Opponents afraid of Erap’s chances, says lawmaker
KIMBERLY JANE T. TAN, GMANews.TV
10/27/2009 | 03:21 PM
The disqualification case filed against former President Joseph “Erap" Estrada even before he could file his certificate of candidacy (COC) just shows that other presidential candidates are afraid of his chances at winning, one of his allies said Tuesday.
“The question is, why are they afraid of Erap? Filing the COC and running doesn’t assure you that you will become president. (It’s) because he is going to win the elections," Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, a member of Estrada’s political party Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino, told reporters on Tuesday.
Earlier, supposed presidential aspirant Oliver Lozano filed a petition with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to disqualify Estrada as a candidate.
The filing of COCs will run from November 20 to 30, 2009.
In his petition, Lozano cited Section 4, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution as “proof" that the Estrada is not eligible to seek the presidency again. The provision says: “The President shall not be eligible for any re-election."
In 1998, Estrada was elected with over 10 million votes, the highest vote a presidential candidate ever had in Philippine history. He was overthrown in 2001 amid corruption allegations and was convicted of plunder in 2007.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, however, immediately granted him executive clemency, restoring his political and civil rights. He has since reiterated his eligibility to run, saying he is not covered by the re-election ban under the Constitution.
Rodriguez supported Estrada’s claim, saying that the Constitutional provision being used by Lozano only applies to incumbent or “sitting presidents."
“The president cannot be eligible for any re-election, The president, who is the president? The president sitting. (Estrada) is (also) not running for a re-election, he is running for an election, a new term," said Rodriguez, a former law dean at San Sebastian College who served as immigration commissioner during Estrada's short-lived presidency.
“In public law, which is known by everybody, a re-elect is a person who is sitting and is running again to continue his term but if there is a hiatus or a break, in the case of Estrada who was illegally removed from power, imprisoned, pardoned, that will not apply," Rodriguez explained.
Earlier, Ferdinand Rafanan of the Comelec Law Department said that the acceptance of Lozano’s petition was just “ministerial" and that the commission en banc will still have to decide what to do with it.
‘Typical’ Lozano
Rodriguez said that even without these arguments, Rodriguez said Lozano’s petition would clearly not be considered by the commission because it is “premature."
“That will clearly be dismissed immediately because that is premature, there is no controversy, (Estrada) has not yet filed (a COC), he has only declared," he said.
Lozano requested in his petition that the Comelec considers his appeal after Estrada has filed his COC – something which Rodriguez found preposterous.
“There is no such thing as a filing of a case before a case is there," said Rodriguez, who added that such happenings are “typical" of Lozano.
“You know Oliver, Oliver is always there, he’s always ahead of everybody and we have known him to be like that," he said, referring to Lozano’s past acts of jumping the gun on everyone involving controversial cases.
Lozano first became known to the public when he started lawyering for the Marcoses or Marcos loyalists during the incumbency of the late President Corazon Aquino.
He later started diversifying, taking on cases other lawyers wouldn’t want to be associated with.
In 2005, he filed against President Arroyo an impeachment complaint in connection with the “Hello Garci" controversy in what was generally considered as a nuisance complaint meant to sabotage efforts by the opposition to pin down the President for alleged wrongdoing.
In October 2008, Lozano again tried to file an impeachment complaint against the President, this time based on the ZTE scandal and the government's botched memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain (MOA-AD) with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The filing of the complaint, however, was preceded by the one lodged by civil society leaders led by Jose de Venecia III.
Lozano’s latest publicized legal suit was his petition asking the Supreme Court to nullify the House-approved House Resolution 1109, which calls on Congress to convene itself into a constituent assembly. The petition was dismissed by the high court for being premature. - GMANews.TV
“The question is, why are they afraid of Erap? Filing the COC and running doesn’t assure you that you will become president. (It’s) because he is going to win the elections," Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, a member of Estrada’s political party Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino, told reporters on Tuesday.
Earlier, supposed presidential aspirant Oliver Lozano filed a petition with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to disqualify Estrada as a candidate.
The filing of COCs will run from November 20 to 30, 2009.
In his petition, Lozano cited Section 4, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution as “proof" that the Estrada is not eligible to seek the presidency again. The provision says: “The President shall not be eligible for any re-election."
In 1998, Estrada was elected with over 10 million votes, the highest vote a presidential candidate ever had in Philippine history. He was overthrown in 2001 amid corruption allegations and was convicted of plunder in 2007.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, however, immediately granted him executive clemency, restoring his political and civil rights. He has since reiterated his eligibility to run, saying he is not covered by the re-election ban under the Constitution.
Rodriguez supported Estrada’s claim, saying that the Constitutional provision being used by Lozano only applies to incumbent or “sitting presidents."
“The president cannot be eligible for any re-election, The president, who is the president? The president sitting. (Estrada) is (also) not running for a re-election, he is running for an election, a new term," said Rodriguez, a former law dean at San Sebastian College who served as immigration commissioner during Estrada's short-lived presidency.
“In public law, which is known by everybody, a re-elect is a person who is sitting and is running again to continue his term but if there is a hiatus or a break, in the case of Estrada who was illegally removed from power, imprisoned, pardoned, that will not apply," Rodriguez explained.
Earlier, Ferdinand Rafanan of the Comelec Law Department said that the acceptance of Lozano’s petition was just “ministerial" and that the commission en banc will still have to decide what to do with it.
‘Typical’ Lozano
Rodriguez said that even without these arguments, Rodriguez said Lozano’s petition would clearly not be considered by the commission because it is “premature."
“That will clearly be dismissed immediately because that is premature, there is no controversy, (Estrada) has not yet filed (a COC), he has only declared," he said.
Lozano requested in his petition that the Comelec considers his appeal after Estrada has filed his COC – something which Rodriguez found preposterous.
“There is no such thing as a filing of a case before a case is there," said Rodriguez, who added that such happenings are “typical" of Lozano.
“You know Oliver, Oliver is always there, he’s always ahead of everybody and we have known him to be like that," he said, referring to Lozano’s past acts of jumping the gun on everyone involving controversial cases.
Lozano first became known to the public when he started lawyering for the Marcoses or Marcos loyalists during the incumbency of the late President Corazon Aquino.
He later started diversifying, taking on cases other lawyers wouldn’t want to be associated with.
In 2005, he filed against President Arroyo an impeachment complaint in connection with the “Hello Garci" controversy in what was generally considered as a nuisance complaint meant to sabotage efforts by the opposition to pin down the President for alleged wrongdoing.
In October 2008, Lozano again tried to file an impeachment complaint against the President, this time based on the ZTE scandal and the government's botched memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain (MOA-AD) with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The filing of the complaint, however, was preceded by the one lodged by civil society leaders led by Jose de Venecia III.
Lozano’s latest publicized legal suit was his petition asking the Supreme Court to nullify the House-approved House Resolution 1109, which calls on Congress to convene itself into a constituent assembly. The petition was dismissed by the high court for being premature. - GMANews.TV
