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Erap a threat to GMA, opposition bets

By Angie M. Rosales and Aytch de la Cruz

10/23/2009

Former President Joseph Estrada’s declaration to vie for the presidency in next year’s elections is a threat to the administration, a ranking official and stalwart of the ruling coalition, as well as Palace aides openly admitted yesterday.

“Absolutely he is a threat. Former President Estrada is a formidable presidential candidate. He remains very popular among the masses. He is still much loved by the Filipino masses. He is their idol, which makes Estrada a political heavyweight and a formidable opponent,” Senate Majority Floor Leader and Lakas-Kampi stalwart Miguel “Migz” Zubiri said.

“You should never see him as a lightweight. You should always treat him as a formidable opponent. I hope the planners of Lakas-Kampi, our strategists, are looking into this angle. They should not dismiss his positions (on issues) and his popularity. (Estrada) is still a formidable opponent. That is my personal opinion,” he added.

Cabinet Secretary Silvestre Bello also yesterday admitted

that the Estrada-Binay tandem is one of the most formidable teams to beat in this election considering the fact that Estrada’s defense --the constitutional provisions which he cited as enough grounds for his eligibility to run -- has more bearing when compared to the pardon conditions, which Palace aides have been stressing, as a factor in disqualifying Estrada.

“To my mind, it is the constitutional provision that is superior to the pardon’s (alleged) conditions. So whether Estrada is eligible or not, that has to be decided on the basis of the constitutional provision on the eligibility of a reelection president,” he said.

Zubiri was also cautious in discussing the issue of the legality of Estrada’s presidential run, saying the matter is best left to be resolved by the Supreme Court.

“I don’t want to comment if he can run or not because the decision rests on the Supreme Court. Even lawyers can not have a uniform opinion on this issue, so the final arbiter really will be the Supreme Court. If you are going to ask administration spokesmen, they will say that they no longer want him to run. My personal opinion is that Estrada is a valid and strong candidate. But he must first prove and win his case before the high court, if someone files a disqualification case against him. But while the Supreme Court has not decided, he is a viable and strong candidate,” Zubiri, appearing before the Kapihan sa Senado news forum, said.

The senator was quick in ruling out the possibility of those coming from the ranks of the administration initiating the filing of a disqualification case against the ousted president, maintaining that they do not stand to gain from it.

“I mean who has the most to lose if former President Estrada runs for president? Of course the opposition parties. That would be the Liberal Party (LP), the NP’s (Nacionalista Party), the NPC (Nationalist People’s Coalition). You know, the votes intended for him is not convertible to us. Those who will be voting for the administration are mad at the administration. Those voters are their (opposition) supporters, so that is not convertible to us. It’s probably not us who will file (a disqualification case against Estrada). It will not be from the administration who will file the disqualification case,”he said.

Opposition Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero, also a presidentiable, said Estrada’s decision to put up a tandem with Makati City Mayor Jejomar “Jojo” Binay is a “strong combination.” They are both popular and they have a track record,” he pointed out.

“But it’s only the court that can decide whether Estrada can still run for another six-year term, he added.

Senators Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino and Loren Legarda welcomed Estrada’s decision to join the presidential race. “We wish both President Estrada and (Makati Mayor Jejomar “Jojo”) Binay well. A more diverse field affords our people an opportunity to clearly express their desires,” said Aquino.

“I wish him well,” Legarda said, adding that she will announce her “advocacy” and political plans today.

Sen. Francis Pangilinan, who is backing up Aquino’s candidacy, remains confident that voters will support Aquino, and not Estrada.

“We wish them luck. But we in LP believe that Filipinos yearn for a leader they can trust. Aquino is the presidential candidate who has been able to regain the people’s trust because of his unblemished track record. The whole country is eager to have genuine change and wants to have a clean and honest government. Senator Aquino is unique in the sense that he did not aspire to be a candidate. It was the masses, in their desire to trust once more their government that pushed for his bid. That spells all the difference.

“This is not a fight between the opposition and administration. It’s a fight between the old and the new, of the corrupt leadership, and clean, honest governance. There lies the strength of the LP, and this is also the reason the Noy-Mar tandem rates highly on a consistent basis during surveys,” said Pangilinan.

Meanwhile, Malacañang dismissed the strident sounds of the euphoric “orange” crowd in the thousands who had gathered in Tondo, Manila, Wednesday afternoon to witness the formal declaration of the former President’s bid to continue his suspended presidential rule.

It was no earthquake, Bello implied yesterday by saying that Estrada’s hopes for a rerun might not last for long as they have determined that his violation on one of the “whereas clauses” from the presidential pardon granted to Estrada could change the electorate’s mind.

“We welcome the entry of former President Erap and his partner, Mayor Binay, in the political fray, although this issue was already asserted by Secretary (Eduardo) Ermita as well as lawyer (Romulo) Macalintal, that we have legal reservations on the matter of his eligibility,” he said.

Bello, however, stressed that the administration would not question his eligibility because others will be doing this. “The condition contained in the pardon given by President Arroyo to the former president is of public knowledge (in the same manner that) the issue of his eligibility for another run for the presidency is widely known to the public. I’m sure that the moment President Estrada files his certificate of candidacy together with his vice presidential candidate there will be a deluge of petitions to have him disqualified, especially coming from the opposition. That’s why the administration’s position is to let the court decide and in the final analysis, let the people decide,” Bello said.

“I’m sure that many of the people belonging from other parties who will be affected by his entry will just be too happy and too eager to see to it that he will be disqualified,” he added.

Bello also dismissed Estrada’s speech yesterday as “political drama” in the sense that it was filled with vindictive remarks against Arroyo and her allies who he said were responsible for his ouster.

“Very impressive. It’s a political drama that they staged... everybody in the political frame would try to attract as many votes as they can get,” Bello said.

Press Undersecretary Anthony Golez, Jr., for his part, added that they would rather have presidential candidates to just speak of the new platforms they would carry out should they get elected.

“We would like to assume that all the presidential candidates will be running for the right reason and that is to make sure that they will lead this country in a land that we have been aspiring for a land full of hope and a land of progress,” Golez said.

Estrada yesterday welcomed any moves to question the legality of his decision to run and seek the presidency anew in the 2010 elections, saying it would help clear any doubts of his legitimacy to seek the same office.

He stressed that the ultimate decision on this issue rests with the Supreme Court.

He noted that the Commission on Elections has the ministerial duty to accept his candidacy once he files his certificate, and he expressed confidence that he will not be declared a nuisance candidate as he has passed all the requirements for being eligible to run.

Estrada also reiterated his stance to critics to let the people decide on whether he should be given another chance to run the country again.

“Let the people decide. They are the ones who elect the next president of the country,” Estrada stressed while reiterating the opinion of the legal luminaries he consulted with, including retired Supreme Court Justices and university and college of law deans.

Estrada said the constitutional provision is a ban on a sitting president, or one who has served more than four years.

Estrada was unceremoniously removed from office in 2001, barely two and a half years after gaining the presidency with an overwhelming victory.

In the same interview, Estrada advised current popularity ratings front runner Noynoy Aquino, not to rely too much on the surveys of the Social Weather Stations.

Estrada, who has consistently ranked in the top three of the surveys, said the real results of the surveys come out on February or March.

He also said Filipinos can be fickle minded at times about their choices, especially if they see that the candidate is not truly for the masses.

He cited the case of Vice President Noli De Castro, who continued to slide down in the ratings.

Nevertheless, Estrada said he considers Senator Aquino as the most formidable opponent in next year’s polls.

Estrada also said that there is no turning back as far as his decision to run in the 2010 elections is concerned.

“You know, when I engage in an fight, I never run awar from it. It is not in my character to run away from the race (or fight). My destiny, I place in the hands of the Supreme Court,but more than the high court, I leave my fate to God and the Filipino masses, if they want to give me that opportunity to lead the nation again,” he said.

Estrada on Wednesday night, declared his intention to reclaim the presidency he lost in 2001 as he unfurled the United Opposition (UNO) team for the May 2010 elections.

As throngs of orange and blue-clad supporters roared in approval outside the Sto. Niño de Tondo Church in Manila, Estrada introduced Binay as his running-mate and four of the 11-man senatorial slate headed by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile.

“This is the last performance of my life.This is the last fight in the film of my life. But this time, I am not the hero but the Filipino masses,” Estrada said as he faced a crowd of about 10,000 at Plaza Amado Hernandez in Tondo.

With Jason Faustino