SC junks petition asking to compel Duterte to defend nat'l territory

The Supreme Court has unanimously dismissed for a lack of merit a petition for mandamus urging it to compel President Rodrigo Duterte to comply with his constitutional duty to defend national territory, including the West Philippine Sea.

In a nine-page decision released on November 22, the high court dismissed the petition filed by lawyer Romeo Esmero, saying Duterte is immune from suit.

“Our ruling in De Lima v. Duterte is clear: the President is immune from suit during his incumbency, regardless of the nature of the suit filed against him,” it said.

“Petitioner named President Duterte as the sole responded in this case. For this reason, this suit should be dismissed outright.”

The SC said that even if it considered the case against a representative, a mandamus — used to compel action and to coerce the performance of a  pre-existing duty — will not be in favor of the petitioner.

“For a petition for mandamus to prosper, it must be shown that the subject of the petition is a ministerial act or duty on the part of the board, officer or person, and·that the petitioner has a well-defined, clear and certain right to warrant the grant thereof,” the Supreme Court pointed out.

However, the court said the petitioner failed to point to a law requiring Duterte to sue China over its incursions in the West Philippine Sea or show a “clear and unmistakable constitutional or statutory provision” that prescribes how Duterte should respond to any threat.

The court also said Duterte is also free to use his own discretion regarding the territorial issue with China.

“Being the Head of State, he is free to use his own discretion in this matter, accountable only to his country in his political character and to his own conscience,” the SC said.

It added that the decision to address disputes with China is up to the political branches of government.

“While we are loath to give a ‘blank check’ especially where the risk of grave abuse of discretion may be high, we cannot have an ‘entrammeled executive’ who will be ill-equipped to face the ‘amorphous threats and perpetrators whose malign intent may be impossible to know until they strike,” it said.

Malacañang, meanwhile, welcomed the Supreme Court's decision.

"We welcome the decision of the Supreme Court dismissing the petition for mandamus filed against President Rodrigo Duterte," acting presidential spokesperson Karlo Nograles said in a statement.
"Executive power, indeed, rests on the President, including the peaceful and stable conduct of foreign affairs."

Nograles has also said that Duterte is consistent in his position that disputes in the West Philippine Sea should never be settled using force.

Leonen on Duterte

Meanwhile, in a concurring opinion, Associate Justice Marvin Leonen took exception to the statement that Duterte cannot be subject to any type of suit.

According to Leonen, presidential immunity should not shield Duterte from any wrongdoings, adding that it only covers immunity from liability during incumbency.

“It is not an immunity against accountability. Public office is a  public trust. The president, as with any other public official, is accountable to the people at all times,” he said.

“The president should not be immune from suits that demand accountability from the respondent. Thus, the privilege of presidential immunity should not apply to actions for the issuance of the extraordinary writs of amparo and habeas data,” he later added. —KBK, GMA News