The Supreme Court is expected today to decide on whether the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement between the Philippines and the United States is constitutional or not.
In a special en banc session today, the SC justices will finally vote on the petitions seeking to declare Edca as unconstitutional after deferring its voting on the case twice last month.
A court insider revealed that the petitions filed in May last year by former Senators Rene Saguisag and Wigberto Tañada and militant lawmakers led by Bayan Muna Representatives Neri Colmenares and Carlos Zarate have been included in the agenda of the magistrates.
The SC earlier set the deliberations on the case last Nov. 10 and 16
before the arrival of American President Barrack Obama for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit last month, but the SC failed to rule on the case because some justices have not yet decided on their position.
The Edca case was heard by the magistrates in oral arguments in November last year and had been submitted for decision since December last year. In seeking to strike down the RP-US agreement, the petitioners argued that Edca violates provisions on national sovereignty, territorial integrity and interests, freedom from nuclear weapons and autonomy of local government units in the charter.
They also stressed that EDCA is a treaty, and not merely an executive agreement as Palace has claimed, which needs concurrence of the Senate before it could be implemented.
Because of this, the groups said the agreement violates Section 25, Article XVIII of the Constitution, which requires that any foreign military bases, troops or facilities “shall not be allowed in the Philippines except under a treaty duly concurred in by the Senate.”
The government, through Solicitor General Florin Hilbay, asserted that the agreement is a valid executive agreement that could stand even without the concurrence of the Senate.
Under the EDCA, the US will be allowed to build structures, store as well as preposition weapons, defense supplies and materiel, station troops, civilian personnel and defense contractors, transit and station vehicles, vessels, and aircraft for a period of 10 years.
It was signed by officials of both countries hours before President Obama arrived in the country for his two-day state visit on April 28 and 29 last year.