nine years ago - Jan. 20, 2001 – when the honor to serve the Filipino people as president was stolen from me,” Estrada remarked.
He said the decision gave him the opportunity to serve anew in Malacañang and complete what his administration had started in 1998.
With the Comelec deciding in his favor, Estrada said it would now be all systems go for him in the May elections.
Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay, running as Estrada’s vice president, said the Comelec’s decision would put to rest all doubts and questions about Estrada’s eligibility to run.
Binay said the Comelec’s ruling followed the Supreme Court (SC) ruling dismissing the motion for reconsideration of Eligio Mallari of the Vanguard of the Philippine Constitution, Inc. (VPCI), appealing the dismissal of his petition seeking the disqualification of Estrada.
The SC dismissed the petition for being premature and also cited the lack of legal arguments to back the allegations.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, who was among those who accompanied Estrada to the Comelec yesterday, declared the decision marks the return of Estrada to Malacañang.
“There is no doubt about it anymore, Erap is returning to Malacañang,” he said.
‘It’s not yet over’
Malacañang, on the other hand, said they respect the decision of Comelec in allowing Estrada to run in the May presidential elections.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita though declared the issue would not be over for Estrada.
Ermita said the Supreme Court could now take up the case against Estrada after the Comelec decided the issue of disqualification.
Former President Fidel Ramos also agreed that the case against Estrada is not yet over, pointing to the possibility that the Comelec ruling may be elevated before the SC.
Ramos said he expects the petitioners to take the issue to the SC for a final ruling.
“We must understand there are more steps to be taken and I’m sure whoever petitioned for his original disqualification by the Comelec are going to the next step, so it’s not yet over,” Ramos said.
Ramos, who was succeeded by Estrada in 1998, said his former vice president would have difficulty since the disqualification issue still hangs over his head.
Estrada made history in the 1998 elections by garnering more than 10 million votes, the highest received by a presidential candidate in the country’s political history.
Estrada’s term, however, was cut short by a popular revolt that forced him to step down on Jan. 20, 2001 amid allegations of corruption.
Estrada was later charged and found guilty of plunder by the Sandiganbayan after more than six years of grueling trial and incarceration. – With Jose Rodel Clapano, Marvin Sy, Paolo Romero, Michael Punongbayan, Evelyn Macairan, Eva Visperas
Ermita said the Supreme Court could now take up the case against Estrada after the Comelec decided the issue of disqualification.
Former President Fidel Ramos also agreed that the case against Estrada is not yet over, pointing to the possibility that the Comelec ruling may be elevated before the SC.
Ramos said he expects the petitioners to take the issue to the SC for a final ruling.
“We must understand there are more steps to be taken and I’m sure whoever petitioned for his original disqualification by the Comelec are going to the next step, so it’s not yet over,” Ramos said.
Ramos, who was succeeded by Estrada in 1998, said his former vice president would have difficulty since the disqualification issue still hangs over his head.
Estrada made history in the 1998 elections by garnering more than 10 million votes, the highest received by a presidential candidate in the country’s political history.
Estrada’s term, however, was cut short by a popular revolt that forced him to step down on Jan. 20, 2001 amid allegations of corruption.
Estrada was later charged and found guilty of plunder by the Sandiganbayan after more than six years of grueling trial and incarceration. – With Jose Rodel Clapano, Marvin Sy, Paolo Romero, Michael Punongbayan, Evelyn Macairan, Eva Visperas
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