LIM v.

EXECUTIVE SECRETARY
G.R. No. 151445
April 11, 2002

FACTS:
On January 2002, US military personnel started to arrive in Mindanao for the joint “Balikatan
02-1” training exercises with their Philippine counterparts. In theory, the Balikatan operations
are pursuant to the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) signed by the Philippines and US in 1951. The
last Balikatan was held in 1995, after which the exercises resumed following the two nations’
Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) in 1998.

On February 1, 2002, petitioners Arthur Lim and Paulino Ersando filed a petition for certiorari
and prohibition, attacking the constitutionality of the joint exercises. In response, the Solicitor
General pointed out petitioners’ lack of locus standi and the impropriety of certiorari for a
question of fact.

ISSUE:
Whether the “Balikatan 02-1” joint training exercises violate the Consitution and the VFA.

HELD:
NO.
The VFA permits US personnel to engage in so-called “activities”, a term deliberately made
ambiguous to include non-military purposes, such as training and rescue missions. Thus, the
VFA legitimizes the Balikatan operations, which are mutual anti-terrorism training exercises.

Petitioners fear, however, that the “Balikatan 02-1” exercises are actually a cover for US forces
to engage in war on Philippine territory. In this, it is important to note that the Constitution
prohibits such actions. Aside from Section 25, Article XVIII, which forbids foreign military
presence except under a treaty, Section 2, Article II explicitly renounces war. Paragraph 8,
Section 1 of the Balikatan Terms of Reference supports this, stating that US exercise participants
shall not engage in combat, except in self-defense.

Thus, the Balikatan exercises do not intrude into the penumbra of error that warrants correction.