SC invites ‘interested non-parties’ to comment on Torre de Manila issue

(Updated 7:28 p.m.) The Supreme Court has set for July 21 the oral arguments on the Torre de Manila controversy and for the first time will allow "interested non-parties" to formally comment on the issue.

The high court defines interested non-parties as "professional associations, non-governmental organizations, interest groups" that are not considered as neutral amici curiae (friends of the court).

Simply put, interested non-parties are "persons who are not involved in the suit," said Ranhilio Aquino, dean of San Beda Graduate School of Law.

"In other words, the SC is willing to let 'intervenors' file pleadings to broaden the base of debate, and I think that ultimately this should benefit the outcome," he told GMA News Online.

He also said that the SC can suspend the Rules of Court "because of its rule-making power."

For his part, Amado Valdez, former UE Law dean, said the SC's move "is an acknowledgment that the case is a matter of public interest."

The SC said the interested non-parties should come from the following fields:

- real estate
- tourism
- construction
- architecture
- engineering
- heritage conservation

"The post argument brief by a non-interested party shall be for the purpose only of providing advice but is no guarantee that any points raised in the brief shall be considered by the Court," said SC Public Information Office chief and spokesman Theodore Te on Tuesday.

For the July 21 oral arguments, the SC invited three amici curiae to attend, namely:

- an expert on the National Building Code, as designated by the Secretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH);
- architect Emmanuel Cuntapay of the DPWH; and
- a representative from the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board, designated by its chairperson.

The oral argument stemmed from a petition seeking to tear down Torre de Manila, a 46-storey building project by DCMI Homes, for supposedly ruining the vista or visual corridors of the Rizal Statue in Luneta.

The petition against the condominium building, the construction of which was temporarily stopped by the SC, was filed by the Knights of Rizal.

Solicitor General Florin Hilbay had earlier asked the tribunal to push back the debates on the issue as he was busy preparing for the Philippines' case against China before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague regarding the two countries' territorial dispute. —Mark Merueñas/KBK, GMA News