Case Digest (G.R. No. 180643)
Facts:
Romulo L. Neri v. Senate Committee on Accountability of Public Officers and Investigations, Senate Committee on Trade and Commerce, and Senate Committee on National Defense and Security, G.R. No. 180643, September 04, 2008, Supreme Court En Banc, Leonardo‑De Castro, J., writing for the Court.Petitioner Romulo L. Neri, then NEDA Secretary, testified for about eleven hours before the three respondent Senate committees on September 26, 2007 regarding the National Broadband Project (NBN) awarded to ZTE. Neri disclosed that then COMELEC Chairman Benjamin Abalos offered him P200 million; he said he informed President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and that she instructed him not to accept the bribe. When asked further about communications with the President on (a) whether she followed up the NBN project, (b) whether she directed prioritization, and (c) whether she directed its approval, Neri refused to answer invoking executive privilege.
On November 15, 2007 Executive Secretary Eduardo R. Ermita wrote the respondent committees asserting executive privilege and requesting that Neri’s further testimony be dispensed with. Per that instruction Neri did not appear on November 20; the Senate issued a show‑cause (Nov. 22) and, finding his explanation unsatisfactory, on January 30, 2008 the respondent committees cited him for contempt and ordered his arrest and detention until he testified.
Neri filed a petition for certiorari with urgent application for TRO (Rule 45) in this Court (original petition Dec. 7, 2007; Supplemental petition Feb. 1, 2008). The Court required the parties to maintain the status quo (Resolution, Feb. 4, 2008). On March 25, 2008 the Court granted the petition, holding (inter alia) that the three questions elicited communications covered by presidential communications privilege and that the committees committed grave abuse of discretion in issuing the contempt order. The Office of the ...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Is there a recognized presumptive presidential communications privilege in the Philippines?
- Are the communications elicited by the three questions to Secretary Neri covered by executive (presidential communications) privilege?
- Did the respondent Senate committees show that those communications are critical or demonstrably necessary to the exercise of their legislative functions so as to overcome the privilege?
- Did the respondent Senate committees commit grave abuse of discretion in ...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)