Marcos should remain respondent in PhilHealth petition, Colmenares asks SC

Bayan Muna chairperson Neri Colmenares on Thursday asked the Supreme Court (SC) to retain President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as a respondent in their petition against the transfer of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation’s (PhilHealth) excess funds to the National Treasury.

He made the appeal in response to a motion filed by the Office of the Solicitor General to drop the president from the petition.

Colmenares argued that Marcos being immune from suit is a jurisprudential rather than a constitutional issue.

“The doctrine that the president cannot be named… must be modified accordingly,” Colmenares said during the resumption of the oral arguments.

The respondents in Colmenares’ petition were Marcos, the Senate of the Philippines, and the House of Representatives. 

Colmenares argued that Marcos is impleaded for his personal act of certifying as urgent the passage of the 2025 General Appropriations Act.  

“We believe he violated that because there was no— he’s going to impose his certification on a co-equal branch and the co-equal branch, your honor, must at least know the emergency being addressed,” he said.

“So this is an imposition by the president not only to short circuit a legislative process but an imposition on a co-equal branch. Hindi pwedeng absolute ‘yung podor niya na parang kahit walang emergency, pwede niyang utusan ang house or the Senate,” he added.

He said the SC may as well implead the president if it will void a president’s act.

Colmenares also argued that Marcos being impleaded in the petition will not keep him from doing his job nor will he be harassed.

“He has, I would like to say bus loads, a huge number, the biggest law firm in the country, composed of very intelligent solicitor generals and assistant solicitor generals, your honor. How can he be harassed with that?” he said. 

Asked to react, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin stood firm Marcos "is immune from suit while he is President."

"This is the prevailing jurisprudence. His being impleaded as a respondent contradicts jurisprudence," Bersamin told GMA News Online.

Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen questioned Colmenares if wanting Marcos as a respondent is political.

Colmenares replied that it was “not a political move.” 

Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo said they would rule on the motion on Thursday, April 3 before adjourning.

The SC concluded the oral arguments on April 3 after five days of interpellation.—LDF, GMA Integrated News