Can Erap run for president again?

[joserizal]

Im confused. Rumors say that erap's planning to run again for president. Isn't he disqualified? since he was already president and now an ex-convict?

[admin]

This is still unresolved. What our constitution only provides is that "The President shall not be eligible for any re-election" (Art. VII, Sec. 4). The controversy will be on how to interpret the term "re-election" - whether it means successive elections, which would mean that Estrada is not disqualified, or multiple elections, which would disqualify Estrada.

[radar]

that's right. that issue will most likely be tackled when erap would indeed file his candidacy. it will definitely reach the supreme court.

however, we must remember that 7 justices will be appointed by GMA next yr. thus, expect a GMA-friendly and anti-erap supreme court in the next few years.

im pretty sure erap would be disqualified

[ginoray]

legally, i believe he still is allowed owing to the restoration of all his rights upon the executive clemency granted by gma.

will he? he says he won't not unless he's unable to find a solid opposition bet come 2010.

should he? i think not. it's enough embarassment to be the first philippine president convicted of plunder charges. gma and erap alike, we've had enough of them.

[newsman]

According to former Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr., Estrada could still run in 2010 because “the Constitutional prohibition against any re-election for the president does not apply to former presidents."

De Venecia said the constitutional prohibition against any re-election for the president only applies to an “incumbent president."

He said the intention of the Constitutional Commission in including the prohibition in the 1987 Constitution is to prevent an incumbent from using the powers and resources of his office for his re-election.

[pinoy]

Former President Joseph Estrada will be putting his freedom at risk if he listens to calls for him to run for President in 2010, according to his former lawyer, Alan Paguia.

He said Erap could be sent to jail for violating the terms of his pardon.

Paguia believes Estrada cannot seek the presidency again "because of the condition of his pardon where he has undertaken not to seek any political position."

Estrada's advisers, who are urging him to run again in 2010, do not seem to realize the consequences of their advice, said Paguia. "They may be jeopardizing the freedom being enjoyed by the President," he said.

Contrary to what the press has reported and what Estrada himself has said, Estrada's pardon was conditional and not absolute, Paguia said.

According to the terms of the pardon, Estrada, whose term was aborted when he was deposed in the second people power uprising of 2001, cannot seek public office again, Paguia said.

From a legal standpoint, violating its terms would be tantamount to rescinding a contract, he said.

Paguia explained that the pardon was in the nature of a contract.

"If it is violated, there's a consequence. There's ground for rescinding the contract," Paguia said.

And once the contract is rescinded, Estrada would go straight to jail to serve out his sentence.

"There is no more pardon if you violate the contract," Paguia said.

He said the pardon was a "Damocles' sword" hanging over Estrada’s head because there is no telling what the administration would do if he breaks one of the conditions of the pardon.

"If you break the condition, you give them the option to rescind [the pardon]," he told reporters.

He also acknowledged that there was the possibility that Arroyo would not revoke the pardon if Estrada runs again, which is a political decision that she could make.

"But why would Estrada take a chance? We're still under her regime," he said.

[newsman]

A lawyer of former President Joseph Estrada insisted Monday that his client is qualified to run in the 2010 presidential elections.

In a statement, Lawyer Jay Flaminiano said no law would be violated should Estrada decide to aim for the presidency again, as the pardon granted to him was “unconditional."

Flaminiano said the pardon also restored Estrada’s civil and political rights, allowing him to vote and to be voted upon.

Aside from Flaminiano, Estrada’s team of lawyers includes Estelito Mendoza, former Supreme Court Chief Justice Andres Narvasa, Jose Flaminiano, father of Jay Flaminiano, Rene Saguisag and Justice Serafin Cuevas.

Romulo Macalintal, President Arroyo’s election lawyer, said earlier that Estrada cannot run for president in 2010 because of a constitutional ban, and not due to a condition in the pardon granted to him in 2007.

Macalintal said, “The President shall not be eligible for any reelection," he said, quoting section 4, Article VII of the Constitution.

“Otherwise stated, when he took his oath as president in 1998, he knew the existence of the said provision of the Charter to which he swore, that as president, he ‘shall not be eligible for any reelection.’"

However, Macalintal said Estrada can run for vice-president in 2010.

“If he wins and something happens to the elected president, then he could become president; this time not by election, but by succession," Macalintal said.

[faynoy]

Whether he is qualified or not, he shouldn't run!

Whether he was really guilty or not, he shouldn't run!

A person like him who can easily be fooled by his "friends" into taking the blame for their crimes would easily put the country into a similar situation.