Philippines: Gloria to block ex-president's attempt to run for presidency!

This is from the Daily Tribune.
ERAP is the popular name for the ex-president Joseph Estrada. Estrada's popularity rating is far above that of Arroyo. Estrada was pardoned by Arroyo after being found guilty of corruption. However, he agreed not to run for president in 2010.
However, he must be having second thoughts.
Philippine politicians don't seem to retire even after being found guilty of various charges. Even coup leaders seem to return again and again to fail once more. It seems unlikely that Estrada will be able to run because of legal barriers against his candidacy.


Gloria to block Erap’s 2010 run



01/03/2008

Seeing a landslide victory in 2010 with former President Joseph Estrada as standard-bearer in an opposition ticket, President Arroyo, through her spokesman, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye, yesterday warned the former leader against making a run for the presidency in 2010 and vowed to file a disqualification case against Estrada if he insists on running for the top political post.

This will be done once he files his certificate of candidacy.

Bunye, at a press briefing, pointed out that prior to Mrs. Arroyo’s decision to grant Estrada an unconditional pardon late last year, he had agreed that he would no longer seek the presidency in the 2010 national elections.

Bunye stated that the records are very clear and that any person with an average intelligence would know that Estrada is no longer eligible to seek the presidency.

“We can look at the records and they are very clear. They have been disseminated and I recall the former President even signed a copy of that pardon,” Bunye said.

But when the spokesman was asked why this particular proviso was included in the pardon of Estrada, who earlier was convicted by the Sandiganbayan Special Division of plunder, Bunye claimed: “I can’t go back to the whys and wherefores. The fact is there was





a pardon that was extended. There were conditions that were set in the pardon itself and the pardon was supposed to have been accepted and was in fact accepted. And that was the basis for the release of the former president. If you read it, any person of average intelligence would know what the document stipulated, “adding that “(Executive Secretary Eduardo) Ermita says the thing speaks for itself so the document is the best evidence on what the terms set forth on the pardon are.”

Asked if it is binding, Bunye replied in the positive. “He (Estrada) affixed his signature on the document. Now if Erap decides to run despite conditions...” he trailed off, then said: “At this point that is very speculative. That’s two years from now, so let’s see.”

For his part, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Sergio Apostol said the Palace will file a disqualification case against Estrada before the Supreme Court if he insists on running for president again.

“Yes he (Estrada) could oppose the (whereas clause in the) pardon, but that would be a ground for us to file a disqualification case against him before the court,” he said.

Apostol stressed it is clear in the 1987 Constitution that a president who has been elected to the same post before cannot assume the same, whether his six year term in office was cut off by three and a half years, brought about by his ouster in January 2001.

“Erap cannot run for a reelection — whether he finished it (his term) or not. It is stated in our constitutional provision that a former president cannot run again for the same post. It is also part of the presidential pardon that was given to him by President Arroyo,” he insisted.

The Justice chief, Raul Gonzales, had a different take, saying that Estrada can run, but not for the presidency.

A constitutional prohibition against presidents seeking reelection stands in the way of any term sharing agreement involving the former president, Gonzalez claimed.

The Justice chief pointed out that a literal interpretation of Section 4, Article 7 of the 1987 Constitution disallows Estrada from seeking the presidency,even if his civil rights, such as the right to vote and be voted upon, have been restored after Mrs. Arroyo pardoned him.

The relevant provision reads 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 allies who are also lawyers have also pointed to the fact that Estrada, should he run for the top post, will not be in the category of a reelectionist president, since he is not the incumbent president and that a full six year presidential term would have passed by 2010.

They pointed out that this proviso applied to Mrs. Arroyo, not to Estrada.

Others took the view that Estrada had served for less than three years, the same number of years that allowed Mrs. Arroyo to seek the presidency in 2004.

Gonzalez also downplayed opposition personalities who have signified their intentions to run for the presidency. “From presidential timbers (down) to presidential toothpicks, all these people want to run,” the Justice chief claimed.

The Estrada camp has been quoted as saying that that he may seek the presidency anew and share the position’s term of office to either administration or opposition candidates.

“He cannot seek any reelection. This is already moot and academic,” the DoJ chief said.

Gonzales stressed that “being illegally removed as president” does not qualify the popular and charismatic Estrada as one of the candidates in 2010 presidential elections but he added that Estrada can still run for other elective posts, except for president. He can run for vice president and other elective positions, but not for president.”

The DoJ chief said Estrada was deemed to have completed his term because if he did not, he would not have been succeeded by Mrs. Arroyo.

The Justice chief pointed out that Estrada by all legal technicalities had satisfied his term because he had already reached his first three years in office before he was ousted in 2001.

“The fact is that he had accepted President Arroyo’s absolute pardon, he already recognized the present government’s legitimacy,” Gonzalez stressed.

The Estrada camp is said to be preparing a grueling “month-long sortie” in Visayas and Mindanao to usher in the New Year, giving the deposed president the time to extend his gratitude to the people of the south whom he says, have supported him all the way.

This was confirmed to the Tribune by Rep. Rufus Rodriguez who said that Estrada himself said he wanted to visit the Visayas and Mindanao so he could personally feel the pulse of the people there aside from expressing his appreciation to vote-rich islands who have supported him even in the darkest days of his political career.

“President Estrada says he wants to visit Visayas and Mindanao early this year, probably within the month so he could personally thank the people there for their unwavering support for him even at the time he was incarcerated,” Rodriguez told the Tribune in a telephone interview.

Aside from that, he wants to personally feel the pulse of the masses there as to who could possibly be the strongest presidential contender in 2010,” the former Immigration Commissioner during Estrada’s term added.

Rodriguez said Estrada is personally disturbed over the fact that the opposition has failed to come to terms for a unified presidential candidate in 2010. To date, five opposition stalwarts, namely Senators Mar Roxas, Manny Villar, Loren Legarda, Ping Lacson and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, have signified their intentions of running.

“President Estrada doesn’t want a repeat of the 2004 elections when a fragmented opposition contested the presidency against incumbent President Arroyo where the late actor Fernando Poe, Jr. lost by a million votes,” said Rodriguez. “It would be easier to cheat a fragmented opposition than a unified one.”

Thus, Rodriguez added, he had come up with a compromise solution wherein Estrada would seek the presidency once more in 2010 to serve his remaining three years in office and relinquish it to his vice president in 2013. “The President (Estrada) is amenable to that,” Rodriguez said.

“If Estrada runs and wins again, that will be a vindication for him as it would be the people themselves who would be deciding on his fate and not just any court,” Rodriguez said obviously referring Estrada’s plunder conviction.

“There is no other person who can unite the opposition and he has a proven mass base. He is very charismatic and enjoys the sympathy of the people.”

“The question now is: would the five opposition presidentiables agree to step down to vice president?” Rodriguez asked. “And if they would all be willing to step down, who among the five would be chosen as Erap’s vice president?”

But if ever the opposition presidentiables agree to his compromise solution, Rodriguez said whoever gets chosen to run for vice president would get the chance to serve for three years from 2013 to 2016 as Estrada vows to serve only for three years.

“Then, whoever that person would be could still run for president,” he stressed. “That person would make a good president because of the benefit of experience.”

Rodriguez however refused to disclose what process they would undertake in choosing the vice president should his compromise solution would be adopted.

The Cagayan de Oro solon however stressed that Estrada is more than willing to give way to all five opposition presidentiables provided they unite for a common candidate and prove that he or she is capable of winning.

“2010 is still a long way to go,” said Rodriguez. “All the opposition presidentiables could still unite for a common ticket or adopt this compromise solution.”

But a ranking House member dismissed the possibility of Estrada running again in 2010.

In a text message, Rep. Prospero Nograles told the Tribune that legal impediments may prevent the deposed president from again seeking the presidency.

“In my legal opinion, Erap can’t run anymore,” the head of the House contingent to the Commission on Appointment said. “As of now, (Senator) Jinggoy is his only logical choice,” Nograles said.

But, while, the Davao City solon also admitted a united opposition in 2010 would be hard to beat, he said he is pessimistic it would be able to come up with a unified ticket..

“If the opposition could unite, it would be formidable,” said Nograles. “But in my personal opinion, the chances of a united opposition at this point is slim and dim because they now have their own political parties building up and recruiting members nationwide in stiff competition with each other.” Sherwin C. Olaes, Benjamin B. Pulta and Charlie V. Manalo