Estrada wins in Supreme Court

The Supreme Court (SC), voting 11-3, dismissed the disqualification case filed by Mayor Alfredo Lim who lost to former president now Manila Mayor Joseph “Erap” Ejercito Estrada in the 2013 election by 32,000 votes. Atty. Alicia Vidal also filed a disqualification case against Estrada, saying she was prompted to file the case to keep convicted plunderers from seeking public office.

Those who dissented are Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, and Associate Justice Marvic Leonen.

Arroyo replaced Estrada, amid allegations of corruption in 2001, after a mass protest, the second of its kind in Philippine history that forced him out of power.

Lim had alleged that the pardon granted by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was conditional on his promise that he would no longer run for any elective position. Estrada added that the granting  of pardon by any president is in the interest of public welfare, and thus must be respected.

Estrada alleged the pardon was absolute and restores his civil and political rights.

Earlier, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) had also ruled against the disqualification case of Mayor Erap, also lodged by the same petitioner, lawyer Vidal who argued that Erap should not have been allowed to run for mayor because he had been convicted of plunder.

Shortly after the announcement of his pardon grant, President Erap said he did not have any intention to run in any election though, also joked that he did not put this intention in writing.

Erap, in a statement, said he has no intention of running for a higher position.

For Mayor Lim, his message was may God bless him and he wishes him well for his retirement.

Erap reiterated his support for Vice-Mayor Isko Moreno as his successor.

Pope effect lingers on

Three days after leaving and returning to Rome, we still have the “pope effect” as media still focuses on what he said in the last four days of his visit and what he said on board the Philippine Airlines (PAL) plane on the way back to Rome.

The Pope was widely quoted on his happiness about the well-prepared program, especially on his visit to Tacloban and Palo, Leyte despite that it were cut short due to a looming tropical storm.  Pope Francis considered the mass in Tacloban his most moving moments during his five-day visit in our country, saying to see God’s people standing still, praying, after a catastrophe was a very moving moment for him.

Pope Francis took time out to console Paulino Padasas, the father of 27-year-old Kristel who died in Tacloban when strong winds toppled a huge speaker and fell on her.

The media featured so many stories of children hugged and  kissed by the Pope, even stopping his pope mobile to do so. Special  mention was when Pope Francis moved to embrace a tearful abandoned girl, Glyzelle Palomar, who broke down in tears while giving her testimony and asking why God allows children to be neglected and exposed to drugs and prostitution.

On the Rome flight, Pope Francis reiterated his care for responsible parenting, saying Catholics should not breed children like rabbits. Many poor families have 8 to 12 children.

The pontiff revealed that he was heartened by the massive turnout of his five-day visit but what he loved most was the gestures, the manner in which Filipinos expressed joy and faith, among others. He said that those gestures were not protocol, but felt gestures and gestures of the heart.

But above all, there was no debate that the visit was a highly successful one and everybody was relieved that no untoward incident happened in the five days the Pope was here.

Many lessons have been learned from the Pope’s visit but the most impressive of all is how the millions of people cooperated with the government and followed instructions to stay behind the barriers lining the Pope’s route.

It was a welcome respite from the many problems of the country.

Obama’s speech

In his State of the Nation Address, President Obama batted for a higher minimum wage.

He also proposed a plan to make community colleges cost lower or be free.

He asked every CEO in America to hire a veteran.

The main focus of his speech is the creation of new jobs, higher wages, and child care.

He vowed to provide computers for every classroom.

He asked for a new tax code that gives all taxpayers a fair share.

He pledged to fight terrorists.

He pledged to fight Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

He quoted Pope Francis in his new policy on Cuba.

He cited climate change as the biggest threat to children’s future.