Another Arroyo disqualification case junked

President Arroyo hurdled another disqualification case yesterday after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) dismissed the second of 10 petitions to stop her from taking part in the May 10 polls.

In the ruling, the Comelec’s second division said an assistant city prosecutor has the authority to administer oaths under the law.

"It does not really matter whether the authority of the swearing official is general or specific, as long as the objective that the document must be verified shall have been achieved," read the ruling.

"(The certificate of candidacy) does not specifically require that the official who should administer the oath must have the general authority to do the same, as long as the official has the authority to administer oaths."

The case against Mrs. Arroyo arose from the claim of petitioner Melchor Chavez that the Chief Executive’s certificate of candidacy is but "a mere scrap of paper" and deemed to have not been filed because it was notarized by an assistant city prosecutor.

Comelec Commissioner Mehol Sadain, chairman of the second division, said the petition of Chavez was also filed out of time.

"Based on the foregoing, the Commission is inclined to dismiss the petition on ground that, indeed, the same was filed out of time," read the ruling.

Sadain said Chavez filed his petition on Jan. 30 when the poll body had set a Jan. 10 deadline or five days after the filing of the certificate of candidacy.

"Nevertheless, lest the Commission may be accused of dismissing the petition on technical ground, we resolve to discuss the substantial issues raised by the petitioner," read the ruling.

The poll body is set to tackle the eight other disqualification cases against Mrs. Arroyo, including allegations that she has exceeded the allowable 120-minute airtime for television campaign advertisements.

The case’s scheduled hearing yesterday was reset because of the absence of the witness.

The petitioner is also seeking the reclassification of Mrs. Arroyo’s infomercials, which has reportedly reached 800 minutes, into campaign advertisements. — Jose Aravilla