SC to tackle Erap DQ case today

MANILA, Philippines - A lawyer’s petition to stop former President Joseph Estrada from assuming  office as mayor of Manila will be tackled in the Supreme Court (SC) today.

An insider said that justices are expected to deliberate on the prayer of lawyer Alicia Risos-Vidal to enjoin the Commission on Elections (Comelec) from allowing Estrada to assume post next week.

It was learned that Mayor Alfredo Lim has filed an intervention seeking the disqualification of Estrada from the mayoralty post in Manila. His pleading was already consolidated with the main petition.

Estrada has already filed an answer.

In her petition last June 7, Vidal questioned the Comelec decision   dismissing with finality her disqualification complaint against Estrada.

Vidal said Estrada’s conviction for plunder and life sentence had disqualified him from running for public office. 

The executive pardon that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo granted Estrada did not restore his right to seek or hold public office, she added.

In his comment, Estrada asked the SC to dismiss the petition and affirm the Comelec ruling. Vidal’s petition must be dismissed as it has become moot following his election and proclamation, Estrada added. 

The Comelec submitted to the SC its separate comment and justified its ruling dismissing the disqualification petition of Vidal.

The Comelec said Vidal’s petition was “glaringly similar or intertwined” with the disqualification cases against Estrada when he ran for president in 2010, which the SC had already resolved.

The presidential pardon given to Estrada has effectively restored his right to seek public office, the Comelec added.