MANILA - The Philippines' elections body rejected on Wednesday all three remaining petitions to disqualify former leader Joseph "Erap" Estrada from polls in May, clearing the way for him to run for president for a second time.
The petitioners, all from the private sector, may still file an appeal with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and bring their case to the Supreme Court, but there was no immediate comment from them on whether they would do so.
On Tuesday, the high court rejected another disqualification case against Estrada.
Comelec said in its decision the three petitions to bar Estrada from joining nine other candidates in the presidential race lacked merit.
The Philippine constitution prohibits a president from seeking more than one term, but Estrada was removed from office midway through his tenure in 2001.
The poll body said Estrada was eligible to run again because he was not gunning for two consecutive terms.
"This is the victory of the Filipino people and our democracy," Estrada told journalists. "Now, it's settled that sovereignty emanates from the people and so it will be the people who will decide who will be the next president." Three independent public opinion polls conducted last month showed Estrada in third place, behind front-runners Senators Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino and billionaire Manuel "Manny" Villar.
A movie action hero-turned politician, Estrada was elected president with the highest vote margin in multi-party polls in 1998 but was removed after 30 months by a popular army-backed uprising over allegations of corruption.
He was convicted of plunder in 2007, but pardoned weeks later.
He remains popular especially among the poor, but investors are worried about his possible return to power because his government had a reputation for profligate spending.
Tales of his midnight parties with gambling and drinking buddies were commonplace in Manila during his time in office.
