Recent SC ruling upholds Senate role in treaty abrogation, says Drilon

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Friday welcomed the recent Supreme Court (SC) ruling which affirmed the need for the Senate’s concurrence when the president abrogates treaties or international agreements.

“While the Supreme Court dismissed the petition questioning the validity of the Philippine government’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute for being moot and academic, the Supreme Court affirms the need for Senate’s concurrence in the withdrawal from treaties and international agreements,” Drilon said.

He was opposing presidential spokesperson Harry Roque’s statement, claiming that the SC “virtually said” that Senate concurrence is not needed in treaty abrogations.

“Hindi naman boboto ang Korte na moot and academic kung iniisip nila na merong nalabag na proseso sa ating Saligang Batas. By ruling that it is moot, the court virtually said hindi kinakailangan ang concurrence ng Senado,” Roque said last Thursday.

(The Supreme Court would not vote to declare the matter moot and academic if a constitutional process was violated. By ruling that it is moot, the court virtually said that Senate concurrence was unnecessary.)

The minority chief said the SC recognized and upheld that the Senate is the partner of the president not only in treaty-making but also in withdrawal from international agreements.

He cited an excerpt from the SC decision on Pangilinan versus Cayetano (GR 238875) which stated that “the President’s discretion on unilaterally withdrawing from any treaty or international agreement is not absolute. As primary architect of foreign policy, the President enjoys a degree of leeway to withdraw from treaties. However, this leeway cannot go beyond the President’s authority under the Constitution and the laws. In appropriate cases, legislative involvement is imperative.”

With this ruling, Drilon said the high court has made a “doctrinal pronouncement” by acknowledging and explicitly stating that the president may be “chief architect of foreign policy” but his powers are not absolute.

“The decision affirms that the realm of treaty-making and abrogation is not exclusive to the President. It is a shared power with the Senate,” Drilon said.

“Since the Constitution expressly provides for shared treaty-making power, it necessarily implies that the power to abrogate the same must also be exercised jointly,” he added.

So far, there are 17 treaties in which Drilon insisted included provisions requiring Senate concurrence before its withdrawal.

Among these treaties and international agreements were the Accession to the Paris Agreement, Convention on Cybercrime, and Agreement of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

“The ruling has far-reaching consequences, it strengthens the system of check and balance. The decision validates the role of the Senate, as representative of the people, in the abrogation, termination, or withdrawal from treaties and international agreements,” Drilon said.

“The ruling will provide stability insofar as our treaty obligation is concerned. This is a win for the Filipino people, as treaties will not be subject to the caprice of one man,” he added.

Senators Francis Pangilinan and Risa Hontiveros on Thursday said they respected the SC’s dismissal of the petition challenging the Duterte administration’s unilateral withdrawal from the Rome Statute

They also welcomed the high court’s decision, saying the Philippines was still obligated to cooperate with the International Criminal Court.

The SC dismissed the petitions filed by a group of opposition senators and the Philippine Coalition for the ICC on the ground of mootness as the Philippines formally exited the Rome Statute on March 17, 2019.

The high court, however, ruled that the Philippines is still obliged to cooperate with the ICC despite the administration’s pullout.

The Rome Statute is the treaty that created the ICC.

On Thursday, Malacañang maintained that the Philippine government won’t cooperate with the ICC’s investigation on alleged drug war killings. — DVM, GMA News