"The better policy approach is to let the people decide who will be the next president. For on political questions, this Court may err but the sovereign people will not," the poll body’s Second Division said in a decision junking the petition filed against Estrada last December.
"The two petitions for disqualification separately filed by Evilio Pormento and Mary Lou Estrada against former President Joseph Estrada are both denied for utter lack of merit," the Comelec said.
Incidentally, the decision was promulgated on the same day Estrada was forced by a popular street uprising to step down nine years ago.
The Second Division likewise denied the petition of lawyer Elly Pamatong to cancel Estrada's certificate of candidacy, saying the plea had wasted the poll body's "precious time."
In seeking Estrada's disqualification, the petitioners cited Article VII, Section 4 of the Constitution which says: "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."
Pamatong, who was present during the promulgation, was enraged by what he claimed were corrupt commissioners. He was cited in contempt and detained.
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Estrada elated
"I want to thank the Lord, I want to thank the Comelec commissioners for their sense of fairness," Estrada said, adding that his triumph was a "victory for the Filipino people." If appealed, the division ruling may still be overturned by the Comelec en banc and Supreme Court.
Since Estrada formally announced his intention to run again for President, many have debated whether he would be allowed to do so.
Citing the same Charter provision, Estrada asserts he is still eligible to have another shot at the presidency because he does not fall into two categories banned from doing so: incumbent Presidents and those who have finished their six-year term as President.
In 1998, Estrada was elected with over 10 million votes, the highest vote a presidential candidate ever had in Philippine history. After less than three years in power, he was toppled by the street uprising amid corruption allegations and before an impeachment court could rule on his case.
In September 2007, Estrada was convicted by the Sandiganbayan, the country's anti-graft court, for plunder, sentenced to a lifetime in jail and disqualified from seeking public office.
A month later, however, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo granted him executive clemency, thus restoring his political and civil rights, including his right to seek public office. He has since reiterated his eligibility to run, saying he was not covered by the reelection ban under the 1987 Constitution.
Election lawyer and Arroyo supporter Romulo Macalintal, however, contests Estrada’s argument, saying any Chief Executive is covered by the clause.
He also said the four-year cap under Section 4 applies only to those who have succeeded the President, not those who were elected to office.
But the second division ruled that the contested provision only refers to the incumbent and the prohibition to run in the subsequent election.
"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… 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 Estrada," it said in the decision.
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