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Former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada often declares his
intention to run for president in 2010 if he could not unite the
opposition. He might as well declare his candidacy now because his
self-imposed mission is impossible to accomplish.
Take his declaration to settle the row between
Senate President Manny Villar and Sen. Ping Lacson, both members of
the opposition. Ping criticized Erap for considering his tiff with
Villar as a personal one and could be settled on a personal level.
“I feel sorry for the former President. The
P200-million C-5 discovery and its attendant anomalies are not about
personal conflicts. They are about corruption and the abuse of power
for personal gain,” Ping said in a press statement on Monday.
I disagree with Ping’s comment that the
confirmation of a double entry in the funding of the C-5 road
extension project already constituted corruption. He had previously
claimed that the second entry of P200 million would have gone to
private pockets had he not exposed it. Testimonies by Budget
Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. and Public Works Secretary Hermogenes
Ebdane Jr. showed that it would have been impossible to release the
second P200 million if it would be used to fund an already completed
project. The second entry has been interpreted as augmentation of
the first P200 million, considering that the entire project costs
more than P4 billion.
This, however, is not the real issue tackled in
this piece. Rather, it is Ping ’s virtual rejection of Erap’s
offer to mediate. This underscores what I have been saying all
along—that the opposition will not be able to field a common
candidate for president in 2010. And if he runs, Erap will further
divide the divided opposition.
SP Villar and Ping are certain to run for
president. So will Sen. Mar Roxas of the Nacionalista Party. Sen.
Loren Legarda of the Nationalist People’s Coalition had already
indicated that she would not run for vice president in 2010 while
denying that she is eyeing the presidency. Throw in Erap and a
free-for-all will take place.
Erap courting support
I have received word from some of my
politician-friends with the opposition that Erap had already sought
their support for his candidacy in 2010. If he is merely considering
running as a last resort, why is he seeking the support of
opposition members now? Is he already giving up on his mission? I am
inclined to believe that Erap is merely using his avowed aim to
unite the opposition as a smokescreen for preparations to carry out
his decision to run.
A friend said that Erap’s overtures confused
him and members of his group who had already signified their
preference for a certain presidential wan-nabe. My friend said he
might switch support if it could be shown that Erap is qualified to
run again. If anything, this confusion in the opposition ranks shows
that Erap’s entry would result in diminishing returns for
opposition candidates.
Commentaries said that if Erap would run, he
would file his certificate of candidate on the last day, or 90 days
before Election Day. They maintain that if ever a case would be
filed questioning his qualifications to run for president, the court
will have only 90 days to resolve the issue. Proponents of Erap’s
candidacy said that the courts do not resolve cases in less than 90
days so it would remain pending until election day. And if Erap gets
elected, the court would no longer issue a decision against him
because it could not go against the people’s mandate.
This scenario appears plausible except for the
assumption that the courts could not resolve an issue within 90
days. I remember that a case was filed during the 2004 presidential
campaign questioning the citizenship of the late Fernando Poe Jr.
The courts gave the election issue high priority and resolved the
issue in favor of FPJ in less than two months.
Senate inquiries toothless?
Sen. Mar Roxas is seeking a revival of the
Senate inquiry into the P728-million fertilizer scam with the
expected imminent repatriation of former Agriculture Undersecretary
Joc-Joc Bolante from the United States. Sen. Miriam Defensor
Santiago is also hot on the trail of the “euro generals.” She
has scheduled an inquiry this Thursday at 10 a.m. by the Committee
on Foreign Relations, which she heads.
The Supreme Court has ruled that Senate
inquiries in aid of legislation are illegal unless the rules
governing them have been published—and the rules are still
unpublished. There will be no problem if resource persons willingly
attend the hearings. But what if they refuse? Then there will be a
problem because Senate committees could not compel their attendance
because of the Senate’s failure to publish its rules.
efrendanao2003@yahoo.com
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