SC orders Erap to answer DQ petition

MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court (SC) ordered deposed President and Manila Mayor-elect Joseph Estrada to answer a petition seeking his disqualification in the polls last May 13.

SC spokesman Theodore Te said the justices agreed in session to require Estrada to submit a comment on the petition of Alicia Risos-Vidal – lawyer of his rival, outgoing Mayor Alfredo Lim – questioning the candidacy of the former President who was convicted of plunder.

The respondent was given 10 days from receipt of notice to comply with the order, Te added.

Estrada said he will consult his lawyers on the SC’s latest order.

Vidal questioned the recent decision of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) dismissing with finality her disqualification complaint against Estrada.

She insisted that Estrada’s conviction for plunder and being sentenced to life imprisonment had rendered him disqualified to run for public office.

Vidal also reiterated that the executive pardon granted him by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo did not restore his right to seek or hold public office.

In an April 1 resolution, the Comelec’s Second Division ruled that Vidal’s case is “glaringly similar” to the disqualification cases filed against Estrada when he ran for president in 2010.

Vidal appealed the ruling, but the Comelec collegially dismissed her motion for reconsideration in a resolution last April 23, prompting her to elevate the case to the SC.

The SC, in 2009, had dismissed a similar disqualification case against Estrada when he again ran for President in 2010. The petition, the high court had ruled, was premature since the Comelec still did not rule on the matter then.   

Estrada was able to run and win the mayoral race when the SC did not issue a TRO since the petition was filed while the high court was on decision-writing recess.             – With Jose Rodel Clapano