G.

R.No.146738Est
radav
s.Ar
roy
o

G.
R.No146710-
15Est
radav
s.Desi
ert
o

Mar
ch2,
2001

FACTS:

Estr
adawasinaugur
atedaspr
esi
dentoftheRepubl
i
coft
hePhi
l
ippi
nesonJune30,
1998wi
th
Glor
iaMacapagal
-Ar
royoashi
sVi
cePr esi
dent
.

InOct ober2000, I
locosSurgov er
norLuis“Chav i
t”Si
ngson, acl
osef r
iendofthePresi
dent,
all
egedt hathehadper sonal
lygiv
enEst r
adamoneyaspay offf
rom j
uetenghiddeninabank
accountknownas“ JoseVel arde”–agr assroots-
basednumber sgame.Si ngson’
sall
egati
on
alsocausedcont r
ov ersyacrossthenation,whichculminatedintheHouseofRepr esentat
ives’
fi
lingofani mpeachmentcaseagai nstEstr
adaonNov ember13, 2000.HouseSpeakerManny
Villarf
ast-
trackedt heimpeachmentcompl aint.Theimpeachmentsui twasbroughttothe
Senat eandani mpeachmentcour twasformed, wit
hChi efJust
iceHilari
oDavide,
Jr.as
presidingoffi
cer.Estrada, pl
eaded“notguilt
y”.

Theex poséimmedi at
elyi
gnit
edreacti
onsofrage.OnJanuar y18,acrowdcontinuedtogrowat
EDSA, bol
ster
edbyst udentsfr
om pri
vateschoolsandleft-
wingorgani
zat
ions.Acti
vi
stsfr
om
thegroupBay anandAkbay anaswellaslawyersoftheIntegrat
edBarofthePhili
ppi
nesand
otherbarassociat
ionsjoi
nedinthethousandsofprotesters.

OnJanuar
y19,ThePhi
li
ppineNat
ional
Poli
ceandt
heArmedForcesoft
hePhi
l
ippi
nesal
so
wi
thdr
ewthei
rsuppor
tforEstr
adaandjoi
nedt
hecrowdatEDSAShri
ne.

At2:00pm, Est
radaappear
edont elevi
sionf
orthefi
rstt
imesincet
hebeginni
ngoftheprot
ests
andmai nt
ainsthathewil
lnotresign.Hesai
dthathewantedtheimpeachmentt
ri
altoconti
nue,
str
essingthatonlyagui
lt
yverdictwill
removehimfrom of
fi
ce.

At6:
15pm, Estr
adaagainappear
edontel
evisi
on,cal
l
ingf
orasnappresi
dent
ial
elect
iontobe
hel
dconcurrent
lywithcongr
essi
onal
andlocalel
ecti
onsonMay14,2001.Headdedthathewil
l
notr
uninthiselect
ion.

OnJanuary20,theSupremeCour tdecl
aredthatt
heseatofpr
esidencywasvacant,
sayi
ngt hat
Estr
ada“const
ructi
velyresi
gnedhispost”.Noonoft
hesameday ,Glori
aMacapagal-
Arr
oy otook
heroat
hofof f
iceinthepresenceofthecrowdatEDSA,becomingthe14thpresi
dentofthe
Phil
i
ppines.

At2:00pm, Est
radarel
easedalett
ersayi
nghehad“ st
rongandseriousdoubtsaboutthel
egal
i
ty
andconsti
tuti
onali
tyofherpr
oclamati
onaspresi
dent”,butsay
inghewouldgiveuphisoffi
cet
o
avoidbei
nganobst acl
etoheali
ngthenati
on.Est
radaandhi sf
amilylat
erl
eftMalacañang
Palace.
Aheapofcasest hensucceededEst rada’sleavingt hepalace, whichhecount eredbyf il
i
nga
peiti
onf orprohibi
ti
onwi t
hapr ayerforawr i
tofpr el
iminaryinjuncti
on.Itsoughttoenj ointhe
respondentOmbudsmanf rom “ conductinganyf urtherproceedingsi ncasesf i
l
edagai nsthi
m
notunt i
l hist
erm aspresi
dentends.Heal sopr ay edforjudgment“ confi
rmingpet i
tionertobe
thelawf ulandincumbentPr esidentoft heRepubl icofthePhi li
ppinestempor ari
lyunabl eto
discharget heduti
esofhisof fice,anddecl ari
ngr espondentt ohav etakenheroat hasandt obe
holdingt heOffi
ceofthePr esident,onlyinanact ingcapaci t
ypur suanttothepr ovisionsofthe
Const i
tution.
”

I
SSUE:

1.
) Whet herornott
hecaseatbarapoli
ti
calorjust
ici
ableissue.Ifj
ust
ici
abl
e,whet
herornot
pet
it
ionerEstr
adawasapresi
dent-
on-
leaveordidhet r
ulyresign.

2.
) Whet
herornotpet
it
ionermayi
nvokei
mmuni
tyf
rom sui
ts.

HELD:

TheCour tdef
inesapol i
ti
calissueas“ t
hosequest ionswhich,undertheConsti
tut
ion,aretobe
decidedbythepeopl einthei
rsovereigncapaci t
y,orinr
egardtowhi chful
ldi
scret
ionary
authori
tyhasbeendel egatedtothelegislat
iveorexecuti
vebranchoft hegover
nment .Iti
s
concernedwithissuesdependentupont hewi sdom,notlegal
i
tyofapar ti
cul
armeasur e.
”

TheCour tmadeadi stincti

onbet weentheAquinopr esi
dencyandt heArr
oyopresidency.The
Courtsaidt hatwhil
et heAqui nogovernmentwasagov ernmentspawnedbyt hedi r
ectdemand
ofthepeopl ei ndef
iancet othe1973Const i
tut
ion,ov er
throwi
ngtheoldgovernmentent i
rel
y ,
the
Arroy
ogov ernmentont heotherhandwasagov er
nmentexer cisi
ngunderthe1987const it
ution,
whereinonl ytheoffi
ceoft hepr esi
dentwasaffected.Intheformer,i
tThequestionofwhet her
theprevi
ouspr esi
dent( pr
esidentEstr
ada)tr
ulyresignedsubjectsi
ttojudi
cialr
ev i
ew.TheCour t
heldthatthei ssuei
sl egalandnotpol i
ti
cal
.

Fort hepr esidenttobedeemedashav ingr esigned, ther

emustbeani ntenttor esignandt he
i
ntentmustbecoupl edbyact sofr eli
nquishment .Iti si
mpor tantt of oll
owt hesuccessi onof
event sthatst r
uckpet i
ti
onerpr i
orhisleavingt hepal ace.Fur t
her mor e,thequot edst atement s
extractedf rom theAngar adiar i
es,detail
edEst r
ada’si mpliedr esi
gnat ionOnt opofal lthese, the
pressr eleasehei ssuedregar dingisacknowl edgementoft heoat h-takingofAr royoaspr esi
dent
despi t
ehi squest i
oningofitsl egali
tyandhi semphasi sonl eav i
ngt hepr esidentialseatf orthe
sakeofpeace.TheCour thel
dt hatpetit
ionerEst radahadr esignedbyt heuseoft hetotal i
tytest:
pri
or ,contempor aneousandpost eri
orfactsandci rcumst antialevidencebear ingamat er i
al
rel
ev anceont heissue.

Astotheissueofthepeitioner’
scontent
ionthatheisimmunedf r
om suit
s,theCourthel
dt hat
peti
ti
onerisnolongerenti
t l
edtoabsolut
eimmuni t
yfrom sui
t.TheCourtaddedthat,gi
venthe
i
ntentofthe1987Const i
tutiontobr
eatheli
fetothepolicyt
hatapubli
cofficeisapubli
ctrust,
thepet i
tioner,asanon-si
tti
ngPr esi
dent
,cannotclai
m executiv
eimmuni tyforhisall
eged
criminal act
scommi t
tedwhileasi t
ti
ngPresi
dent.From thedeli
berat
ions,theintentofthe
framersi sclearthatt
heimmuni tyofthepresi
dentfrom suiti
sconcurrentonlywithhis
tenure(theterm duri
ngwhicht heincumbentactual
lyhol
dsof fi
ce)andnothi ster
m( t
imeduri
ng
whi chtheof fi
cermayclaimt oholdtheoffi
ceasofr i
ght
, andfi
xestheintervalaf
terwhichthe
severalincumbent sshall
succeedoneanot her)
.

AKBAYANv
s.Aqui
noG.
R.No.170516,
Jul
y16,
2008

Fact
s:

Petit
ioners,non-governmentor gani
zati
ons, Congressper
sons,citi
zensandtaxpayers
requested,viathepetiti
onformandamusandpr ohibi
ti
on,toobtainfr
om respondentsthefull
textoftheJapan- Phil
ippi
nesEconomi cPartnershipAgreement(JPEPA)i ncl
udingthePhili
ppi
ne
andJapaneseof ferssubmi t
teddur i
ngthenegot iat
ionprocessandal l
perti
nentatt
achment s
andannexest heret
o.TheCongr ess,t
hroughtheHouseCommi tteecall
edforaninquiryi
ntothe
JPEPA, butatt hesamet ime, t
heExecut i
verefusedt ogivethem thesaidcopi
esunt i
lthe
negotiati
onwascompl et
ed.

JPEPAwast hebil
ateral
freetradeagr eementent er
edbet weenthePhi l
i
ppi negovernmentwi t
h
Japan,concernedwithtradeingoods, r
ulesofor igi
n,cust omspr ocedures,paperl
esst r
ading,
tr
adeinservices,i
nvestment,i
ntellectualpropertyri
ghts, governmentprocur ement,mov ement
ofnatural
persons,cooperati
on, compet i
tionpolicy,mut ualrecognit
ion,disputeavoidanceand
sett
lement,i
mpr ovementofthebusi nessenv i
ronment ,andgener alandf i
nal pr
ovi
sions.

I
ssue:

Whet
herornotpet
it
ioner
shav
elegal
standi
ngt
orequestf
ort
hef
ull
textofJPEPA.

WhetherornotthePresi
dentcanval
i
dlyexcl
udeCongress,exer
cisi
ngi
tspowerofi
nqui
ryand
powertoconcurintr
eati
es,f
rom t
henegoti
ati
onprocess.
Di
scussi
on:

St
andi
ng

Inapet it
ionanchor edupont her i
ghtofthepeopl et oinformat i
ononmat tersofpubl i
cconcer n,
whichi sapubl icri
ghtbyi t
sv erynature,pet i
ti
oner sneednotshowt hattheyhav eanyl egalor
specialinter
esti nt
her esult
,itbeingsufficienttoshowt hattheyar eciti
zensand, therefore,par
t
ofthegener alpublicwhi chpossessest her ight.Ast hepresentpet it
ionisanchor edont her i
ght
toinformat i
onandpet iti
onersar eallsui
ngi ntheircapacityasci ti
zensandgr oupsofci t
izens
i
ncludingpet it
ioners-
member soft heHouseofRepr esent at
iveswhoaddi ti
onall
yar esuingin
theircapacityassuch, thestandingofpet i
tionerstof i
l
et hepr esentsuitisgroundedi n
j
urisprudence.

From t
henatureoftheJPEPAasani nternati
onalt
radeagr eement ,i
tisev i
dentthatthe
Phil
i
ppineandJapaneseof ferssubmitt
eddur i
ngthenegot iati
onstowar dsitsexecutionar
e
matter
sofpublicconcern.This,r
espondentsdonotdi spute.Theyonl yclai
mt hatdiplomati
c
negoti
ati
onsarecoveredbyt hedoctri
neofexecutivepriv
il
ege, thusconst i
tut
inganexceptiont
o
theri
ghttoi
nformationandt hepoli
cyoff ul
lpubl
i
cdi scl
osur e.

“
Showi
ngofNeed”Test

Inexecut i
vepri
vil
egecontrover
sies,therequi
rementthatpar
ti
espresenta“suff
ici
entshowing
ofneed”onl ymeans, i
nsubstance,thattheyshoul
dshowapubl ici
nteresti
nfavorofdiscl
osure
suffi
cientindegreetoovercomet heclai
m ofprivi
l
ege.Veri
ly
,theCourtinsuchcasesengages
i
nabal anci
ngofi nt
erest
s.Suchabal ancingofint
erest
siscert
ainl
ynotnewi nconsti
tuti
onal
adjudi
cat i
oninvolvi
ngfundamentalright
s.

Howev er,whentheExecutivehas–asi nt hiscase–i nvokedthepr i

vi
lege,andithasbeen
est
ablishedthatthesubjectinf
ormationisindeedcov er
edbyt hepr i
vil
egebei ngcl
aimed,cana
part
yov ercomet hesamebymer el
yassertingthattheinformationbeingdemandedi samat ter
ofpublicconcern,wit
houtanyf ur
thershowi ngrequi
red?Cer t
ainlynot,f
orthatwouldrenderthe
doctr
ineofexecut i
vepri
vil
egeofnof orceandef f
ectwhatsoeverasal imit
ationontherightt
o
i
nfor
mat
ion,
becausethent
hesol
etesti
nsuchcont
rov
ersi
eswoul
dbewhet
herani
nfor
mat
ion
i
samatt
erofpubli
cconcer
n.

Tr
eat
y-maki
ngpoweroft
hePr
esi
dent

Petit
ioner
sarguethatt
hePr esi
dentcannotexcl
udeCongr essfrom theJPEPAnegot i
ati
ons
sincewhateverpowerandauthori
tythePresi
denthastonegot i
ateinternati
onaltr
ade
agreementsisderi
vedonlybydelegati
onofCongress,pursuanttoAr t
icleVI,Sect
ion28(2)of
theConstit
uti
onandSections401and402ofPr esidenti
alDecreeNo.1464.

ThesubjectofAr
ti
cleVISecti
on28(2)oft
heConst
it
uti
onisnott
hepowertonegoti
atet
reat
ies
andint
ernati
onal
agreements,butt
hepowert
ofixt
ari
ffrat
es,
impor
tandexportquot
as,and
othert
axes.

Astothepowertonegot
iat
etreat
ies,t
heconst
it
uti
onal
basi
sther
eofi
sSect
ion21ofAr
ti
cleVI
I
–theart
icl
eontheExecuti
veDepartment
.

Whi l
et hepowert hent ofixtarif
fratesandot hertaxesclearlybelongst oCongr ess, andis
exercisedbyt hePresidentonl ybedel egati
onoft hatbody ,
ithasl ongbeenr ecogni zedthatt he
powert oenteri
ntotreatiesisv esteddirectl
yandexclusivelyinthePr esident
, subjectonlytot he
concur renceofatleasttwo- thir
dsofal ltheMember soft heSenat efort hevalidi
tyoft hetreaty.
Inthislight,t
heauthorityoft hePresidenttoent eri
ntotr
adeagr eement swithf or
eignnat i
ons
providedunderP. D.1464maybei nter
pretedasanacknowl edgmentofapoweral ready
i
nher entinitsoff
ice.Itmaynotbeusedasbasi st ohol
dt hePr esidentoritsrepresent at
ives
account abletoCongressf ortheconductoft reatynegoti
ations.

Thisisnottosay,
ofcourse,t
hatthePresi
dent’
spowertoenteri
ntotreat
iesi
sunli
mitedbutf
or
therequi
rementofSenateconcurr
ence,si
ncethePresi
dentmuststi
llenuret
hatal
ltr
eati
eswil
l
substant
ivel
yconfor
mt oall
therelev
antprovi
sionsoft
heConsti
tuti
on.

I
tfoll
owsf r
om theabov ediscussionthatCongr ess,whil
epossessingv astlegi
slati
vepowers,
maynotinterf
ereinthef i
eldoftreat
ynegot iat
ions.WhileArt
icleVII,Section21pr ovidesfor
Senateconcurr
ence,suchper tai
nsonlytot hev al
idit
yofthetreatyunderconsi derati
on,notto
theconductofnegotiat
ionsattendanttoitsconcl usi
on.Moreov er
,itisnotev enCongr essasa
whil
ethathasbeengi ventheaut hori
tytoconcurasameansofchecki ngt hetr
eaty-making
powerofthePresident,butonlytheSenate.

Thus,asint
hecaseofpetiti
oner
ssuinginthei
rcapacit
yasprivateciti
zens,
peti
ti
oners-
member softheHouseofRepresent
ati
vesfail
topresenta“suff
icientshowi
ngofneed”thatthe
i
nformati
onsoughtiscr
iti
caltot
heperfor
manceoft hefuncti
onsofCongr ess,
funct
ionsthatdo
noti
ncludetr
eaty-
negot
iat
ion.
Hel
d:

Thepet
it
ionwasdi
smi
ssed.

Peti
ti
oner’
sdemandtobefurni
shedwi t
hacopyoft heful
ltextoftheJPEPAhasbecomemoot
andacademic,i
thavi
ngbeenmadeaccessibletothepubli
csinceSeptember11,2006.Asfor
thei
rdemandforcopi
esofthePhil
i
ppineandJapaneseof f
erssubmi t
tedduri
ngtheJPEPA
negoti
ati
ons,t
hesamemustbedeni ed,r
espondentscl
aim ofexecuti
vepri
vi
legebei
ngvali
d.

Diplomat i
cnegotiati
onshave,si
ncetheCour tpromul gatedi t
sResol utioninPMPFv .Mangl
apus
onSept ember13,1988,beenrecognizedaspr i
vi
legedi nt hi
sj ur
isdi
ctionandt hereasons
profferedbypet i
ti
onersagai
nsttheapplicat
ionofther ulingt her
eintot hepresentcasehavenot
persuadedt heCour t
.Moreover,
petit
ionersbothprivateci ti
zensandmember softheHouseof
Repr esentat
iveshavefai
ledtopresentasuffici
entshowi ngofneedt oov er
comet heclai
m of
pri
vilegeinthiscase.

Thatthepri
vil
egewasasser t
edforthef
irstt
imeinrespondentsCommenttothepresent
peti
ti
on,andnotduringtheheari
ngsoftheHouseSpecialCommi t
teeonGl
obali
zati
on,isofno
moment ,si
nceitcannotbeint
erpret
edasawaiveroftheprivi
l
egeonthepartoft
heExecutive
branch.

Forreasonsal
readyexplained,t
hisDecisionshal
lnotbeinter
pret
edasdepart
ingf
rom therul
i
ng
i
nSenat ev.Er
mitathatexecutiv
eprivi
legeshouldbeinvokedbythePresi
dentort
hroughthe
Executi
veSecret
arybyor derofthePresident
.

CaseDi
gest
:Ner
ivs.Senat
eCommi
tt
eeonAccount
abi
li
tyofPubl
i
cOf
fi
cer
sG.
R.No.180643,
March25,
2008

Fact
s:

Pet i
tionerRomul oNer i,t
henDi rect orGener al oftheNat ional Economi candDev elopment
Aut horit
y(NEDA) , wasi nv i
tedbyt her espondentSenat eCommi tt
eest oat tendtheirjoint
i
nv est i
gati
onont heal l
egedanomal iesint heNat i
onal Br oadbandNet work( NBN)Pr oject.This
projectwascont ract edbyt hePhi lippineGov ernmentwi tht heChi nesef ir
m ZhongXi ng
Telecommuni cationsEqui pment( ZTE) ,whi chi nvolvedt heamountofUS$329, 481,290.Whenhe
testifi
edbef or
et heSenat eCommi t
t ees,hedi scl
osedt hatthenCommi ssiononEl ections
Chai rmanBenj ami nAbal os,broker ingf orZTE, offeredhi m P200mi l
li
oni nexchangef orhis
appr ovaloftheNBNPr oject.Hef ur thernar ratedthathei nf
or medPr esi dentGlori
aMacapagal -
Arroy oaboutthebr iberyat t
emptandt hatshei nstructedhi m nott oacceptt hebribe.Howev er
,
whenpr obedfurtheronwhatt heydi scussedaboutt heNBNPr oject,petiti
onerrefusedt o
answer ,i
nvoki
ng“ execut i
vepr i
vilege. ”Inpar ticul
ar ,her efusedt oanswert hequest ionson1. )
whet herornott hePr esidentfollowedupt heNBNPr oj
ect ,2.)whet herornotshedi rectedhimt o
prioriti
zeit,
and3. )whet herornotshedi rectedhi mt oappr ov eit.
Lat eron, respondentCommi t
teesi ssuedaSubpoenaAdTest if
icandum topet i
ti
oner,requiring
himt oappearandt est
if
yon20Nov ember2007.Howev er,Execut i
veSecretar
yEduar doEr mi t
a
sental etterdat ed15Nov embert otheCommi tteesr equest i
ngt hem todispensewithNer i
’s
test i
monyont hegroundofexecut iveprivil
ege.Er mi t
ai nvokedt hepr i
vil
egeont hegroundt hat
“thei nformat ionsoughtt obedi sclosedmi ghti mpai rourdi plomat i
caswel laseconomi c
relationswi t
ht hePeopl e’
sRepubl i
cofChi na,”andgi v entheconf i
denti
alnatureinwhi chthese
i
nf ormat i
onwer econveyedt othePr esident, Neri“cannotpr ovi
det heCommi t
teeanyf urther
det ail
soft heseconv er
sations,withoutdi sclosingt hev erythingt hepri
vil
egeisdesignedt o
prot ect.”Thus, on20Nov ember ,Ner i
didnotappearbef orether espondentCommi ttees.

On22Nov ember , r
espondent sissuedaShowCauseLet tert oNer irequiri
nghimt oshowcause
whyheshoul dnotbeci tedf orcont emptf orhisf ail
uret oat tendt hescheduledhear ingon20
Nov ember.On29Nov ember ,Ner i
repl i
edt otheShowCauseLet terandexpl ainedt hathedi dnot
i
ntendt osnubt heSenat ehear ing,andr equest edt hatiftherebenewmat ter
st hatwer enoty et
takenupdur inghi sfir
stappear ance, hebei nformedi nadv ancesohecanpr eparehi msel f.He
addedt hathisnon- appear ancewasupont heor deroft hePr esi
dent ,andthathi sconv ersati
on
withherdealtwi t
hdel icat eandsensi ti
venat i
onal secur i
tyanddi plomat i
cmat tersrel ati
ngt othe
i
mpactoft hebriber yscandal involvinghighgov ernmentof fici
alsandt hepossiblelossof
confidenceoffor eigninv estorsandl ender sinthePhi l
ippines.Respondent sfoundt he
explanati
onunsat i
sfactor y,
andl ateroni ssuedanOr dercitingNer ii
ncont emptand
consequent l
yorder inghisar restanddet enti
onatt heOf fi
ceoft heSenat eSer geant-At -Arms
untilheappearsandgi v
eshi st est
imony .

Ner ifil
edt hepet i
ti
onaski ngt heCour ttonulli
fybotht heShowCauseLet terandtheCont empt
Or derf orhav i
ngbeeni ssuedwi t
hgrav eabuseofdi scretionamount ingtol ackorexcessof
j
ur isdicti
on, andstressedt hathisrefusal t
oanswert het hreequestionswasanchor edonav al
id
claimt oexecut i
veprivi
legei naccordancewi t
hther ulingint helandmar kcaseofSenat ev s.
Ermi ta( G.R.No.169777, 20Apr i
l2006) .Foritspart,theSenat eCommi tteesarguedthatt hey
didnotexceedt heirauthorityini
ssuingt heassailedor der sbecauset hereisnov al
id
j
ust i
fi
cat i
onf orNeri’
sclaimt oexecut iv
epr iv
il
ege.I naddi ti
on,theyclaimedt hattherefusalof
pet it
ionert oanswert hethr eequesti
onsv i
olatesthepeopl e’
sr i
ghttopubl icinf
ormation,and
thatt heexecut iveisusingt heconceptofexecut i
v epr i
vi
legeasameanst oconceal t
hecr imi
nal
actofbr iberyinthehighestl evel
sofgov ernment.

I
ssue:

Whetherornotthethr
eequesti
onsthatpeti
ti
onerNer
iref
usedtoanswerwer ecov
eredby
execut
ivepr
ivi
lege,
makingthearr
estorderi
ssuedbytherespondentSenat
eCommi t
teesv
oid.

Di
scussi
on:
Cit
ingthecaseofUni tedStat esv s.Nixon( 418U.S.683) ,t
heCour tl
aidoutthet hreeel ements
neededt obecompl i
edwi thinor derfort heclai
mt oexecuti
vepr i
vil
egetobev alid.Thesear e: 1.
)
theprotectedcommuni cati
onmustr elatetoaqui ntessenti
alandnon-delegabl
epr esident
ial
power;2.)itmustbeaut hored,sol i
cit
ed, andreceivedbyacl oseadv i
sorofthePr esi
dentort he
Presi
denthi msel
f.Thejudicialtestist hatanadv i
sormustbei n“operat
ionalprox imit
y ”wi
tht he
Presi
dent;and,3.)i
tmaybeov ercomebyashowi ngofadequat eneed,suchthatt he
i
nformat i
onsought“li
kelycont ainsimpor t
antevidence,”andbyt heunavail
abil
it
yoft he
i
nformat i
onelsewherebyanappr opriateinvest
igatingauthori
ty.

Inthepr esentcase,ExecutiveSecretaryErmitaclai
medexecut i
vepr i
vil
egeont hear gumentthat
thecommuni cati
onselici
tedbyt hethreequest i
ons“ f
allunderconv ersati
onand
correspondencebet weent hePresidentandpubl icoff
ici
als”necessar yin“herexecut i
veand
poli
cydeci si
on-makingprocess,”andt hat“ t
heinformati
onsoughtt obedi scl
osedmi ghtimpai
r
ourdi pl
omat i
caswel laseconomi cr el
ationswiththePeopl e’
sRepubl icofChina.”I
ti sclear
thent hatthebasisofthecl ai
misamat t
errelat
edt othequintessenti
al andnon-delegable
presidenti
alpowerofdi pl
omacyorf oreignrelat
ions.

Astot hesecondelement,
thecommuni cati
onswererecei
vedbyacl
oseadvi
soroft
he
President.Undert
he“oper
ati
onal
pr oximity”t
est
,peti
ti
onerNeri
canbeconsi
der
edaclose
advisor,bei
ngamemberoft hePresident’sCabi
net
.

Andast othethirdelement ,t
her eisnoadequat eshowi ngofacompel l
ingneedt hatwoul d
j
ustifythelimit
ationofthepr ivil
egeandoft heunav ai
labil
ityoftheinf
ormat i
onelsewher ebyan
appropriat
ei nv
est i
gati
ngaut hor i
ty.Pr esi
dentialcommuni cati
onsarepr esumpt i
vepr ivi
l
egeand
thatthepresumpt ioncanbeov ercomeonl ybymer eshowi ngofpublicneedbyt hebr anch
seekingaccesst osuchconv ersat i
ons.I nthepr esentcase, r
espondentCommi tt
eesf ai
ledto
showacompel l
ingorcriti
cal needf ort heanswer stot het hr
eequestionsi ntheenact mentof
anylawunderSec.21, Ar t
.VI.Inst ead, t
hequest ionsveermor etowardst heexerciseoft he
l
egislati
veov er
sightfunctionunderSec.22, Ar t
.VI.Asr ul
edi nSenatevs.Er mita,“theoversight
functi
onofCongr essmaybef acili
tatedbycompul sorypr ocessonlytot heextentt hati
tis
performedi npursuitoflegisl
ation. ”

Neri
’srefusaltoanswerbasedontheclai
m ofexecut
ivepri
vil
egedoesnotviol
atet
hepeople’
s
ri
ghttoinformati
ononmat ter
sofpubli
cconcernsimplybecauseSec.7,Ar
t.II
Ioft
he
Consti
tutionit
selfpr
ovi
desthatt
hisri
ghtis“subj
ectt
osuchl i
mitat
ionsasmaybepr ov
idedby
l
aw.”

Hel
d:

Thedivi
dedSupremeCourt(v
oti
ng9- 6)wasconvincedthatthet
hreequest i
onsarecover
edby
presi
denti
alcommuni
cati
onspri
vil
ege, andt
hatthispr
ivi
legehasbeenv ali
dlyclai
medbythe
executi
vedepart
ment
,enoughtoshieldpeti
ti
onerNerif
rom anyarrestordertheSenat
emay
i
ssueagai
nsthi
mfornotanswer
ingsuchquest
ions.

Thepet
it
ionwasgrant
ed.Thesubj
ectOr
derdatedJanuary30,
2008,ci
ti
ngpet
it
ionerin
cont
emptoftheSenat
eCommi t
teeanddi
rect
inghi
sarrestanddet
enti
onwasnulli
fi
ed.

Vi
venci
oAl
ajarv
sAl
ba&JudgeEv
angel
i
sta

Poli
ticalLaw–Cont rolPower–Remov al ofAppoi ntedLGUof fi
ci alsRA603cr eatedt heCityof
Roxas.Sec8t hereofpr ov i
dest hatthev icemay orshal lbeappoi nt edbyt hepr esi
dent .Pursuant
tthelaw, Albawasappoi ntedast hemay or.Lateron, thepr esidentsentcommuni cationtoAl ba
tel
li
nghi mt hathewi l
lber eplacedbyanewappoi ntee, Al
ajar.Al aj arwast hendecl aredast he
acti
ngmay or.Al bar efusedt ol eav
ehi spostandheappeal edhi scasebef oretheJudge
Evangelistawhor uledi nf avorofhi m.Al ajarthencompl ained.Al baar guedt hatsect i
on2545of
theRACw/ cpr ovi
des: “Appoi ntmentofCi tyOffi
cials.–ThePr esi dentofthePhi li
ppinesshal l
appoint,witht heconsentoft heCommi ssi ononAppoi ntment soft heCongr essoft he
Phil
ippines,themay or ,thev i
cemay or...andhemayREMOVEatpl easureanyoft hesaid
offi
cers...”,hasbeendecl aredincompat iblewi t
ht heconst itutional inhi
biti
ont hat“noof f
iceror
empl oyeeint heCi vilServ i
ceshal lber emov edorsuspendedexceptf orcauseaspr ov i
dedby
l
aw” ,becauset hetwopr ov i
sionsar emut ual l
yrepugnantandabsol ut
elyirr
econci l
i
abl e.

I
SSUE:
Whet
herornotAl
bacanber
emov
edbyt
hepr
esi
dentupondi
spl
easur
e.

HELD:

Thequest i
oni swhet heranof ficerappointedforadef i
nitetimeordur i
nggoodbehav ior
,had
anyv estedinterestorcont ractrightinhisoff
ice,ofwhichCongr esscoul dnotdepr i
vehim.The
questionisnotnov el.Ther eseemst obebutl it
tl
ediffi
cultyindeci dingthatt herewasnosuch
i
nterestorr i
ght.“ Admi tt
edly ,t
heactofCongr essincreatingapubl i
coffice,def iningit
spower s,
functi
onsandf ixingthe“ term”ort heperi
oddur i
ngwhi cht heof fi
cermaycl aimt oholdthe
offi
ceasofr i
ghtandt he“tenure”ort heterm duri
ngwhi cht heincumbentact uallyholdsthe
offi
ce, i
sav ali
dandconst ituti
onal exerci
seoflegisl
ativ
epower .Int heexerci seoft hatpower,
Congr essenact edRA603onApr i
l11,1951,creati
ngtheCi tyofRoxasandpr ovi
ding,among
othersfortheposi t
ionofVi ce-May oranditstenureorper i
oddur i
ngwhi cht hei ncumbentVi ce-
May orholdsof ficeatt hepl easureoft hePresident,
so, t
hel ogicalinfer
encei sthatCongr ess
canlegal l
yandconst ituti
onal l
ymaket hetenureofcertainof f
icial
sdependentupont hepleasure
ofthePr esident.Ther efore, Al
bawasappoi ntedbyt hepleasur eoft heresidentandcanal sobe
remov edwhent hatpl easureceases.
 Apar
riv
sCAGRL-
30057

Fact
s:

OnJanuary15,1960,pr
ivaterespondentappr
ovedthef
oll
owingresolut
ion#13,hereby
appoi
nti
ngMr .Br
unoApar ri
,asgeneralmanagerofNARRA,wit
halltheright
s,pr
erogat
ivesand
compensati
onstotakeeffectonJanuary116,1960.

OnMar ch15,1962,theboardofdi r
ectorsapprovedresoluti
on#24whi chstati
ngther
eatthat
theincumbentgener almanagershal l
perfor
m hisdut yuptothecloseofoff
icehouronMar ch
31,1962.Inaccordancewi ththeprovisi
onsofsection8, sub-
sect
ion2ofRA1160.I ther
eby
fi
xest heter
m ofof f
iceoftheincumbentgener almanagerunt i
lmarch31,1962.Peti
ti
onerfi
lea
mandamuswi thpreli
mi nar
yinjunct
ionwiththefi
rstinstancecour
t.Thepeti
tionpr
ayforthe
annulmentoft heresoluti
onofNARRAboar d.

I
ssue:

Whet
herornotboar
dresol
uti
onNo.24wasar
emov
alordi
smi
ssal
ofpet
it
ionerwi
thoutcause.

Hel
d:

Itwasaf fi
rmedt hatthet erm ofof ficeofpet i
ti
onerexpiredonMar ch31, 1962.I
tisnecessar yi
n
eachcaset ointer
prett hewor d"Ter m"wi ththepurviewoft hestatut
essoast oeffectuatethe
statutoryschemeper tainingt otheof f
iceunderexami nati
on.Inthecaseatbar ,
thet er
m of
offi
cei snotfixedbyl aw.Howev er, thepowert ofi
xt heter
mi srestedintheboardofdi r
ectors
subjecttother ecommendat i
onoft heof f
iceofeconomi ccoordinati
onandt heapprovalofthe
presidentofthephi l
ippi nes.Resol ut i
onNo.24speaksofnor emov albutanexpir
ationofthe
term ofoffi
ceoft hepet it
ioner.Thest atuteisundeniabl
yclear."
Itistherul
einstatutory
const r
ucti
ont hatift
hewor dsandphr asesofast atutearenotobscur eorambiguous.Its
meani ngandi ntenti
onoft helegislativ
emustbedet erminedfrom thelanguageempl oyedand
wher ethereisnoambi guityinwor ds, thereisnoroom forconstructi
on.

Thepet
it
ioneri
nthi
scasewasnotremov
edbefor
etheexpir
ati
onofhi
ster
mrather
,hisri
ghtt
o
hol
doff
iceceasedbyt
heexpi
rat
iononMarch31,
1962,ofhi
stermtohol
dsuchoff
ice.

Phi
l
li
psSeaf
ood(
Phi
l
ippi
nes)Cor
p.v
.TheBoar
dofI
nvest
ment
,G.
R.No.175787,
04Febr
uar
y
2009

FACTS

Phil
l
ipsSeafoodisadomest i
ccorporati
onengagedintheexpor
tofpr
ocessedcrabmeatand
seafoodpr
oducts.RespondentBOIinfor
medpetit
ionerthatt
heI
THprevi
ouslygr
antedwouldbe
applicableonlytot heper i
odf rom 13August1999t o21Oct ober1999orbef orepet
it
ioner’s
transfertoa“notl ess-developedar ea.”Petit
ionerwr oterespondentBOIr equesti
ngfora
reconsiderati
onofi tsdeci sionbutwasdeni ed.petit
ionerfil
edapetiti
onf orr
eviewbeforethe
Cour tofAppeals,quest ioningt hedismissalofi tsappeal bef
oretheOf f
iceofthePresident.The
appel l
atecourtdismi ssedt hepet i
ti
onf orreviewf orhavingbeenf i
l
edoutoft imeaspet it
ioner
optedt oappeal t
ot heOf f
iceoft hePr esi
denti nsteadoff i
li
ngaRul e43pet i
ti
ontotheCour tof
Appeal swithi
nther egl
ement aryperiod.

I
SSUE

I
sthedeci
sionoft
heBOIdeny
ingt
heI
THappeal
abl
etot
heOf
fi
ceoft
hePr
esi
dentort
othe
Cour
tofAppeal
s?

HELD

I
tist
othel
att
er.

[P]
eti
ti
onershouldhav eimmedi atelyelevat
edt otheCour tofAppealsthedenialbyrespondent
BOIofitsappl
icati
onf oranI TH.From theletterdat
ed09Oct ober2003ofr espondentBOI,
whichinfor
medpet i
ti
onert hatitsITHwoul dbeext endedonl yfr
om 13August1999t o21
October1999,peti
ti
onerappeal edt otheOfficeofthePr esi
dent,arecoursethatisnot
sancti
onedbyeithertheRul esofCi vi
lProcedureorbyt heOmni busInvestmentsCodeof1987.

CASEDI
GEST:
JUDGEANGELESV.HON.GAI
TE,

FACTS:

I
tappearsthatsomet i
mei nJune1999, pet
iti
onerwaschargedofchil
dabusebyhergrandni
ece
MariaMercedesVi st
an.Thepreli
minaryinvesti
gati
onofthecomplai
ntwasassignedt
oSt at
e
Prosecut
orEmmanuel Y.Vel
asco( r
espondentVelasco)oftheDepart
mentofJusti
ce(DOJ).
RespondentVelascothenfil
edacaseagai nstpeti
ti
onerfor21countsofChi
l
dAbuseunder
Republi
cAct(RA)No.7610butt hesamewasor deredt
obewi t
hdrawnbytheDOJSecr et
ary
uponthefil
i
ngofapet i
ti
onforrevi
ewbypet i
ti
oner.

Peti
ti
onerthenfi
ledwit
htheDOJanadmi ni
strati
vecomplaintf
orGr ossMisconduct
,Gross
I
gnoranceoftheLaw, I
ncompetenceandMani festBadFait
hagai nstr
espondentVel
asco,which
theDOJsubsequentlydi
smissed.Pet
it
ionerthenfil
edaPetiti
onf orRevi
ewwi t
htheOffi
ceof
thePresi
dent(OP)assai
li
ngtheDOJsResol uti
onsdismissi
ngt headminist
rat
ivecomplai
ntshe
fi
ledagainstr
espondentVel
asco.TheOPaskedr espondentVelascot ofi
lehiscomment
ther
etoInhiscomment ,r
espondentVelascostatedmat t
ersandinformationprovi
dedby
unimpeachablesour
cesfrom thej
udiciar
y,schoolmatesandclosefriendsofJudgeANGELES,
whichaccordi
ngtothelatt
erisadirectatt
ackonherchar act
erandr eputati
onasapubli
c
servant
.

Ont hebasisofsuchst atements,peti

tionerfi
ledaCompl aintf
orfourcountsofl i
bel against
respondentVelasco.Howev er,Assi
stantCi t
yPr osecut
or(ACP)AdelizaMagno- Gingoy on
recommendedt hedismissalofpetit
ionerscompl aintf
orLibel
duet oinsuff
ici
encyofev i
dence
and/orlackofmer i
t.Dissati
sfi
ed,petit
ionerfi
ledwi tht
heDOJSecr etaryaPetiti
onf orRev i
ew
assaili
ngthedismissalofhercompl aintforLibelaswellashermot i
onf orr
econsi derati
on.The
Petit
ionforReviewwasdi smi
ssedbyChi efStateProsecut
orJovencitoR.Zu( CSPZu)

Petiti
onerfi
ledaPet it
ionforReviewbef or
etheOPquest i
oningt heDOJResol uti
onsdi smissi
ng
herpet i
ti
on.TheOPdi smissedthepet i
ti
on,ci
ti
ngMCNo.58, stat
ingthatnoappeal f
rom or
petiti
onforrevi
ewoft hedecisi
onorr esol
uti
onoft heSecretar yofJusti
ceonpr eli
minary
i
nv esti
gati
onofcr iminalcasesshallbeentert
ainedbyt heOf f
iceoft hePresi
dent,exceptthose
i
nv olvi
ngoffensespuni shabl
ebyr ecl
usionperpetuatodeat h.Anappeal orpeti
tionnotclearl
y
fall
ingwithi
nthej uri
sdicti
onoftheOf fi
ceofthePr esi
dent,assetf orthabove,
shallbe
dismissedout r
ight.

Peti
tionerfil
edwiththeCAapet i
ti
onf orreviewunderRule43assaili
ngtheOPor ders.Indenying
thepetiti
on,theCAappl i
edthedoct r
inelaiddowni nCarpiov.Executi
veSecr et
aryregar dingt
he
powerofcont r
oloft
hePr esidentov erallexecuti
vebranchesoft hegovernment,inrelationto
thedoct r
ineofquali
fiedpol i
ticalagency .TheCAt henruledthattheOP,relyi
ngonMCNo.58,
dismissedpet i
ti
oner
'spet it
ionf orreviewandexer ci
seditsprerogati
venott odi
sappr oveor
overturntheDOJSecr etar
y'sresolutions,thus,appr
ovingtheactsordecisionoft heDOJ
Secretary,bei
ngheral terego.

Upondeni
alofi
tsmot
ionf
orr
econsi
der
ati
on,
pet
it
ionerf
il
edt
hispr
esentpet
it
ion.

I
SSUE:
Whet
herornott
heCAer
redi
nit
sappl
i
cat
ionofdoct
ri
neofqual
i
fiedpol
i
tical
agency

HELD:
No.CADeci
sionAf
fi
rmed.

Pol
i
tical
Law-doct
ri
neofqual
i
fiedpol
i
tical
agency

Pet
it
ionerar
guesinthemainthatMemor
andum Circul
arNo.58i
saninval
i
dregulat
ion,
because
i
tdi
mi ni
shesthepowerofcontr
oloft
hePresi
dentandbestowsupont
heSecret
aryofJusti
ce,a
subor
dinat
eof
fi
cer
,al
mostunf
ett
eredpower
.Thi
sar
gumenti
sabsur
d.

Undert hisdoct r i
ne, whichprimaril
yr ecognizestheestabli
shmentofasi ngleexecutive,"all
execut i
v eandadmi nist
rati
veor ganizati
onsar eadjunctsoftheExecutiveDepar t
ment; t
heheads
ofthev ariousexecut i
vedepar tment sareassistant
sandagent soft heChi efExecuti
ve; and,
excepti ncaseswher etheChiefExecut iveisrequir
edbyt heConst i
tut
ionorl awt oactinper son
ortheexi genci esoft hesit
uationdemandt hatheactpersonall
y,themul ti
fariousexecut i
veand
admi nistrativef unct i
onsoft heChi efExecut i
veareperformedbyandt hrought heexecut i
ve
depar t
ment s, andt heactsoft hesecr et
ariesofsuchdepar t
ment s,performedandpr omul gated
i
nt her egul arcour seofbusiness, are,unlessdisapprovedorreprobatedbyt heChiefExecut i
ve,
presumpt ivelyt heact softheChi efExecut ive.
"TheCAcannotbedeemedt ohav ecommi t
ted
anyer rori nuphol dingtheOf fi
ceoft hePresident'
srel
ianceontheMemor andum Ci r
cularasi t
mer elyinter pretedandappl i
edt hel awasi tshouldbe.

I
ti squit
eev i
dentf r
om t hefor
egoi ngt hatthePr esidenthimselfsettheli
mi t
sofhispowerto
reviewdecisi
ons/ orders/r
esolutionsoft heSecr etaryofJusticeinordertoexpedit
ethe
disposit
ionofcases.Pet i
ti
oner'sargumentt hattheMemor andum Circularundul
yexpandsthe
poweroft heSecr etaryofJusticet otheext entofr ender
ingev entheChiefExecuti
vehelpl
essto
rectif
ywhatev ererr
orsorabusest hef ormermaycommi tintheexerciseofhisdi
scret
ionis
purelyspeculati
vetosayt hel
east .

Peti
ti
onercannotsecond-guessthePresi
dent
'spowerandthePresi
dent'
sownjudgmentto
del
egatewhateveriti
shedeemsnecessar ytodelegat
einordert
oachiev
eproperandspeedy
admini
str
ati
onofj ust
ice,
especial
lyt
hatsuchdelegati
oni
suponacabinetsecr
etar
y-hisown
al
terego.

Inthecaseatbar,thepoweroft hePresi
denttoreviewtheDecisi
onoftheSecretaryofJusti
ce
deali
ngwiththepreliminar
yinv
estigat
ionofcasescannotbeconsideredasfall
i
ngwi t
hint
he
sameexceptionalclasswhichcannotbedelegated.Besides,
thePresi
denthasnotf ul
ly
abdicat
edhispowerofcont rolasMemor andum Cir
cularNo.58all
owsanappeal i
fthe
i
mposabl epenal
tyisr ecl
usi
onperpetuaorhigher.

Certai
nly,
itwouldbeunr easonabletoi
mposeupont hePr esidentt
hetaskofreviewingal
l
prel
iminaryi
nvestigat
ionsdecidedbytheSecretar
yofJust i
ce.Todosowi llundulyhamperthe
otheri
mpor t
antdut i
esofthePr esi
dentbyhavi
ngt oscrut
inizeeachandev er
ydeci si
onoft
he
Secret
aryofJusticenotwithst
andingthelat
ter
'sexpert
iseinsaidmatter.
Peti
ti
oner'
scontenti
onthatMemorandum Ci
rcul
arNo.58v i
olat
esboththeConst
it
uti
onand
Secti
on1,Chapter1,BookII
IofEONo.292,fordepr
ivi
ngthePresi
dentofhi
spowerofcont
rol
overtheexecut
ivedepar
tmentsdeser
vesscantconsi
derat
ion.

Inthefi
rstplace,Memor andum Ci rcul
arNo.58waspr omulgatedbyt heOffi
ceoft hePresi
dent
anditissettl
edt hatt heactsoft hesecr et
ariesofsuchdepar tments,perf
ormedand
promulgatedinther egularcour seofbusi nessare,unlessdisapprovedorreprobatedbythe
ChiefExecuti
v e,
pr esumpt i
vel
yt heact soft heChiefExecuti
veMemor andum Circul
arNo.58has
notbeenr eprobatedbyt hePr esident;therefor
e,i
tgoeswi thoutsayingthatt
hesai d
Memor andum Ci rcularhastheappr ov
al ofthePresident.

DENI
ED

Dav
idv
.Ar
roy
o

GRNo.171396;
May3,
2006

FACTS:

PresidentArr
oyoi ssuedPP1017decl aringast at
eofnat i
onalemer gency .Thi
scasecoversthe
sevenconsolidat edpetit
ionsforcerti
orari assail
ingtheconst i
tuti
onalityofPP1017andGener al
OrderNo.5i mpl ement i
ngt heformer.i
ti sallegedt hatindoingso, PresidentGlor
iaMacapagal-
Arroyocommi ttedgr aveabuseofdi scretionandt hatrespondentof f
icialsoftheGover
nment ,
in
theirprof
essedef for
tstodefendandpr eser vedemocr ati
cinsti
tuti
onsar eact
uall
ytr
ampling
upont heveryfr
eedom guar anteedandpr otectedbyt heconstitut
ion.

I
SSUE:

Whet
herornotPP1017andGONo.5ar
econst
it
uti
onal

HELD:
Theassai ledPP1017i sunconst it
utionalinsofarasi tgr antsPresidentAr r
oyot heaut hor i
tyto
promul gatedecr ees.legi slativepoweri specul i
arl
ywi thint heprov i
nceoft heLegi slatur e,
Section1, Art
icl
eVIcat egor icallystatesthat“thel egislativ
epowershal lbev est edint he
Congr essoft hePhi l
ippi nes, whi chshal lconsistofaSenat eandaHouseofRepr esent ati
ves”.
Tobesur e,neit
hermar t i
al lawnorast ateofrebel l
ionnorast ateofemer gencycanj ustif
y
PresidentAr r
oyo’ sexer ciseofl egisl
ativepowerbyi ssui ngdecr ees.Itfol
lowst hatthese
decreesar evoidand, ther efor e,cannotbeenf orced.Wi threspectto“ l
aws” ,
shecannotcal lt
he
mili
tarytoenf orceori mpl ementcer tainlawssuchascust omsl aws,lawsgov erningf ami l
yand
propertyrelat
ions, l
awsonobl igati
onsandcont r
acts, andt heli
ke.Shecanonl yor dert he
mili
taryunderPP1017, toenf orcelawsper t
ainingt oitsdut ytosuppr esslawl essv i
olence.

RODRI
GUEZv
sARROYO

FACTS:Noriel
Rodriguez(peti
ti
oner)i
samemberofAl yansaDagit
iMannal
onIti
Cagay
an,
a
peasantor
ganizat
ionaffi
l
iatedwithKi
lusangMagbubukidngPil
i
pinas(
KMP) .

UndertheOpl
anBant
ayLaya,
themili
tar
ytaggedKMPmember sasanenemyofthest
ate,
makingit
smembersaneasytar
getofextr
a-j
udi
cial
kil
l
ingsandenfor
ceddi
sappear
ances.

OnSeptember6,2009,Rodri
guezj
ustal
ight
edfrom at
ri
cycl
edri
venbyHer mieAntoni
oCarl
os
i
nBrgy.Tapel
,Cagayan,when4menf or
cibl
ytookhi
m andfor
cedhimtogetinsideacarwhere
moremeni nci
vi
li
anclothi
ngwerewaiti
ng(1washoldi
nga.45cali
berpi
stol)
.

Themenstart
edpunchingRodr
iguezinsidethecar,andfor
cedhimt oconf
essthatheisa
memberoftheNewPeopl e’
sArmy(NPA) .Rodri
guezr emai
nedsi
lentunti
ltheyr
eacheda
mil
it
arycampbel
ongingtothe17thInfantr
yBattal
i
onoft hePhi
li
ppineArmy .

Rodriguezwast hensubj
ect edt
obeati
ngsandt ort
ur ebymembersoft
hePhi l
ippineArmy .
Member softhearmywant edhimtoadmitthathei sanNPAmemberandt henpi npointother
NPAmember sandcamplocat i
ons.Si
nceRodriguezcannotanswer
,heisrepeatedlybeatenand
tor
tured.Rodriguezwasalsocoercedtosi
gnsev eraldocument
stodecl
arethathei sa
surenderree.

OnSept
ember17,
2009,Rodr
iguez
’smot
herandbr
othercamet
oseehi
m(accompani
edby
member
softheCHR–Pasi
col
an,
CruzandCal
l
agan)
.Theyi
nsi
stedt
otakeRodr
iguezhome
wi
tht
hem t
oManil
a.

Rodri
guezarr
ivedinMani
laonSeptember18.Cal
laganand2mi l
it
arymemberswenti
nsi
det
hei
r
houseandtookpictur
esf
oraround30minutesdespit
eRodr
iguez’
seffor
ttost
opthem.

OnNovember3,Rodr
iguezandhisgir
lf
ri
endnot
icest
hatsev
eral
suspi
cious-
looki
ngmenar
e
fol
l
owi
ngthem onthestreet
s,j
eepneyandMRT.

OnDecember7,Rodri
guezfi
ledaPet i
ti
onfortheWr i
tofAmparoandPet
it
ionfortheWr
itof
HabeasDatawit
hPrayer
sforProtect
ionOrder
s,Inspect
ionofPl
ace,
andProducti
onof
DocumentsandPer
sonalProper
ti
esdat ed2December2009.

Thepeti
ti
onwasf il
edagainstf
ormerPresidentAr
roy
o, Gen.Ibrado,PDG.Ver soza,Lt
.Gen.
Bangi
t,MajorGeneral
(Maj.Gen.
)NestorZ.Ochoa,P/CSupt .Tolent
ino,
P/ SSupt.Santos,
Col
.De
Vera,
1stLt.Matuti
na,Cal
og,GeorgePalacpac,Cr
uz,PasicolanandCallagan.

Respondentscont
endthatRodri
guezisadoubl
eagent
,andhadbeenwor
kingast
hei
r
i
nformant/i
nfi
lt
rat
ori
nthefightagai
nstNPArebel
s.

ThenPresi
dentGl
ori
aMacapagal-
Arr
oyo,t
hroughthesol
i
cit
or-
gener
al,
insi
stedonheri
mmuni
ty
fr
om sui
ts(byvi
rt
ueofherposi
ti
onaspresi
dent)
.

SupremeCourtgrantedthewr
it
saft
erf
indi
ngthatthepet
it
ionsuff
ici
entl
yal
legedtheabduct
ion
andtort
ureofRodriguezbymember
softhePhil
ippi
neArmy .SCdi
rect
edtheCourtofAppeal
s
tohearthepet
it
ion.

CArul
edinfavorofRodr
iguezandfoundIbr
ado,Versoza,
Bangi
t,Ochoa,
Tolenti
no,Sant
os,
De
Ver
aandMat uti
nali
abl
eforhisabducti
onandtort
ure.AstoCalogandPalacpac,t
hecasewas
di
smissedf
orlackofmerit
.OnPresidentAr
roy
o,thecasewasdismissedonaccountofher
i
mmuni t
yfr
om suit
s.
I
SSUE:

WONPr esi
dentAr
roy
oshoul
dbedr
oppedasar
espondentbyv
irt
ueofherpr
esi
dent
ial
immuni
ty
f
rom sui
t

WONt hedoct
ri
neofcommandr
esponsi
bil
i
tycanbeusedi
nwr
it
sofampar
oandhabeasdat
a
cases.

HELD:

(1)CA’sr
ati
onal
edoesnotst andanymoresincet
hepresi
denti
alimmunityfr
om sui
tsonl
y
appli
esduri
ngherincumbency.“I
ncumbentPresi
dent
sareimmunef rom sui
torfr
om bei
ng
broughtt
ocourtduri
ngtheperiodoft
heiri
ncumbencyandtenurebutnotbeyond.
”

“Anon-sit
ti
ngPresidentdoesnotenjoyimmuni t
yfrom sui
t,ev
enforact
scommi tt
edduringthe
l
atter
’stenur
e.Weemphasi zeourrul
ingtherei
nthatcourt
sshouldl
ookwithdi
sfavoruponthe
presi
denti
alpri
vi
legeofimmuni ty
,especi
allywhenitimpedesthesear
chfortr
uthorimpair
st he
vi
ndicat
ionofar i
ght.”

Ter
mv sTenur
e:Thet
erm meanst
hetimeduri
ngwhicht
heoff
icermayclai
mt oholdtheof
fi
ce
asofr
ight
,andfi
xest
heint
erv
alaf
terwhi
chthesev
erali
ncumbentsshal
lsucceedoneanot
her.

Thetenurerepresentstheter
m duri
ngwhi chtheincumbentactual
lyholdsof
fi
ce.Thetenur
e
maybeshor terthanthetermforreasonswi t
hinorbeyondthepoweroft hei
ncumbent.The
i
ntentofthef r
amersoft he1987Constit
utionistoli
mitthepr
esident’
simmunityf
rom sui
ts
duri
ngtheirtenure(andnotter
m).

“I
tisclearthatformerPr esi
dentArr
oyocannotusethepresi
denti
ali
mmuni t
yfrom sui
ttoshi
eld
hersel
ffrom judici
alscruti
nythatwoul
dassesswhet her
,wit
hint
hecontextofamparo
proceedings,shewasr esponsibl
eoraccount
ablefortheabduct
ionofRodri
guez.
”

(
2)Yes.Thedoct
ri
neofcommandr
esponsi
bil
i
tymaybeusedt
odet
ermi
newhet
her
respondent
sareaccount
abl
eforandhavet
hedutytoaddr
esstheabducti
onofRodr
iguezi
n
ordertoenabl
ethecourt
stodevi
seremedi
almeasur
estoprot
ecthi
sright
s.

Proceedi
ngsundertheRuleontheWritofAmpar
odonotdet
erminecri
minal
, ci
vi
lor
administ
rat
ivel
iabi
l
ity
,butthi
sshoul
dnotabatet
heappl
i
cabi
li
tyofthedoctr
ineofcommand
responsi
bil
i
ty.

“Inthecontextofampar oproceedings,r
esponsi bili
tymayr efertotheparti
cipationoft
he
respondents,byactionoromi ssion,inenforceddi sappearance.Accountabili
ty,ontheother
hand,mayat tachtor espondentswhoar ei mput edwi thknowl edgerel
ati
ngt otheenforced
disappearanceandwhocar rythebur denofdi sclosure;orthosewhocar ry,buthav ef
ail
edto
discharge,t
hebur denofextraordinarydil
i
gencei nthei nv
estigati
onoftheenf orced
disappearance.”

“Despit
emai ntai
ni ngf or
merPresidentAr r
oyoint heli
stofr espondentsinG.R.No.191805, and
all
owingt heapplicationofthecommandr esponsi bi
l
itydoct r
inetoampar oandhabeasdat a
proceedi
ngs, Rodr i
guezf ai
l
edt oprovethroughsubst antial
ev idencethatfor
merPr esi
dent
Arroyowasr esponsi bleoraccountabl
ef ortheviolat
ionofhi sr i
ghtstoli
fe,l
i
bertyandproperty
.
Hel i
kewisefail
edt opr ovethr
oughsubst antial
ev i
dencet heaccount abil
it
yorresponsi
bil
it
yof
respondentsMaj .Gen.Ochoa, Cruz,PasicolanandCal lagan.”

SCaf f
ir
medt hedecisi
onoft heCA, butwit
hmodi fi
cat
ions.Thecaseisdi
smissedwithrespect
torespondentsfor
merPr esidentGlor
iaMacapagal-Ar
royo,P/CSupt
.AmetoG.Tolenti
no,and
P/SSupt.JudeW.Santos, Calog,GeorgePalacpac,
AntonioCruz,Al
dwinPasi
colanandVicent
Call
aganf orl
ackofmer i
t.

LANSANGVS.GARCI
A[42SCRA448;
L-33964;
11Dec1971]

Facts:I
nt heeveningofAugust21,1971,atabout9p.m.,whiletheLiberalPartyofthe
Phil
ippineswashol di
ngapubli
cmeet i
ngatPl azaMiranda,
Mani la,
forthepr esentat
ionofi
ts
candidatesinthegeneralel
ect
ionsscheduledforNovember8, 1971,twohandgr enadeswere
thr
ownatt heplat
form wher
esaidcandidatesandotherpersonswer e.Eightpersonswerekil
l
ed
andmanymor einj
ur ed.Proclamation889wasi ssuedbythePresidentsuspendi
ngpriv
il
egeof
wri
tofhabeascorpusst ati
ngt hatthereisaconspir
acyofrebel
li
onandi nsurr
ect
ioninordert
o
for
cibl
ysei
zepolit
icalpower .Peti
tionsforwri
tofhabeascorpuswer efi
ledbypersons(13)who
havebeenarr
est
edwi thoutawar rant.

Itwasst at edt hatoneoft hesaf eguar dsoft hepr oclamat ionwast hatitist obeappl iedt o
personscaughti nfl
agr antedel icto.Incidental l
y,Pr oc.889- Awasi ssuedasanamendment ,
i
nser ti
ngt hewor d“actuallystagi ng” .Proc.889- Bwasal soi ssuedl i
ft
ingthesuspensi onof
pri
v i
legein27pr ovinces, 3sub- pr ovincesand26ci ti
es.Pr oc.889- Cwasi ssuedr estori
ngt he
suspensi oni n13pr ov i
ncesandci ties(most lyinMi ndanao) .Pr oc.889- Df urt
herliftedthe
suspensi oni n7pr ovincesand4ci ti
es.Onl y18pr ov incesandsub- provincesand2ci t
ieswhose
pri
v i
legewassuspended.Pet i
tioner smai ntainedt hatPr oclamat i
onNo.889di dnotdecl arethe
existenceofact ual"i
nv asi
oni nsur r
ect i
onorr ebelli
onori mmi nentdangert hereof,howev erit
becamemootandacademi csi ncei twasamended.Pet i
ti
oner sf urthercont endt hatpubl i
c
safetydidnotr equirethei ssuanceofpr oclamat ionsst ati
ng: (a)t hattherei snor ebelli
on; (
b)
that,pri
ort oandatt het i
meoft hesuspensi onoft hepr i
vil
ege, theGov ernmentwasf unct i
oning
normal l
y, aswer ethecour ts;(c)thatnount owar di ncident,conf irmat oryofanal legedJul y
-
AugustPl an, hasact uallytakenpl aceaf terAugust21, 1971; (d)thatt hePr esident'
sal l
eged
apprehensi on,becauseofsai dpl an, isnon-exi st
entandunj ust i
fied;and( e)t hattheCommuni st
forcesint hePhi li
ppinesar et oosmal landweakt oj eopardizepubl icsafet ytosuchex tentast o
requirethesuspensi onoft hepr ivil
egeoft hewr itofhabeascor pus.

Aresolut
ionwasissuedbymaj or
it
yoft heCourthav i
ngt ent
ati
velyarr
ivedataconsensust
hatit
mayinquirei
nordertosat
isfyi
tsel
foftheexistenceoft hefactualbasesfort
heproclamat
ions.
Nowt heCourtr
esolvesaf
terconclusi
vedecisi
onr eachedbymaj or
it
y.

I
ssues:

(1)WhetherorNottheauthori
tytodeci
dewhethertheexigencyhasari
senrequi
ri
ngsuspension
(oft
heprivi
legeofthewritofhabeascor
pus)belongstothePresi
dentandhisdeci
sioni
sfinal
andconclusiveuponthecourt
sanduponallotherpersons.

(
2)Whet
herorNotpubl
i
csaf
etyr
equi
ret
hesuspensi
onoft
hepr
ivi
l
egeoft
hewr
itofhabeas
cor
pusdecr
eedi
nPr
ocl
amat
ionNo.889-
A.

Hel
d:

ThePr esidenthasaut horit

yhowev eri
tissubjecttojudicialr
ev i
ew.Twocondi ti
onsmustconcur
forthev al
idexerciseoft heauthorityt
osuspendt heprivi
leget othewrit(
a)theremustbe
"i
nvasion,insur
rection,orrebel
lion"or"immi nentdangert hereof,
"and(b)"publi
csafet
y"must
requir
et hesuspensi onofthepr ivi
l
ege.Presidenthast hree(3)cour sesofacti
on:(a)t
ocal lout
thearmedf or
ces; (
b)t osuspendt heprivi
legeoft hewritofhabeascor pus;and(c)toplacet he
Phil
ippinesoranypar tther
eofundermar ti
allaw.Hehad, al
ready,call
edoutthearmedf orces,
provedinadequat e.Oft hetwoot heralt
ernatives,
thesuspensi onoft hepri
vi
legeistheleast
harsh.

Peti
tioner
scont enti
ont hatCPP-NPAhasnoabi li
ty,
isnegat i
vedbyt hekil
l
ingof5may or
s,20
barri
ocapt ai
nsand3chi efsofpoli
ce;t
hatther
ewer efourteen(14)meani ngf
ulbombing
i
ncidentsintheGr eaterManilaAreain1970.CPPhasmanagedt oinfi
lt
rateorest
abli
shand
controlni
nemaj orlabororganizat
ions;
hasexploit
edthe( 11)majorstudentoryouth
organizat
ions;aboutthirt
y(30)massor gani
zati
onsactivelyadvanci
ngt heCPP.

Gar
cia-
Padi
l
lav
.Enr
il
e

121SCRA472

FACTS:

Thecasei sanappl i
cati
onf ortheissuanceoft hewritofhabeascor pusonbehal fof14
detainees.SabinoPadi l
l
aand8ot hersoutoft he14det aineeswer ethenhavingaconferencein
thediningr oom atDr.Parong’sresidence.Pr
iorthereto, allt
he14det aineeswereunder
surveil
lanceast heyweret henidentif
iedasmember soft heCommuni stPart
yoft hePhi
li
ppines.
engagingi nsubv er
siveactivi
ti
es.Theywer earrest
edandl atert
ransferr
edtoaf acil
i
tyonlythe
PCsknow, hence, t
hepresentpet i
tionofJosefina,
mot herofSabi na,forwri
tofhabeascor pus.

I
SSUE:

Whet
herornott
hear
rest
sdonet
othepr
esentdet
aineesar
eval
i
d
HELD:

Thesuspensi onoft hepr i

vilegeoft hewr i
tofhabeascor pusr aisesapol i
ti
cal,
notaj udicial
,
questionandt hatt her i
ghtt obai lcannotbeinvokeddur i
ngsuchaper i
od.PD1836andLOI
1211hav ev ested, assumingal awisnecessar y
,inthePresidentt hepowerofpr eventiv
ear rest
i
ncidenttot hesuspensi onoft heprivil
egeofthewr i
t.Inadditi
on, however,i
tshouldbenot ed
thatthePCOhasbeenr epl acedbyPr event
iveDetentionAction( PDA)pursuanttoPD1877.As
provi
dedf orint hesai ddecr ee, aPDAconst it
utesanaut hori
tyt oarrestandpreventi
v el
ydet ai
n
personscommi t t
ingtheaf or ement ionedcri
mes, f
oraper i
odofoney ear,wi
ththecauseor
causesoft heirarrestsubj ect edtor evi
ewbyt hePresidentort hebyt heReviewCommi ttee
createdforthepur pose.

Aqui
nov
.Enr
il
e

59SCRA183

FACTS:

Thecasesar eallpeti
ti
onsforhabeascor pus,thepetiti
onershavi
ngbeenar restedanddet ained
bythemi l
it
arybyv i
rtueofProclamat ion1081.Thepet it
ionerswerear r
estedandhel dpursuant
toGeneralOrderNo. 2ofthePresident“ forbeingpar t
ici
pantsorf orhavinggi venai
dand
comfortintheconspi r
acytoseizepol it
ical andstatepoweri nt
hecount ryandt ot
akeov erthe
Governmentbyf orce…”General OrderNo.2wasi ssuedbyt hePresidentintheexer ciseofthe
powerheassumedbyv ir
tueofPr oclamat ion1081pl acingtheentir
ecount r
yundermar t
iall
aw.

I
SSUES:

1)I
stheexist
enceofconditi
onscl
aimedt
ojust
if
ytheexer
ciseoft
hepowert
odecl
aremar
ti
al
l
awsubjecttojudi
cial
inqui
ry?
;and

2)I
sthedet
ent
ionoft
hepet
it
ioner
slegal
inaccor
dancewi
tht
hedecl
arat
ionofmar
ti
all
aw?

HELD:

5Justicesheldthatthei ssueisapol i
ticalquestion,hence,notsubjectt ojudi
ciali
nqui r
y,whil
e4
Justi
cesheldt hattheissuei sajusti
ciableone.Howev er,anyinquir
ybyt hi
sCourtint hepresent
casesintotheconst i
tuti
onal suf
fici
encyoft hef actualbasesforthepr oclamationofmar t
iall
aw
hasbecomemootandacademi c.Implici
tint hestateofmar ti
allawi sthesuspensi onofthe
pri
vil
egeoft hewr i
tofhabeascor puswi threspecttoper sonsarrestedordet ai
nedf oracts
rel
atedtothebasi cobjectiveoftheprocl amat i
on,whichi stosuppressi nvasi
on,insurrect
ionor
rebell
i
on, ort
osafeguardpubl
icsaf
etyagainstimminentdangerthereof
.Thepreser
vat
ionof
societyandnati
onal sur
viv
alt
akesprecedence.Theprocl
amationofmar ti
all
awautomati
cal
ly
suspendst hepr
ivi
legeofthewri
tastot hepersonsr
eferr
edtoint hi
scase.

CASEDI
GEST]Pel
obel
l
ov.Pal
ati
no(
G.R.No.L-
48100)

June20,
1941|
G.R.No.L-
48100

Fl
orenci
oPel
obel
l
o,pet
it
ioner
-appel
l
ant

Gr
egor
ioPal
ati
no,
respondent
-appel
l
ee

FACTS:

Gregori
oPalat
inowasconvictedofatendadocont
ralaautori
dadysusagentesi
n1912andwas
sentencedt
oimpr i
sonmentfortwoyears,f
ourmonths,andonedayofpri
sioncor
recci
onal
.In
1915,hewasgr ant
edcondit
ionalpar
donbyt heGover
nor-Gener
al.

Thereaft
erheexer
cisedhi
sri
ghtofsuff
rage,getti
ngel
ectedascounci
l
orofTorri
j
os,
Marinduquefr
om 1918to1921,
municipalpresi
dentoft
hesamemuni ci
pal
ityf
orthr
ee
successi
veter
msf r
om 1922to1931,andfinall
yasmayorinDecember1940.

Aft
erhav i
ngbeenelectedasmay orbutbef
oreassumingsuchpost,
Pel
obel
lowasgr
anted
absolut
epardonbyt hePresi
dentofthePhi
li
ppi
nes,rest
ori
ngthefor
mer'
senjoy
mentofhi
sful
l
ci
vilandpoli
ti
cal
rights.

Quowarrant
opr
oceedi
ngswereinsti
tut
edbyFlor
encioPelobel
l
o,whoclai
medthathavi
ngbeen
conv
ict
edofapri
oroff
ense,
Palati
nodidnothavetheri
ghttovoteandbevot
edupon,andt
hat
suchdisqual
i
ficati
onhadnotbeenr
emovedbythepl
enarypardon.Thiscontent
ionwas
pursuantt
oSect i
on167,i
nrel
ati
onwit
hSect
ion94(a)oftheOmni busElect
ionCode(CANo.
357).

I
SSUE:

Whet
herornotPal
ati
noi
sdi
squal
i
fiedf
rom v
oti
ngandbei
ngv
otedupon.

HELD:

No, t
heCour theldthatthePresident'
spardoningpowercannotberest
ri
ctedorcontroll
edby
l
egislati
veaction.Anabsolut
epar donnotonl yblot
soutthecri
mecommi ttedbutremov esal
l
di
sabi l
i
tiesresult
ingfr
om theconv ict
ion.TheCourtal
soheldthatwhenabsolutepardonis
grantedaftertheterm ofi
mpr i
sonmenthasexpi red,i
tef
fect
ivel
yremovesallthati
sleftoft
he
consequencesofsuchconv i
ction.

VI
CENTEGARCI
A,pet
it
ioner
,

v
s.

THEHONORABLECHAI
RMAN,
COMMI SSIONONAUDI T,THEHONORABLEMINISTER,
LAND
TRANSPORTATI
ONANDCOMMUNICATIONS,THEREGIONALDIRECTOR,
TELECOM REGIONAL
OFFICENO.IV,r
espondent
s.

G.
R.No.75025Sept
ember14,
1993

Fact
s:

Herei npet it
ionerVi centeGarciawasempl oyedasaSuper vi
singl i
nemanatt heBur eauof
Telecommuni cati
ons.Hewasaccusedofst ealingsomemat erialsi nthei
rcompany .Thus,
publicr espondent sf il
edacr i
minalcaseagai nsthi mforquali
fiedt heftbeforeacour tandont he
samegr oundr espondent salsofil
edanadmi nistrat
ivecaseinwhi chpet i
ti
onerwasf oundguilty
andwasl aterdismi ssedfrom theservi
ce.Wi thr especttot
hecr i
mi nal of
fense,peti
tionerwas
acqui tt
edbyt hecour tduetoinsuff
ici
encyofev idence.Pet
it
ionerwast henreinstat
edf rom his
wor kandi snowcl aimingbeforetheCOAf orhi sbacksal ari
esf rom t hetimeofhi sdismi ssalup
topr esent .ButCOAont heotherhandr el
uctant l
ydeni edhi
spl eadi ngs.Meanwhi le,
pet i
tioner
wasex tendedanexecut iveclemency(absolutepar don)bythePr esident.Sti
ll
,respondentCOA
str
ongl yr efusedt ogi veduecourset opeti
ti
oner scl ai
m.
I
ssue:

Whetherornotrespondenti
sentit
ledtothepaymentofbackwagesaf
terhav
ingbeen
r
einst
atedpursuanttothegrantofexecut
ivecl
emency.

Hol
ding:

TheCour truledini
t i
allybyexplainingthemandat eofSec19Ar ti
cleVIIoftheConst i
tuti
onand
furtherar ti
culatest hatthebest owal ofexecut i
veclemencyonpet i
ti
onerineffectcompl et
ely
obliteratedt headv erseef f
ectsoft headmi nistrat
ivedecisionwhichfoundhi m guil
tyof
dishonest yandor der edhissepar ati
onfrom t heservice.Thiscanbeinferr
edf rom theexecuti
ve
clemencyi t
selfexculpat i
ngpet i
ti
onerf r
om theadmi nistr
ativ
echargeandt herebydirecti
nghis
reinstatement ,
whi chi srenderedaut omaticbyt hegrantoft hepardon.Thissignifi
esthat
pet i
tionerneednol ongerapplyt ober ei
nstatedt ohisf or
merempl oyment; heisrestor
edt ohi
s
officeipsof actoupont heissuanceoft heclemency .

BAYANMUNAV.ROMULO(
G.R.NO.159618;
FEBRUARY1,
2011)

CASEDI
GEST:
BAYANMUNAv
.ALBERTOROMULO.G.
R.No.159618;
Febr
uar
y1,
2011.

FACTS:In2000,theRP,thr
oughChar
ged’Aff
air
esEnri
queA.Manal
o,si
gnedtheRomeSt atut
e
which,
byitster
ms, i
s“subj
ectt
orati
fi
cat
ion,
accept
anceorappr
oval
”bythesignat
oryst
ates.

I
n2003, viaExchangeofNoteswiththeUSgov er
nment
,theRP,r
epresentedbyt henDFA
Secretar
yOple,fi
nali
zedanon-sur
renderagr
eementwhichai
medt oprotectcert
ainpersonsof
theRPandUSf rom f
riv
olousandharassmentsui
tst
hatmightbebroughtagainstthem i
n
i
nternati
onaltr
ibunal
s.

Peti
ti
oneri
mputesgrav
eabuseofdiscr
eti
ont
orespondent
si nconcl
udingandratif
yingt
he
Agreementandpray
sthati
tbest
ruckdownasunconsti
tut
ional
,oratleastdecl
aredaswithout
for
ceandeffect
.
I
SSUE:

[1]Di
drespondent
sabuset
hei
rdiscr
eti
onamountingt
olackorexcessofj
uri
sdi
cti
onin
concl
udi
ngtheRP-USNonSurr
enderAgreementi
ncontr
avent
ionoftheRomeStatut
e?

[
2]I
stheagr
eementv
ali
d,bi
ndi
ngandef
fect
ivewi
thoutt
heconcur
rencebyatl
east2/
3ofal
l
t
hemembersoft
heSenate?

HELD:

TheAgr eementdoesnotcont raveneorundermi ne,nordoesi tdi

ff
erfrom,theRomeSt atut
e.
Farfrom goi ngagainsteachother,onecompl ement stheother.Asamat t
eroff act,t
he
pri
nci pl
eofcompl ement ari
tyunderpi
nst hecreati
onoft heICC.AccordingtoAr t
.1oft he
Statute,thejuri
sdi
ctionoftheICCi sto“becompl ement arytonati
onalcri
mi nalj
urisdi
ctions[of
thesi gnator
ystates].
”theRomeSt at
uteexpresslyrecognizestheprimaryjuri
sdicti
onofst ates,
l
iket heRP, overseri
ouscr i
mescommi tt
edwi thi
ntheirrespecti
veborders,thecompl ement ary
j
urisdictionoftheICCcomi ngintoplayonlywhent hesi gnator
ystatesareunwi l
l
ingorunabl eto
prosecut e.

Also, underinternati
onallaw, t
hereisaconsider abl edifferencebetweenaSt at e-Partyanda
signat orytoat r
eaty.Undert heViennaConvent ionont heLawofTr eati
es,asi gnat orystateis
onlyobl igedtoref r
ainfr
om act swhichwoulddef eatt heobj ectandpur poseofat reaty.The
Philippinesisonl yasignatorytotheRomeSt at uteandnotaSt ate-
Partyforl ackofr atifi
cati
on
byt heSenat e.Thus, i
tisonlyobl i
gedtorefr
ainf rom act swhi chwoulddef eatt heobj ectand
purposeoft heRomeSt atute.Anyargumentobl i
gi ngt hePhi l
ippi
nest ofoll
owanypr ovisionin
thet reatywouldbepr emature.Andev enassumi ngt hatt hePhili
ppinesisaSt ate-Party,t
he
RomeSt atut
est i
llr
ecognizest hepri
macyofi nter national agreementsent eredi ntobet ween
States, evenwhenoneoft heSt at
esisnotaSt ate- Partyt otheRomeSt atute.

Therightoft heExecut i
vetoenterint
obindingagr eementswit
houtthenecessi
tyofsubsequent
Congressional approvalhasbeenconf i
rmedbyl ongusage.From t
heearli
estdaysofourhistor
y,
wehav eenter edexecutiveagreementscov er
ingsuchsubjectsascommer ci
alandconsular
rel
ati
ons,mostf avored-
nati
onr i
ghts,pat
entrights,tr
ademarkandcopyri
ghtprot
ecti
on,postal
andnav i
gationar rangementsandt hesett
lementofcl ai
ms.Thevali
dit
yofthesehasnev erbeen
seri
ouslyquest ionedbyourcour t
s.

Execut
iveagr
eement
smaybev
ali
dlyent
eredi
ntowi
thoutsuchconcur
rence.Ast
hePr
esi
dent
wiel
dsvastpower sandinfl
uence,herconductint
heexternalaffai
rsofthenat
ionis,
asBayan
wouldputit
,“execut
ivealt
ogether
.”Ther i
ghtofthePresidenttoenteri
ntoorr
atif
ybindi
ng
execut
iveagreementshasbeenconf ir
medbyl ongpract
ice.DISMISSED.

PI
MENTELVS.EXECUTI
VESECRETARY

462SCRA622

G.
R.No.158088Jul
y06,
2005

Fact
s:

OnDecember28, 2000, t
hePhili
ppi
nest hroughtheCharged’ Aff
airsEnri
queA.Manal oofthe
Phi l
i
ppineMissiont otheUnitedNations,signedtheRomeSt atut
ewhi chestablishedthe
I
nt ernat
ional
Cr i
mi nalCourt
.Thus,hereinpet i
ti
oner
sfi
ledtheinstantpeti
tiontocompel t
he
respondents—t heOf f
iceoftheExecutiveSecretar
yandtheDepar tmentofFor eignAffai
rs—to
transmitthesignedt extoft
het r
eatytotheSenat eofthePhi
lippinesforrati
fi
cation.

I
ssue:Whet herornottheExecutiv
eSecret
aryandtheDepartmentofForei
gnAffair
shavea
mini
steri
aldutytotransmi
ttot heSenat
eforrati
fi
cat
ionthecopyoftheRomeSt atutesi
gnedby
amemberoft hePhili
ppi
neMi ssi
ontotheUnitedNati
onsevenwithoutt
hesignatureoft
he
Pr
esident.

Hel
d:

TheSupr
emeCour
trul
eint
henegat
ive.

ThePr esi
dent,bei ngtheheadofst ate,i
sregardedast hesoleor
ganandaut horityinexter
nal
rel
ati
onsandi st hecount ry’
ssolerepresent
ativewithforei
gnnat
ions.Ast hechiefarchi
tectof
for
eignpolicy,t
hePr esi
dentactsast hecountry’
smout hpiecewi
threspecttointernati
onal
aff
airs.Hence,thePr esidentisvestedwiththeauthorit
ytodealwit
hf or
eignstatesand
government s,
ext endorwi thhol
drecogniti
on,maintaindipl
omati
crelati
ons,enterintotr
eati
es,
andotherwi
setr
ansactt
hebusinessoff
oreignr
elat
ions.I
nt hereal
m oft
reat
y-maki
ng,
the
Presi
denthast
hesoleauthor
it
ytonegot
iatewit
hotherstates.

Itshouldbeemphasizedt hatundertheConsti
tuti
on, t
hepowertor ati
fyisv est
edi
nt he
President
,subj
ecttotheconcur r
enceoftheSenat e.TheroleoftheSenat e,howev
er ,
isli
mited
onlytogivi
ngorwithholdingit
sconsent,orconcurrence,t
otherati
ficati
on.Hence,itiswit
hin
theauthori
tyofthePresidenttoref
usetosubmi tat r
eatytotheSenateor ,havi
ngsecuredits
consentforit
srati
fi
cati
on, ref
usetorati
fyit
.