The Philippine Online Chronicles

Lawyer Oliver Lozano, notorious for repeatedly "jumping the gun” in prematurely filing impeachment cases against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, has again filed a petition - this time with the intent to bar former president Joseph "Erap" Estrada's bid for re-election.

In his eight-page petition, Lozano said that that Estrada is not qualified for the running in the 2010 presidential elections, citing Section 4 Article VII of the 1987 Constitution which provides that the president shall not be eligible for any re- election.

“Ex-President Estrada is assailed for breaking the law, the Constitution and his alleged word of honor not to run for reelection to avoid imprisonment for plunder through pardon," Lozano said.

In a report on GMAnews.tv, Estrada's spokesperson Margaux Salcedo shrugged the petition as premature since the former president has yet to file his Certificate of Candidacy (COC) to the Comelec; hence any petition to disqualify the president at this moment “bears no justifiable controversy” and should be outright dismissed by the election body.

“It is almost seems as if Atty. Lozano is either making a mockery of (the Comelec) or deliberately making a laughingstock of himself to make headlines,” she added.

Atty. Ferdinand Rafanan of the Comelec Law Department echoed this, describing Lozano's as having a “habit” of filing petitions even with the slightest chance of winning. Lozano has filed impeachment complaints against President Arroyo in 2005 and 2008 which were both junked by the Lower House.

In his defense, Lozano said that the filing of the COC is merely a “technicality which should be set aside for not being in aid of justice, especially if the respondent welcomes the petition in the interest of sporting fair play as shown in the proceeding."

Lozano, a staunch Marcos loyalist, also made known his intentions of running for president “unless and until Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. will run for president.” In his petition, Lozano called himself a “serious political contender and believes that he is also qualified” for the post.