The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday upheld the power of the
President of the country to enter into an executive agreement involving foreign
military bases pursuant to Article 18, Section 25 of the 1987 Philippine
Constitution.
This was the reason why the SC dismissed the petitions
questioning the legality of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).
Under the said provision of the 1987 Constitution, the
President of the country is authorized to enter into an executive agreement
involving foreign military bases if such an agreement is merely the
implementation of an existing law or treaty.
The SC said that the EDCA is an executive agreement for the
implementation of the treaties that allow the presence of foreign troops or
foreign military facility in the country.
The said treaties are the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA)
and the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT).
The SC added that as the EDCA is an executive agreement, it
does not need the ratification by the Senate.
Because of this, the SC declared the EDCA as constitutional.
The result of the voting was 10-4 in favor of EDCA.
Chief Justice Maria Lourdes P. Aranal Sereno was the ponente
of the decision.
The four magistrates who voted against the constitutionality
of EDCA were Associate Justices Teresita J. Leonardo-De Castro, Arturo D.
Brion, Estela M. Perlas-Bernabe and Marvic F. Leonen.
Associate Justice Francis H. Jardeleza inhibited himself
from the voting in the sense that he was the former Solicitor General and handled
the case of EDCA.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=845748
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