ATTY. EVILLO C. PORMENTO, PETITIONER, VS.

JOSEPH "ERAP" EJERCITO ESTRADA AND

COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS, RESPONDENTS.
August 31, 2010 | CORONA, J. | Executive Department - Section 4, Article VII of the Constitution

PETITIONER: Atty. Evillo C. Pormento

RESPONDENTS: Joseph "Erap" Ejercito Estrada and Commission on Elecetions (COMELEC)

SUMMARY: This case is a petition for certiorari filed by Atty. Evillo C. Pormento questioning the
qualification of Joseph "Erap" Ejercito Estrada to run in the May 2010 presidential elections. In view of
the prohibition in the Section 4, Article VII of the Constitution, which states that: "[t]he President shall not be
eligible for any reelection. Estrada was elected President of the Republic of the Philippines in the general
elections held on May 11, 1998 and and he sought the presidency again in the general elections held on May 10,
2010. Pormento then filed a petition for disqualification that was later denied by the Second Division of public
respondent COMELEC. Subsequently, his motion for reconsideration was again denied. As the Pormento did
not pray for the issuance of a temporary restraining order or writ of preliminary injunction, Estrada was still able
to run for presidency in the 2010 election and was able to garner the second highest number of votes. With
Estrada not being elected as president the court moves to dismiss the case as there is no case or controversy to be
resolved in this case as no live conflict of legal rights exists. The Court is not empowered to decide moot
questions or abstract propositions, or to declare principles or rules of law, which cannot affect the result as to the
thing in issue in the case before it

DOCTRINE:
An action is considered "moot" when it no longer presents a justiciable controversy because the issues involved
have become academic or dead or when the matter in dispute has already been resolved

FACTS:

1. Private respondent, Joseph "Erap" Ejercito Estrada was elected President of the Republic of the
Philippines in the general elections held on May 11, 1998 and he sought the presidency again in the
general elections held on May 10, 2010.
2. Petitioner Atty. Evillo C. Pormento opposed private respondent's candidacy and filed a petition for
disqualification, his petition was denied by the Second Division of public respondent Commission on
Elections
3. His motion for reconsideration was subsequently denied by the COMELEC en banc
4. Petitioner filed the instant petition for certiorari on May 7, 2010, but the petitioner did not pray for the
issuance of a temporary restraining order or writ of preliminary injunction. Thus, the private respondent
was able to participate as a candidate for the position of President in the May 10, 2010 elections where he
garnered the second highest number of votes.

ISSUES:
1. WON private respondent Joseph Ejercito Estrada is covered by the ban on the President from "any
reelection"

RATIO:

1. Private respondent was not elected President the second time he ran. Hence, there is no case or
controversy to be resolved in this case as no live conflict of legal rights exists. The Court is not
empowered to decide moot questions or abstract propositions, or to declare principles or rules of law,
which cannot affect the result as to the thing in issue in the case before it. Furthermore, one of the
essential requisites for the exercise of the power of judicial review, the existence of an actual case or
controversy, is sorely lacking in this case.