Plea to bar Estrada from running in 2010 polls
Request thrown out for being filed prematurely
Manila: The Supreme Court has dismissed as "premature" a petition seeking to disqualify deposed leader Joseph Estrada from running in the 2010 elections.
Gleo Guerra, deputy spokesperson for the Supreme Court, said the tribunal dismissed the petition of the group, Vanguard of the Philippine Constitution Inc, because it was filed at the Apex Court even before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) could view the request.
According to Guerra, in cases concerning electoral decisions, it is the Comelec that first reviews any petition and then refers it to the courts if the petitioner seeks to appeal the poll body's decision.
Earlier, the "Vanguard" led by Elio Mallari, filed a petition before the Supreme Court seeking to disqualify Estrada, 73, from the elections on the argument that the 1987 Constitution prohibits past presidents from seeking re-election.
Estrada, a former 1950s to 1970s matinee idol-turned politician and now septuagenarian part-time actor, had run for the presidency in 1998 and won by the widest margin in any presidential election in the country.
