SC upholds ouster of Ejercito as Laguna governor

MANILA — The Supreme Court (SC) has dismissed the petition filed by award-winning actor and former Laguna Gov. Emilio Ramon “E.R.” Ejercito, a nephew of former President now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, in connection with his disqualification as governor of the province due to election overspending.
Mayor Estrada, who convinced Gov. Ejercito to step down, said his nephew could easily vindicate himself by running again in the 2016 elections. “He (Ejercito) could win easily considering that he won the last gubernatorial elections by landslide,” he added.
”The Court, voting 12-0 DENIED the Petition filed by petitioner Emilio Ramon “E.R.” Ejercito,” SC Public Information Office (PIO) Chief and Spokesman Atty. Theodore O. Te said in a press conference.

”It thus upheld the May 1, 2014 Resolution of public respondent Comelec En Banc in SPA No. 13-306, which in turn upheld the September 26, 2013 Resolution of the Comelec First Division which granted the petition for disqualification filed by private respondent Edgar San Luis,” Te added.
Associate Justices Arturo Brion and Estela Perlas-Bernabe were on leave, while Associate Justice Francis Jardeleza took no part in the deliberations.
Ejercito had asked the SC to stop the Commission on Elections (Comelec) from implementing its May 21, 2014 decision ordering him to vacate his post after he was found guilty of election overspending during the May 13, 2013 elections.
In a 22-page petition for certiorari, Ejercito also asked the SC to nullify the Comelec’s resolution.
He argued that the Comelec committed grave abuse of discretion after it disqualified him when the petition filed against him was only for a request to initiate a criminal proceeding for violation of election laws.
However, Ejercito said that the Comelec assumed that the case was for his disqualification contrary to Section 68 of the Omnibus Election Code (OEC).
Section 68 of the OEC requires that “a party is declared by final decision of a competent court guilty of or found by the Commission of… spent in his election campaign an amount in excess of that allowed by this Code… shall be disqualified from continuing as a candidate or if he has been elected, from holding the office.”
Instead of filing a criminal complaint against him or ordering a conduct of an inquiry on allegations of overspending, Ejercito said that he was already disqualified from office.
“Indeed, a judgment meting out the penalty of disqualification before the conduct of a preliminary investigation into the factual allegations thereof is premature and constitutes a clear violation of petitioner’s right to due process,” the petition said.
Ejercito further argued that a haphazard ruling disqualifying him from office without holding a proper preliminary investigation would make the Comelec ruling unjust.
He told the SC that the Comelec’s ruling would become final within five days after its promulgation, thus, a restraining order is necessary to stop its implementation.
Ejercito said that he is willing to post a bond to cover all damages which private respondent [complainant before the Comelec] Edgar “Egay” San Luis would suffer in case a restraining order will be issued.
Ejercito was disqualified for spending up to P23,563,365.28 for his campaign when he is only authorized to spend only P4,576,566.
He was also found to have given certain orange cards “to influence, induce, or corrupt the voters.”