Tañada v Angara

Tañada v. Angara (1997)

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FACTS:  

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Petition for certiorari: State action to enter into WTO April 15 1994 – DTI Sec signed in Morocco the final act embodying the results of multilateral negotiations regarding the WTO o Aug 12 – Senate receives letter from President submitting the Uruguay Final Act o Aug 13 – president’ letter submitting the Agreement establishing the WTO, Ministerial Declarations, etc o Dec 9 – PS 1083, immediate adoption of the Agreement Establishing the WTO o Dec 14 – Senate Resolution No. 97, senate concurring in the ratification by the president of the agreement establishing the WTO o Dec 29 – present petition was filed Petitioner argues for the unconstitutionality of the WTO: o WTO requires the Philippines to place nationals and products of membercountries at par with each other o WTO limits, intrudes, impairs the constitutional powers of both Congress and the SC o WTO violates the constitutional mandate: to develop a self-reliant and independent national economy effectively controlled by Filipinos, to give preference to qualified Filipinos and to promote preferential use of Filipino labor, domestic materials and locally produced goods Petitioner specifically seeks: o For the nullification of the concurrence of the Senate with the President’s agreement to join the WTO o For the prohibition of the enforcement and implementation of the WTO

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ISSUE/s:  

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SC RULING:

WON the petition presents a political question WON the members of the Senate who participated in the deliberations and voting leading to the Senate Reso No. 97 are estopped from impugning the validity of the same, or the Agreement WON the provisions of the Agreeement violate the provisions of Sec19, Art 2, and Secs 10 and 12, Art 12 of the 1987 Consti WON the provisions of the Agreement unduly limit, restrict, and impair the sovereignty of the Phil Legislature WON provisions of the Agreement impair the exercise of judicial power WON Senate acted with a grave abuse of discretion in concurring only in the agreement establishing the WTO

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LegMet / Case Outlines / Wahab 2009c / page 1 ISSUE # 1: MATTER OF JURISDICTION: political or justiciable o JUSTICIABLE because it seeks the nullity of a senate resolution on the ground that it contravenes the Constitution o An act of legislature is alleged to have infringed the Constitution: judicial review not just a matter of right but a duty (within the court’s expanded jurisdiction) o Application of a constitutional provision o Judiciary as final arbiter on GADLEJ o Judicial review for GADLEJ, not review of the wisdom of a legislative or executive policy, not upon the merits nor propriety of govt policies, ONLY to determine WON there has been GADLEJ WTO AGREEMENT AND ECONOMIC NATIONALISM o Economic nationalism: violated by the parity provisions and national treatment clauses in the WTO Agreement o Economic nationalism in Sec 19, Art 2, Secs 10 and 12, Art 12 of the Consti o WTO: places nationals and foreign products on the same footing as Filipino and domestic products in contravention of the FILIPINO FIRST POLICY  Render meaningless “effectively controlled by Filipinos” WTO: ensures conformity of national economic laws, regulations, and administrative procedures with its annexed agreements and imposed obligations o Negate the preferential treatment accorded to Filipino labor, domestic materials and locally produced goods RESPONDENTS: o Constitutional provisions are not selfexecuting, merely policies o Such nationalistic provisions must be read in relation to: Art 12, Sec 1 and 13. o Read properly, the cited WTO provisions do not violate the Consti o WTO agreement contains sufficient safeguards for developing countries Declaration of Principles NOT SELF-EXECUTING o Article 2 is a mere declaration of principles and state policies – basic political creed of the nation o Not intended to be self-executing o Used as aids by the judiciary in adjudication, or legislature in lawmaking o Not self-executing provisions, a disregard of which cannot give rise to a cause of action in the courts o Kilosbayan, Inc v. Morato: Do not embody judicially enforceable constitutional rights but guidelines for legislation

I like to move it, move it.. I like to move it, move it… I like to move it, move it… I like to… MOVE IT!  Amidst the mountains of cases, may we never forget why we are here in the first place…

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Basco v. Pagcor: broad constitutional principles need legislative enactments to implement them

WHY? Because of basic considerations of due process and the lack of judicial authority to wade into the unchartered ocean of social and economic policy making (READ OPOSAFeliciano’s concurring) ISSUE # 2: ECONOMIC NATIONALISM SHOULD NOT BE READ WITH OTHER CONSTITUTIONAL MANDATES TO ATTAIN BALANCED DEVELOPMENT OF ECONOMY o Sec 10 and 12 of Article 12 should be read with relation to Sec 1 and 13 of the same Article: ideals of economic nationalism does not espouse an isolationist economy but a self-reliant and competent economy, able to compete in foreign markets, and trade policies that uphold equality and reciprocity, protection of Filipino enterprises from unfair trade practices and overbearing foreign competitions o AND FURTHER, there are enough balancing provisions in the Constitution that allow the Senate to ratify the concurrence with the WTO agreement • Need fore business exchange on the bases of equality and reciprocity • Protectionist policy only against unfair trade practices • Does not encourage entry of foreign goods services, but does not prohibit them either WTO RECOGNIZES NEED TO PROTECT WEAK ECONOMIES o WTO has some built-in advantages to protect weak and developing countries o Each vote by a member is equal to one, equal to any other’s vote, unlike in the Security Council where major states have permanent seats and veto powers o Poor countries can protect their economies through one-on-one negotiations with developed countries o Not mere practical alliances, but real negotiations rooted in law SPECIFIC PROVISOS TO PROTECT DEVELOPING COUNTRIES o Amount of tariff reduction, period within which the reduction is to be spread out (page 61) o Export subsidy for agricultural production (GATT) o Anti-dumping measures, countervailing measures and safeguards against import surges CONSTITUTION DOES NOT RULE OUT FOREIGN COMPETITION o Policy of self-reliance does not necessarily mean no foreign exchange allowed

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LegMet / Case Outlines / Wahab 2009c / page 2 o Not economic seclusion nor mendicancy in the international community o Independence refers to freedom from undue foreign control of the national economy o WTO rules on most favored nation, national treatment, and trade without discrimination – rules of equality and reciprocity applying to all members CONSITUTION FAVORS CONSUMERS NOT INDUSTRIES OR ENTERPRISES o WON the WTO/GATT will favor consumers is a political question; wisdom of legislative policy CONSITUTION DESIGNED TO MEET FUTURE EVENTS AND CONTINGENCIES ISSUE # 3: WTO AGREEMENT AND LEGISLATIVE POWER o Petitioners: because each membercountry is required to conform to the laws and regulations of the WTO, the lawmaking body of Congress is limited to this conformity o Especially as WTO infringes on the taxation power of Congress: when WTO fixes tariff rates SOVEREIGNTY LIMITED BY INTERNATIONAL LAW AND TREATISES o All government authority is inherently limited by the fact that it is a member of a family of nations o Doctrine of incorporation: the country is bound by generally accepted principles of international law, which are considered to be automatically part of the country’s laws o Authority limited by principles of international law and treaty stipulations UN CHARTER AND OTHER TREATIES LIMIT SOVEREIGNTY ISSUE # 4: WTO AND JUDICIAL POWER: o In question: WTO TRIPS – Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights intrudes on the power of the SC to promulgate rules concerning pleading, practice and procedures o Burden of proof on proving the authenticity of a patent similar to something else by another country o SC upholds said TRIPS, similar to RA 165, Patent Law ISSUE#5: CONCURRENCE ONLY IN THE WTO AGREEMENT AND NOT IN OTHER DOCUMENTS CONTAINED IN THE FINAL ACT o Assailed Senate Resolution expressed concurrence in what the Final Act required, concurrence of the Senate in the WTO agreement o Ministerial Declarations were deemed accepted without being ratified, by virtue of Article 25: Sec 1 of GATT

JUDGMENT: The validity of the assailed resolution is upheld.

I like to move it, move it.. I like to move it, move it… I like to move it, move it… I like to… MOVE IT!  Amidst the mountains of cases, may we never forget why we are here in the first place…

LegMet / Case Outlines / Wahab 2009c / page 3 (NOTE: MISSING CASE OUTLINE OF LEGASPI v. MIN OF FINANCE)

I like to move it, move it.. I like to move it, move it… I like to move it, move it… I like to… MOVE IT!  Amidst the mountains of cases, may we never forget why we are here in the first place…