By Jes Tirol
The Bohol Chronicle
ProemThe COMELEC has already given notice that Nov. 30, 2009 will be the deadline for filing the certificate of candidacy for the May 2010 National Election. So this early, the Filipinos are already agog regarding the election.
One controversial topic permeating the political climate is the intention of Ex-President Estrada to run again for President of the Philippines. The question is, is he qualified?
Constitutional ProvisionArticle VII, Section 4 of the 1987 Constitution provides, “…The President shall not be eligible for any re-election.†Take note that the spelling “re-election†has a hyphen. Therefore it has a different connotation with the spelling “reelection†without a hyphen.
Logical ThinkingWhen I was studying engineering in the 1960s, the most popular algebra problem was the following: “Mary is 24 years old. Mary is twice as old as Ann was when Mary was as old as Ann is now. How old is Ann?†The answer is 18 years. If you are not careful with the relationship of the “is†and “was†you might get an answer of 24 years.
In mathematical logic you will analyze according to mathematical rules and the answer will be a consequence of the rules.
In the legal profession, the reasoning will be tailored according to a specific objective. The prosecution lawyer will arrange the data and reasoning to show that the defendant is guilty. The defense lawyer will also arrange the same or similar data to show that the defendant is not guilty. It is the judge who will determine the correct answer.
The situation of Ex-Pres. Estrada is debated by lawyers. It will be the Supreme who can provide the correct answer. Nonetheless I will try to analyze using my mathematical logic.
Is Pres. Estrada Eligible?According to the lawyers of Ex-Pres. Estrada, he is eligible because he is not running for reelection. Former Justice Secretary Serafin Cuevas makes a distinction between a former president and an incumbent. President Estrada is coming from the outside; therefore it is not a reelection.
Senator Miriam Santiago said, “The applicable rule is, where the law does not distinguish, we should not also distinguish.†Since the law does not say former or incumbent president, then all those who had been presidents are not eligible to run again as president.
ReelectionFilipino English has already developed its own nuances. We say effectivity instead of effectiveness. We have aggrupation which comes from the Spanish “agrupacion.†We have “trainor,†the person who trains the trainer.
In the same vein, the words “reelection†and “re-election†has already its nuance. As intimated by former Justice Secretary Cuevas, reelection means an incumbent that run again and be elected to the same office.
Re-electionAccording to the Webster’s Third New International dictionary, the prefix “re-,†with a hyphen, indicates “again†or “anew.†It is used so that there will be no confusion to convey the meaning “again.â€
For example the word “retire,†without a hyphen, means to withdraw or to stop. If you put a hyphen as in “re-tire,†it means to put again the tires, as in the tire of cars.
Therefore “reelect†refers to an incumbent being elected again to the same office. In the same manner “re-elect†means to be elected again. It covers all other situations that convey the meaning “again.â€
I therefore beg to disagree with Senator Santiago. The Constitution already distinguished when it says “…not eligible for any re-election.†In the case of Pres. Estrada, it is to be elected again as President.
Therefore it is very clear that Ex-Pres. Estrada is not qualified to run for president because he will be running to be elected again as president. It is a situation that is covered by the term “re-election.â€
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