Case Digest (G.R. No. 212426)
Facts:
Rene A.V. Saguisag, et al. v. Executive Paquito N. Ochoa, Jr., et al., G.R. Nos. 212426 and 212444, January 12, 2016, the Supreme Court En Banc, Sereno, C.J., writing for the Court. Petitioners — two consolidated groups led by Rene A.V. Saguisag (G.R. No. 212426) and Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) with party‑list representatives and allied organizations (G.R. No. 212444) — challenged the constitutionality of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) concluded between the Republic of the Philippines and the United States. Intervenors included labor unions and other individuals; respondents were Executive officials including the Executive Secretary, the Secretary of National Defense, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, the Secretary of Budget and Management, and the AFP Chief of Staff as members of the Philippine negotiating/implementing machinery.The EDCA was signed by the Philippines and U.S. representatives on April 28, 2014 and ratified by the President of the Philippines on June 6, 2014; the Department of Foreign Affairs exchanged diplomatic notes with the U.S. Embassy in June 2014 confirming completion of internal requirements. Petitioners filed petitions for certiorari in this Court (challenging EDCA as an executive agreement that should have been a treaty subject to Senate concurrence under Article VII, Sec. 21 and Article XVIII, Sec. 25 of the 1987 Constitution). They alleged grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction by respondents and asserted multiple constitutional and statutory violations; respondents countered largely on standing, ripeness and deference to Executive foreign‑relations powers. The Senate adopted Senate Resolution No. 105 (Nov. 10, 2015) expressing the strong sen...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Are the essential requisites for judicial review present (actual case or controversy and locus standi)?
- May the President enter into an executive agreement concerning foreign military bases, troops, or facilities (or must such arrangements be embodied in a treaty concurred in by the Senate)?
- If the President may conclude the EDCA as an executive agreement, are the EDCA provisions consistent with the Constitution, existing treaties (notably the Mutual Defense Treaty and the Visiting...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)