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SC junks petition seeking to nullify Arroyo's congressional bid


(Update 3 - 6:28 PM) The Supreme Court has nullified the petition seeking to disqualify President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from running as congresswoman for Pampanga's second district. The High Court “unanimously" junked the petition filed by Akbayan representative Risa Hontiveros since there was “no grave abuse of discretion on the part of the Commission of Elections (Comelec)," Supreme Court spokesperson and administrator Midas Marquez told GMANews.TV. The case was elevated to the High Court after the Comelec also dismissed the same petition against Mrs. Arroyo. Mrs. Arroyo's candidacy "offends" the principle of fair politics and "assails the spirit and text of our Consitution," Hontiveros said in the petition. She maintained that Mrs. Arroyo could not run for congresswoman, insisting that Section 4, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution imposes "an absolute ban on any re-election for an incumbent President, and a prohibition on re-election for the presidency against an individual who succeeded as President and who have served as such for more than four years." In a phone interview, Hontiveros said she was saddened by the decision since she expected the High Court to uphold the constitutional provision imposing a ban on any re-election for an incumbent president. The ruling “is very dangerous after Mrs. Arroyo’s allies admitted their game plan," she said, referring to the President’s reported bid for the House speakership. “My only remaining plan, for all of us who oppose her Speakership is through the ballots," Hontiveros said. Hontiveros, who is running as senator under the Liberal Party, also said that she would do everything to ensure that their candidate, Adonis Simpao, would stand a good chance against Mrs. Arroyo in the forthcoming elections. In a separate statement, Hontiveros said she would ask the court to reconsider its decision because the ruling "paves the way for Villarroyo regime." "I shall not rest my case after this. I will file motion for reconsideration immediately," she said. In the meantime, Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer Sen. Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III accused Mrs. Arroyo of forming an "unholy" alliance with Nacionalista party standard bearer Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. Aquino and Villar are neck-and-neck front runners in recent surveys. Romeo Macalintal, Mrs. Arroyo’s political spokesperson and election lawyer, said the President was “happy" after learning the SC’s decision. “She’s happy that there no more any legal issue and she’s happy that the Supreme Court made the prompt determination of the case," he said. According to Macalintal, they were confident “from the very start" that the case would be dismissed for “its lack of merit" because “there was no ground for disqualification." - RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV
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