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*EN BANC.
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1Rollo (G.R. No. 179275), p. 168.
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mode/s
of
publication
will
comply
with
the
constitutional requirement.
3.Whether the inquiry, which is centered on the socalled Garci
tapes, violates Section 3, Article III of the Constitution and/or Republic
Act No. 4200. (Id., at p. 66.)
18Motion for Leave to Intervene and PetitioninIntervention filed on
October 26, 2007.
19Resolution dated November 20, 2007.
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I
Before delving into the merits of the case, the Court
shall first resolve the issue on the parties standing, argued
at length in their pleadings.
In Tolentino v. COMELEC,20 we explained that [l]egal
standing or locus standi refers to a personal and
substantial interest in a case such that the party has
sustained or will sustain direct injury because of the
challenged governmental act xxx, thus,
generally, a party will be allowed to litigate only when (1) he can
show that he has personally suffered some actual or threatened
injury because of the allegedly illegal conduct of the government
(2) the injury is fairly traceable to the challenged action and (3)
the injury is likely to be redressed by a favorable action.21
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independently of the
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47Id., at pp. 297298.
48Dated September 4, 2008.
193
193
Senate of the Congress before it. The Rules of the Senate itself
confirms this when it states:
RULE XLIV
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
SEC.123.Unfinished business at the end of the
session shall be taken up at the next session in the same
status.
All pending matters and proceedings shall
terminate upon the expiration of one (1) Congress,
but may be taken by the succeeding Congress as if present
for the first time.
Undeniably from the foregoing, all pending matters and
proceedings, i.e. unpassed bills and even legislative
investigations, of the Senate of a particular Congress are
considered terminated upon the expiration of that Congress and
it is merely optional on the Senate of the succeeding Congress to
take up such unfinished matters, not in the same status, but as
if presented for the first time. The logic and practicality of such
a rule is readily apparent considering that the Senate of the
succeeding Congress (which will typically have a different
composition as that of the previous Congress) should not be bound
by the acts and deliberations of the Senate of which they had no
part. If the Senate is a continuing body even with respect to the
conduct of its business, then pending matters will not be deemed
terminated with the expiration of one Congress but will, as a
matter of course, continue into the next Congress with the same
status.
This dichotomy of the continuity of the Senate as an institution
and of the opposite nature of the conduct of its business is
reflected in its Rules. The Rules of the Senate (i.e. the Senates
main rules of procedure) states:
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RULE LI
AMENDMENTS TO, OR REVISIONS OF, THE RULES
SEC.136.At the start of each session in which the
Senators elected in the preceding elections shall begin their
term of office, the President may endorse the Rules to the
appropriate committee for amendment or revision.
194
194
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easily adopted the same language it had used in its main rules
regarding effectivity.
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Documents.(1)
Where
the
law
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requires
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take judicial notice of the fact, the recent publication does not
cure the infirmity of the inquiry sought to be prohibited by the
instant petitions. In so far as the consolidated cases are
concerned, the legislative investigation subject thereof
still could not be undertaken by the respondent Senate
Committees, because no published rules govern it, in clear
contravention of the Constitution.6 (emphasis supplied)
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ing that the Senate is fully aware that Article VI, Section
21 requires legislative investigations to be conducted in
accordance with duly published Rules of Procedure
Governing Inquiries.
The September 4 Neri Resolution recognizes that the
Senate Rules have continuing effect from one Congress to
the next, because it provides in Section 137 that the Senate
Rules shall take effect on the date of their adoption and
shall remain in force until they are amended or repealed.
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supplied)
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of general circulation.
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1994, 235 SCRA 111 and People v. Olivarez, Jr., et al., G.R. No. 77865,
December 4, 1998, 299 SCRA 635.
34 Transcripts of Senate hearings held by the Joint Committees on
National Defense and Security and the Committees on Accountability of
Public Officers and Investigations (Blue Ribbon) and on Constitutional
Amendments, Revision of Codes and Laws, September 7 and 17, 2007.
232
232
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The
the
chairs
led
by
North
Cotabato
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_______________
As expected, there was nothing new in the majoritys findings and
recommendations.
The main report did not deviate from the revised draft report it routed to
committee members on March 13, which admitted the failure of the joint
congressional inquiry to unravel the mystery of the political controversy.
The report said that the hearings only raised more issues and answered none,
thus Congress should continue to seek the answers x x x and in particular
subpoena phone records to establish the likelihood or unlikelihood that alleged
wiretapping conversations could have taken place.
5465 Phil. 860 421 SCRA 148 (2004).
238
238
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Lacson v. Perez, G.R. No. 147780, May 10, 2001, 357 SCRA 756 Province
of Batangas v. Romulo, G.R. No. 152774, May 27, 2004, 429 SCRA 736
Albaa v. Commission on Elections, G.R. No. 163302, July 23, 2004, 435
SCRA 98 Acop v. Guingona, Jr., G.R. No. 134855, July 2, 2002, 383 SCRA
577 Sanlakas v. Executive Secretary, G.R. No. 159085, February 3, 2004,
277 SCRA 409.
8Heirs of Eugenia v. Roxas, Inc. v. Intermediate Appellate Court, G.R.
Nos. 67195, 78618 & 7861920, May 29, 1989, 173 SCRA 581 Agustin v.
De la Fuente, 84 Phil. 515 (1949) Calbanero v. Torres, 61 Phil. 522 (1935).
239
239
Anent the first issue, I agree with the ponencia and the
dissenting opinion of Mr. Chief Justice Reynato Puno that
petitioners Santiago Javier Ranada and Oswaldo D.
Agcaoili, plus intervenor Maj. Lindsay Rex Sagge, possess
the requisite locus standi to bring the suit.
Courts should not be shackled by stringent rules which
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The term of office of the Senators shall be six years and shall
commence, unless otherwise provided by law, at noon on the
thirtieth day of June next following their election.
The term of a Senator starts at noon of June 30 next following
their election and shall end before noon of June 30 six years after.
The constitutional provision aims to prevent a vacuum in the
office of an outgoing Senator during elections, which is fixed
under the Constitution unless changed by law on the second
Monday of May,17 until June 30 when the Senatorselect assume
their office. There is no vacuum created because at the time an
outgoing Senators term ends, the term of a Senatorelect begins.
The same principle holds true for the office of the President. A
presidentelect does not assume office until noon of June 30 next
following a presidential election. An outgoing President does not
cease to perform the duties and responsibilities of a President
merely because the people had chosen his/her new successor.
Until her term expires, an outgoing President has the
constitutional duty to discharge the powers and functions of a
President unless restricted18 by the Constitution.
In fine, the Senate is a continuing body as it continues to have
a full or at least majority membership19 even during elections
until the assumption of office of the Senatorselect. The Senate as
an institution does not cease to have a quorum to do business
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