THE law can address only so much of the issues concerning the relations between people. The rest is left to common sense.

Deposed president Erap Estrada invokes constitutional law in insisting that he could run for president, notwithstanding his conviction for plunder and the prohibition in the Constitution against a president running for reelection.

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But shouldn’t the question be whether he should run for president? He has been impeached by the House of Representatives, driven out of Malacañang by people power and convicted by the Sandiganbayan.

He, of course, claims that his impeachment was orchestrated, his ouster illegal and his conviction unjust and unwarranted.

He also says that the succeeding administration is worse than his and that, in fact, some of the principal characters of Edsa 2 have since apologized for their mistake.

Let’s humor Erap and his thought process and agree that all his claims are true. But is his quest for personal vindication greater than, or at least equal to, the national interest?

Assuming that his successor is worse than he was, does that make him better fit for the presidency the second time around?

Should he insist on a last and “greatest” performance simply because he could?

A similar question may be asked President Arroyo, who is now being asked by some Lakas-Kampi partymates to run for vice president after being rumored to be eyeing a congressional seat in her native Pampanga.

But isn’t the presidency the ultimate elective office? Have Mrs. Arroyo and those who are pushing her to run for lower office ever considered that doing so could, as Sen. Joker Arroyo has correctly observed, demean the presidency?

The President should shuck the law that says she could run and listen to common sense that says she shouldn’t.

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I didn’t have to gatecrash, as I threatened last week, Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia’s party for the officers and men of the National Bureau of Investigation who busted the Alvin Flores robbery gang in Compostela last Oct. 29.

I’d like to thank the governor for the chance to shake hands with the honorees, led by their Regional Director, Medardo G. De Lemos. In his brief message, de Lemos said they put themselves in harm’s way without expecting any praise or reward because it is their duty.

It doesn’t have to be that way and I commend Gov. Garcia for taking the lead in showing that we know not only to criticize but also to clap our hands in appreciation of a job well done.