Secretary of Justice vs. Judge Lantion G.R.

139465 October 17, 2000 Melo, J:

FACTS Secretary of Justice Franklin Drilon, representing the Government of the Republic of the Philippines, signed in Manila the Extradition Treaty between the Government of the Philippines and the Government of the U.S.A The Philippine Senate ratified the said treaty. On June 18, 1999, the Department of Justice received the Department of Foreign Affairs U.S. Note Verbale No.0522 containing a request for the extradition of private respondent Mark Jimenez to the United States. On the same day, petitioner designates and authorized a panel of attorneys to take charge and to handle the case. Pending evaluation of the aforesaid extradition documents, Mark Jimenez through counsel, wrote a letter to Justice Secretary requesting copies of the official extradition request from the U.S Government and that he be given ample time to comment on the request after he shall have received copies of the requested papers. However, the petitioner denied the request for the consistency of Article 7 of the RP-US Extradition Treaty stated in Article 7 that the Philippine Government must present the interests of the United States in any proceedings arising out of a request for extradition.

Issue: Whether or not to uphold a citizens basic due process rights or the governments ironclad duties under a treaty.

Ruling: The human rights of a person, whether citizen or alien, and the rights of the accused guaranteed in our Constitution should take precedence over treaty rights claimed by a contracting state. The duties of the government to the individual deserve preferential consideration when they collide with its treaty obligations to the government or another state. This is so although we recognize treaties as source of binding obligations under generally accepted principles of international law incorporated in our Constitution as part of the law of the land. Petition DISMISSED.