Lim v. Executive Secretary, GR. No.

151445

FACTS: Pursuant to the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) signed in 1999, personnel from
the armed forces of the United States of America started arriving in Mindanao to take part in
"Balikatan 02-1” which involves the simulation of joint military maneuvers pursuant to the
Mutual Defense Treaty, a bilateral defense agreement entered into by the Philippines and
the United States in 1951. Petitioners assailed its constitutionality.

ISSUE: WON the petition and the petition-in-intervention should prosper

HELD: NO. Petition is dismissed. The VFA itself permits US personnel to engage on an
impermanent basis, in “activities”, the exact meaning of which is left undefined.
Conflict arises then between the fundamental law and our obligations arising from
international agreements.
Under the doctrine of incorporation as applied in most countries, rules of international law
are given a standing equal, not superior, to national legislation.
From the perspective of public international law, a treaty is favored over municipal law
pursuant to the principle of pacta sunt servanda. Hence, "[e]very treaty in force is binding
upon the parties to it and must be performed by them in good faith." Further, a party to a
treaty is not allowed to "invoke the provisions of its internal law as justification for its failure
to perform a treaty."
Our Constitution espouses the opposing view.