MikeLigalig.com

By Ferdinand G. Patinio

Stressing there is no constitutional prohibition that bars her from running for any position, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) junked on Wednesday the petition seeking to disqualify President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from seeking the second congressional district seat of Pampanga in the May 10, 2010 elections.

In its decision, the Comelec Second Division chaired by Commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer said, “In the issue of President Arroyo’s qualification to run for the office of representative of the 2nd district of Pampanga, such an assertion should be dismissed outright, and as appears from the very words of the constitutional prohibition, there is nothing there that prevents the sitting president from running for any public office other that of president.”

It added, “Petitioner merely added his own flawed interpretation of the Constitution, thus resulting to his unjustified conclusion. The Commission (Second Division) need only refer to the very provisions of Section 4, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution to see that there is no such prohibition against the respondent Arroyo to run in Pampanga.”

In a related development, former President Joseph Estrada can breathe freely, for now, as the disqualification case seeking to prevent him from running for president in the coming national elections was also junked by the Comelec on Wednesday morning.

In a 26-page decision, the Comelec Second Division said "the petitions filed by Evilio Pormento and Mary Lou Estrada were dismissed for utterly lack of merit."

The poll body's resolution stated that they are leaving the decision to the voters in choosing the next president.

“In the end, it is the Filipino people who would act as the final arbiter on whether they would have Estrada sit again as president. It is the electorate’s choice of who their president should be. The better policy approach is to let the people decide who will be the next president,” the decision read.

“For on political questions, this court may err but the sovereign people will not. To be sure, the Constitution did not grant to the unelected members of the court the right to elect in behalf of the people,” the resolution stated further.

The petitioners earlier said that Estrada violates Article VII, Section 4 of the Constitution, which states that: “The President shall not be eligible for any reelection. No person who has succeeded as President and has served as such for more than four years shall be qualified for election to the same office at any time.”

Estrada earlier argued that he is still eligible to seek the presidency again since he does not fall into two categories banned by the law, namely: being the incumbent President and those who have finished their six-year term as Chief Executive.

The decision noted: “Besides, respondent Joseph 'Erap' Estrada no longer holds a public office; more importantly, he is no longer the president and wields none of the vast powers of this position. He poses no danger to anyone. Because of this prevailing status, a simple application of the rule will lead any reasonable and logical person to conclude that the prohibition against the reelection of 'The President' does not apply to Joseph Estrada.”

On the other petition filed by Elly Pamatong against Estrada, the commission also dismissed it since it is only being used as a political tool for the petitioner’s personal interests.

“Ultimately, our duty is to ensure the proper conduct of elections enough to be embroiled in unfounded petitions like this one... It is a waste of our precious time...,” the decision said.

Estrada, who was present during the promulgation, welcomed the ruling and thanked the Comelec for coming up with a fair decision.

“Nothing can make me happier than to continue serving our people. I want to thank the Comelec commissioners for their sense of fairness and I would say that this is not my victory alone; this is the victory of the Filipino people and our democracy,” he said.

The ousted Chief Executive vowed to fight the case until the end, or if ever the case will be elevated to the Supreme Court.

With the Comelec ruling in his favor, Estrada expressed confidence that his rank in the presidential survey will improve.

The Pulse Asia Pre-Election Survey released in December 2009 showed that the Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino standard-bearer is in second place at 19 percent.

Meanwhile, Pormento said that he would file his motion for reconsideration within three days as prescribed by law.

“Being a lawyer, tinatanggap ko ang desisyon ng Second Division. But it is not yet final. I still have three days to file an MR,” he said. (PNA)

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