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COMMISSION ON ELDCTIONS 'oArE: - "/',
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RISA HONTTVER.OS
Petitioner,
Respondent.
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CONSTITUTION
2. That respondent is a Filipino cittzen, of legal age, married, and the incumbent
President of the Republic of the Philippines, and may be served with summons
emd legal processes at Malacanang Palace,Jose P. Laurel St., Manila;
3. That on 1 December 2009, respondent filed her certificate of candidacy lbr the
position of Member of the House of Representatives to represent the seconcl
legislative district of Pampanga;
As current President, she has all the powers and resources as well as :rccess to
it that will definitely prejudice the chances of any opposing candidate 1n any
That the purpose of this provision and the intent behind it is to prevent a sitting
President from using the vast powers at his/her command as Commander-in-
Chief, Chief Executive and Head of Government, and as Head of State as well as
dispensing the overwhelming resources at his/her disposal in order to obtain
undue advantage over his/her opponent(s) in an election for the same or any
other elective position where he/she may be a candidate, thereLry defeating the
spirit of a farr electoral contest on a level playing field;
7. That while the disqualification clearly applies to running for reelection for the
sarne position for President, for more reason it applies to other elective positions
Constitution:
B . That the wisdom of Section 4, Article VII of the Constitution as intended by the
constitutional or not, has such intimidating and chilling effect even if not
proclaimed in the territory where she is running as a candidate in a local
9 . Allowing a sitting President to run for office would open a veritable Pandora's
Box and, when interfaced with other existing laws and policies, present
1O. The mischief in this provision has manifested itself in the past, when a
President has used his or her power of impoundment to withhold allotments for
non-a,llies and grant Countryrvide Development Funds to those who remain loyal
to the administration.
11. It is argued that Presidential prerogatives on allocations and funds will be more
abused when a President is seeking lower office and can therefore wield such
powers against an opponent or for partisan purposes.
12. Moreover, allowing a sitting President to run for lower office would in effect
allow him or her to run even for local executive positions. Attention must then
be drawn to the fact that a sitting President exercises powers of supervision over
local government units, as mandated by the Local Government Code which
states that:
Consistent with the basic policy on local autonomy, the President shall
exercise general supervision over local government units to ensure that their
acts are within the scope of their prescribed powers and functions.
Verily, the existing policy and legal framework of the system at present cannot
be reconciled with the notion of allowing a sitting President to run for lower
office.
14. It is therefore incumbent upon this Honorable Office to rule with dispatch and
decisivenesson the matter at hand, illumined by the clear mandate of the law
and principles of equity, and disqualify Mrs. Arroyo from seeking Congressronal
office.
Petitioner also respectfully prays for other and further relief that may be deemed just
and equitable under the premises.
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ARLEIE J. BAG-AO
IBP L1'fetimeNci:rb+st z
PTR No. 09878591 1-07-2OOglCagayanDe Oro
MCLE ComplianceNo. II-001348s
RollNo. 39169
368 Madasalin St. Sikatuna Village, euezon City
Cel. No. 0908-8849546
T e l e p h o n eN o . 9 3 1 - 6 5 7 S
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RISA HONTIVEROS {/
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AFFIDAVIT
2. Due to the urgency and immediacy of the filing of this perition, the
unavailability of a messengerservice, and the obvious difficulty of serving
personally a copy thereof to the respondentwho is the sitting Presidentof the
Republic of the Philippines, resort had to be made through registeredmail fbr
the purposeof furnishing the said respondenta copy of the said perition;
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