G.R. No. 191988 – 643 Phil. 735 – Political Law – Constitutional Law – The Executive Department – Presidential Elections – Term of Office – Reelection
Joseph Estrada won the 1998 presidential elections. He was pushed out of office in January 2001 (He resigned). In 2010, he filed his certificate of candidacy for the 2010 presidential elections. Before Election Day, Atty. Evillo Pormento filed a petition for certiorari questioning the eligibility of Estrada. He invoked Sec. 4, Art. VII of the Constitution which states that the President shall not be eligible for any reelection.
ISSUE: What does “The President shall not be eligible for any reelection” mean?
HELD: No decisive answer from the Supreme Court as it exercised judicial restraint. The SC ruled that there is no judicial controversy to be resolved as the issue was mooted by the fact that Estrada did not win the elections hence, there was no reelection to speak of.
