COMMENTARY

JOSEPH ESTRADA IS ELIGIBLE TO RUN FOR A NEW ELECTION, FOR A NEW TERM

BY ROGELIO CONSTANTINO MEDINA

According to Dean Rufus Rodriguez, author of “Statutory Construction” book, former President Joseph Estrada can run for public office in the 2010 national and local elections.

The 1987 Constitution prohibits the president from running for “re-election”. This prohibition applies to an incumbent, says Atty. Rodriguez.

Re-election means that the one seeking it is actually in office. The 1987 Constitution bans re-election by the sitting president because he or she will have all the advantages against rivals. If the case is elevated to the Supreme Court, the High Tribunal would not inquire into the intent of the framers of the Constitution because the language of the prohibition is clear and there is no room for any other interpretation.

I believe that the intention of the Charter’s framers is to prohibit the president from seeking immediate re-election. It is curious to note that as per record of the proceedings of 1986 Constitutional Commission (CONCOM) that wrote the present Constitution, they initially voted to prohibit the president from immediate reelection. According to Father Joaquin Bernas and Christian Monsod, the intention of the Charter’s framers was to ban the president from seeking a second term and to limit to just one six-year term.

But to foreclose the possibility that the president may seek another term after a gap of several years, the framers of the Charter changed the language to bar the president from any reelection.

For instance, if Lito Atienza were to run again for Manila mayor, he will be seeking election and not re-election, because he is not an incumbent.

Hence, Joseph Estrada will not run for re-election, he will be running for a new term, a new election. There is an interval between his aborted term and the 2010 election. Just
like senators, congressman, governors and mayors who can run again for the same position after an interval.

Linguistically speaking, Section 4, Article VII (Executive Department) of the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines, which states that “The President shall not be eligible for any re-election. No person who has succeeded as President and has served as such for more than four years shall be qualified for election to the same office at any time.”, is very, very clear because the word “THE” is a definite article (a modifier or an adjective) that refers to a specific or particular noun or member of a group. For example, the sitting president.

On the other hand, the article, “A” or “An”, is an indefinite article that is used to modify a non-specific or non-particular noun or member of a group.

Indeed, former President Estrada is right after all when he said that the prohibition is for the sitting president to seek immediate re-election because it is clearly seen that “a president” is not used in the said provision of the Constitution.

Check my AllVoices article, rogeliocmedina:

Why former President Joseph Estrada Can Run Again @ http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/3301204-legal-rationale-for-estradas-eligibility-to-run-2010-presidential-bid

Yes Joseph Estrada will run for president in May 2010. The new computer
for the counting of ballats has been commissioned and various parts of the country including Cebu and Bohol are already connected. This means when the 2010 elections come it will greatly cut down on election cheating and it will prevent the incumbent no-president from running again while spreading her Socialistic dis-information. 26/7/2009.