RODRIGUEZ VERSUS MACAPAGAL – ARROYO

660 SCRA 84
FACTS:

Petitioner Noriel Rodriguez is a member of Alyansa Dagiti Mannalon Iti Cagayan

(Kagimungan), a peasant organization affiliated with Kilusang Magbubukid ng
Pilipinas (KMP). He claims that the military tagged KMP as an enemy of the State under
the Oplan Bantay Laya, making its members targets of extrajudicial killings and enforced
disappearances. Rodriguez was abducted by military men and was tortured repeatedly
when he refused to confess to his membership in the NPA. When released, he filed a
Petition for the Writ of Amparo and Petition for the Writ of Habeas Data with Prayers for
Protection Orders, Inspection of Place, and Production of Documents and Personal
Properties. The petition was filed against former Pres. Arroyo, et al. The writs were
granted but the CA dropped Pres. Arroyo as party-respondent, as she may not be sued
in any case during her tenure of office or actual incumbency.

ISSUE:

Whether former Pres. GMA should be dropped as respondent on the basis of

presidential immunity from suit

RULING:

No. It bears stressing that since there is no determination of administrative, civil or

criminal liability in amparo and habeas data proceedings, courts can only go as far as
ascertaining responsibility or accountability for the enforced disappearance or
extrajudicial killing. As was held in the case of Estrada v Desierto, a non-sitting President
does not enjoy immunity from suit, even for acts committed during the latter’s tenure; that
courts should look with disfavor upon the presidential privilege of immunity, especially
when it impedes the search for truth or impairs the vindication of a right. The deliberations
of the Constitutional Commission also reveal that the intent of the framers is clear that
presidential immunity from suit is concurrent only with his tenure and not his

term. (The term means the time during which the officer may claim to hold the office as of right,
and fixes the interval after which the several incumbents shall succeed one another. The tenure
represents the term during which the incumbent actually holds office. The tenure may be shorter
than the term for reasons within or beyond the power of the incumbent.) Therefore, former Pres.
GMA cannot use such immunity to shield herself from judicial scrutiny that would assess
whether, within the context of amparo proceedings, she was responsible or accountable for the
abduction of Rodriguez