Case Name:

GR No.:
Petitioner/s:
Respondent/s
:
Ponente:
Date:
Topic:

Taada vs. Angara

118295
Wigberto Taada et al.
Edgardo Angara et al.
Panganiban, J.
2 May 1997
Adherence to international law

Rule of Law:
Article II
DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES AND STATE POLICIES
xxx xxx xxx
Sec. 19. The State shall develop a self-reliant and independent national economy effectively controlled by Filipinos.
xxx xxx xxx
Article XII
NATIONAL ECONOMY AND PATRIMONY
xxx xxx xxx
Sec. 10. . . . The Congress shall enact measures that will encourage the formation and operation of enterprises whose capital is wholly owned by
Filipinos.
In the grant of rights, privileges, and concessions covering the national economy and patrimony, the State shall give preference to qualified
Filipinos.

xxx xxx xxx

Sec. 12. The State shall promote the preferential use of Filipino labor, domestic materials and locally produced goods, and adopt measures that
help make them competitive.
Facts:
This is a petition for certiorari, prohibition, and mandamus under Rule 65 of the Rules of court praying for the nullification of the
concurrence to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement and for the prohibition of its implementation and enforcement.
15 April 1994 Rizalino Navarro, DTI Secretary, signed the Final Act Embodying the Results of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral
Negotiations (Final Act) on behalf of the Philippines.
14 December 1994 the PH president adopted Resolution No. 97, expressed in which is the concurrence of the Senate in the ratification
of the agreement establishing the WTO.
29 December 1994 petitioners filed a petition against such concurrence.
Issue/Holding:
I
Does the court have jurisdiction over the controversy?
Yes. The petitioners argue that there is no justiciable controversy. The court, while still upholding the supremacy of the Constitution, reiterates
that where an action of the legislative branch is seriously alleged to have infringed the Constitution, it is not only the right but also the duty of
the judiciary to settle the dispute.
However, the court will not question the wisdom of the concurrence, but it will only focus on whether or not there is a grave abuse of discretion
on the part of the Senate in the ratification.
II
On the WTO Agreement and Economic Nationalism
Petitioners argue that these provisions contravene constitutional limitations on the role exports play in national development and negate the
preferential treatment accorded to Filipino labor, domestic materials and locally produced goods.

Respondent claims that:

a) the provisions in question are NOT self-executing and are merely set out general policies;
b) these nationalistic portions of the Constitution should no the read in isolation but rather together with other relevant provisions of Article
XII;
c) the questioned sections of the WTO Agreement are not in conflict with the Constitution, and;
d) WTO Agreement contains provisions protecting developing countries from the harshness of sudden trade liberalization.
III
The WTO Agreement and Legislative Power
Petitioners maintain that this undertaking "unduly limits, restricts and impairs Philippine sovereignty, specifically the legislative power which
under Sec. 2, Article VI of the 1987 Philippine Constitution is vested in the Congress of the Philippines.
By their inherent nature, treaties really limit or restrict the absoluteness of sovereignty. By their voluntary act, nations may surrender some
aspects of their state power in exchange for greater benefits granted by or derived from a convention or pact. After all, states, like individuals,
live with coequals, and in pursuit of mutually covenanted objectives and benefits, they also commonly agree to limit the exercise of their
otherwise absolute rights.
IV
The WTO Agreement and Judicial Power
Petitioners maintain that this undertaking "unduly limits, restricts and impairs Philippine sovereignty, specifically the legislative power which
under Sec. 2, Article VI of the 1987 Philippine Constitution is vested in the Congress of the Philippines.
By their inherent nature, treaties really limit or restrict the absoluteness of sovereignty. By their voluntary act, nations may surrender some
aspects of their state power in exchange for greater benefits granted by or derived from a convention or pact. After all, states, like individuals,
live with coequals, and in pursuit of mutually covenanted objectives and benefits, they also commonly agree to limit the exercise of their
otherwise absolute rights.
V
Concurrence only in the WTO Agreement and not in other documents contained in the final act

Petitioners allege that the Senate concurrence in the WTO Agreement and its annexes but not in the other documents referred to in the Final
Act, namely the Ministerial Declaration and Decisions and the Understanding on Commitments in Financial Services is defective and
insufficient and thus constitutes abuse of discretion. They submit that such concurrence in the WTO Agreement alone is flawed because it is in
effect a rejection of the Final Act, which in turn was the document signed by Secretary Navarro, in representation of the Republic upon authority
of the President.
The Ministerial Declarations and Decisions were deemed adopted without need for ratification. They were approved by the ministers by
virtue of Article XXV: 1 of GATT which provides that representatives of the members can meet "to give effect to those provisions of this
Agreement which invoke joint action, and generally with a view to facilitating the operation and furthering the objectives of this Agreement."
The Understanding on Commitments in Financial Services also approved in Marrakesh does not apply to the Philippines. It applies only to
those 27 Members which "have indicated in their respective schedules of commitments on standstill, elimination of monopoly, expansion of
operation of existing financial service suppliers, temporary entry of personnel, free transfer and processing of information, and national
treatment with respect to access to payment, clearing systems and refinancing available in the normal course of business.
Separate Opinions: N/A
Notes:
Bilateral and Multilateral Treaties
(a) Bilateral convention with the United States regarding taxes on income, where the Philippines agreed, among others, to exempt from tax,
income received in the Philippines by, among others, the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States, the Export/Import Bank of the United
States, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation of the United States. Likewise, in said convention, wages, salaries and similar
remunerations paid by the United States to its citizens for labor and personal services performed by them as employees or officials of the United
States are exempt from income tax by the Philippines.
(b) Bilateral agreement with Belgium, providing, among others, for the avoidance of double taxation with respect to taxes on income.
(c) Bilateral convention with the Kingdom of Sweden for the avoidance of double taxation.

(d) Bilateral convention with the French Republic for the avoidance of double taxation.
(e) Bilateral air transport agreement with Korea where the Philippines agreed to exempt from all customs duties, inspection fees and other duties
or taxes aircrafts of South Korea and the regular equipment, spare parts and supplies arriving with said aircrafts.
(f) Bilateral air service agreement with Japan, where the Philippines agreed to exempt from customs duties, excise taxes, inspection fees and
other similar duties, taxes or charges fuel, lubricating oils, spare parts, regular equipment, stores on board Japanese aircrafts while on Philippine
soil.
(g) Bilateral air service agreement with Belgium where the Philippines granted Belgian air carriers the same privileges as those granted to
Japanese and Korean air carriers under separate air service agreements.
(h) Bilateral notes with Israel for the abolition of transit and visitor visas where the Philippines exempted Israeli nationals from the requirement
of obtaining transit or visitor visas for a sojourn in the Philippines not exceeding 59 days.
(i) Bilateral agreement with France exempting French nationals from the requirement of obtaining transit and visitor visa for a sojourn not
exceeding 59 days.
(j) Multilateral Convention on Special Missions, where the Philippines agreed that premises of Special Missions in the Philippines are inviolable
and its agents can not enter said premises without consent of the Head of Mission concerned. Special Missions are also exempted from customs
duties, taxes and related charges.
(k) Multilateral convention on the Law of Treaties. In this convention, the Philippines agreed to be governed by the Vienna Convention on the
Law of Treaties.
(l) Declaration of the President of the Philippines accepting compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice. The International Court
of Justice has jurisdiction in all legal disputes concerning the interpretation of a treaty, any question of international law, the existence of any fact
which, if established, would constitute a breach "of international obligation."
Article II
Scope of the WTO

1. The WTO shall provide the common institutional frame-work for the conduct of trade relations among its Members in matters to the
agreements and associated legal instruments included in the Annexes to this Agreement.
2. The Agreements and associated legal instruments included in Annexes 1, 2, and 3, (hereinafter referred to as "Multilateral Agreements") are
integral parts of this Agreement, binding on all Members.
3. The Agreements and associated legal instruments included in Annex 4 (hereinafter referred to as "Plurilateral Trade Agreements") are also part
of this Agreement for those Members that have accepted them, and are binding on those Members. The Plurilateral Trade Agreements do not
create either obligation or rights for Members that have not accepted them.
4. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 as specified in annex 1A (hereinafter referred to as "GATT 1994") is legally distinct from
the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, dated 30 October 1947, annexed to the Final Act adopted at the conclusion of the Second Session of
the Preparatory Committee of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Employment, as subsequently rectified, amended or modified
(hereinafter referred to as "GATT 1947").
Final Act Embodying the Results of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations
1. Having met in order to conclude the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations, representatives of the governments and of the
European Communities, members of the Trade Negotiations Committee, agree that the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization
(referred to in the Final Act as the "WTO Agreement"), the Ministerial Declarations and Decisions, and the Understanding on Commitments in
Financial Services, as annexed hereto, embody the results of their negotiations and form an integral part of this Final Act.
2. By signing to the present Final Act, the representatives agree.
(a) to submit, as appropriate, the WTO Agreement for the consideration of their respective competent authorities with a view to
seeking approval of the Agreement in accordance with their procedures; and
(b) to adopt the Ministerial Declarations and Decisions.
3. The representatives agree on the desirability of acceptance of the WTO Agreement by all participants in the Uruguay Round of Multilateral
Trade Negotiations (hereinafter referred to as "participants") with a view to its entry into force by 1 January 1995, or as early as possible

thereafter. Not later than late 1994, Ministers will meet, in accordance with the final paragraph of the Punta del Este Ministerial Declarations, to
decide on the international implementation of the results, including the timing of their entry into force.
4. the representatives agree that the WTO Agreement shall be open for acceptance as a whole, by signature or otherwise, by all participants
pursuant to Article XIV thereof. The acceptance and entry into force of a Plurilateral Trade Agreement included in Annex 4 of the WTO
Agreement shall be governed by the provisions of that Plurilateral Trade Agreement.
5. Before accepting the WTO Agreement, participants which are not contracting parties to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade must first
have concluded negotiations for their accession to the General Agreement and become contracting parties thereto. For participants which are not
contracting parties to the general Agreement as of the date of the Final Act, the Schedules are not definitive and shall be subsequently completed
for the purpose of their accession to the General Agreement and acceptance of the WTO Agreement.
6. This Final Act and the texts annexed hereto shall be deposited with the Director-General to the CONTRACTING PARTIES to the General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade who shall promptly furnish to each participant a certified copy thereof.
DONE at Marrakesh this fifteenth day of April one thousand nine hundred and ninety-four, in a single copy, in the English, French and Spanish
languages, each text being authentic.