SC voting on Erap case set next month

MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court (SC) is set to rule on the disqualification case filed against former President and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada next month.

A member of the court told The STAR that the petitions seeking his disqualification in the last elections have been set for resolution when the SC resumes session in January after a month-long holiday recess.

The case will be included in the agenda of the justices for the Jan. 20, 2015 session, a court insider said.

It was included in the agenda of the magistrates in their last session for the year yesterday. But they were not ready to vote on the draft ruling.

Last April, the SC had given due course to the petitions filed by former mayor Alfredo Lim and lawyer Alicia Vidal.

In the same ruling, the high tribunal ordered the parties to submit their respective memoranda within 30 days from receipt of notice.

Vidal filed the petition in April last year seeking to reverse a Commission on Elections decision declaring Estrada qualified to run for Manila mayor in the May 2013 elections.

The petitioners insisted that Estrada’s conviction for plunder in 2007 disqualified him from public office. 

But Estrada maintained that the executive pardon granted to him by then President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal–Arroyo was absolute and not hinged on the condition that he would no longer seek public office.

Meanwhile, Estrada was elated over the recent Pulse Asia survey showing him as one of the top contenders for president in 2016.

“I am happy that I remained among the top four candidates for president in 2016 even if I have not declared any intention to run for higher office,” the mayor said.

The Pulse Asia poll showed Vice President Jejomar Binay as the top choice for president in 2016, with 26 percent.

Sen. Grace Poe was in second place with 18 percent followed by Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, 12 percent, and Estrada, 10 percent.  – Edu Punay, Jose Rodel Clapano