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,&+& -.& /0/1203 (454%6 /73 1888
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A speclal clvll acLlon for !"#$%&#'#% ')* +#&,%-%$%&) wlLh prayer for lssuance of a Lemporary resLralnlng
order seeklng Lo nulllfy Lhe order of resldenL LsLrada, for commandlng Lhe deploymenL of Lhe hlllpplne Marlnes
Lo [oln Lhe hlllpplne naLlonal ollce ln vlslblllLy paLrols around Lhe meLropolls. ln vlew of Lhe alarmlng lncrease ln
vlolenL crlmes ln MeLro Manlla, llke robberles, kldnapplngs and carnapplngs. 1he resldenL, ln a verbal dlrecLlve,
ordered Lhe n and Lhe hll. Marlnes Lo conducL Lhe [olnL vlslblllLy paLrols for Lhe purpose of crlme prevenLlon
and suppresslon. 1he SecreLary of naLlonal uefense, Lhe Chlef of SLaff of Lhe Armed lorces of Lhe hlllpplnes, Lhe
n Chlef and Lhe SecreLary of Lhe lnLerlor and Local CovernmenL were Lasked Lo execuLe and lmplemenL Lhe sald
order.
SubsequenLly, Lhe resldenL conflrmed hls prevlous dlrecLlve on Lhe deploymenL of Lhe Marlnes ln a
Memorandum, daLed 24 !anuary 2000, addressed Lo Lhe Chlef of SLaff of Lhe Al and Lhe n Chlef. 1he selecLed
areas for deploymenL under Lhe Memo are: MonumenLo Clrcle, norLh LuSA (SM ClLy)), AraneLa Shopplng CenLer,
Creenhllls, SM Megamall, MakaLl Commerclal CenLer, L81/M81 SLaLlons, AlrporLs (nAlA and uomesLlc).
Cn 17 !anuary 2000, l8 flled Lhe lnsLanL peLlLlon Lo annul Lhe Memo and Lo declare Lhe deploymenL of
Lhe hlllpplne Marlnes, null and vold.
><<?@<=
/& WheLher or noL Lhe resldenL commlLLed grave abuse of dlscreLlon ln lssulng Lhe assalled Memo.
1& WheLher or noL Lhe deploymenL of Marlnes vlolaLes Lhe Supremacy clause.
A& WheLher or noL Lhe deploymenL of Lhe Marlnes Lo asslsL Lhe n unmakes Lhe clvlllan characLer of Lhe
pollce force and amounLs Lo lnsldlous lncurslon" of Lhe mlllLary ln Lhe Lask of law enforcemenL ln
vlolaLlon of ."!$%&) /0123 4#$%!5" 678 &9 $," :&);$%$<$%&)=
0& WheLher or noL peLlLloner has legal sLandlng
B@CDE+(;>*
1. no
WhaL l8 quesLlon ls Lhe basls for calllng of Lhe Marlnes under Lhe foreLasLed provlslon.
Accordlng Lo Lhem, no emergency exlsLs LhaL would [usLlfy Lhe need for calllng of Lhe mlllLary Lo
asslsL Lhe pollce force.
1he courL ruled ln Lhe negaLlve saylng LhaL Lhe power of Lhe resldenL lnvolved may be no more
Lhan Lhe malnLenance of Lhe general welfare.
When Lhe resldenL calls Lhe Armed lorces Lo prevenL or suppress lawless vlolence, lnvaslon or
rebelllon, he necessarlly exerclses dlscreLlonary power solely vesLed ln hls wlsdom.
1he presenL peLlLlon falls Lo dlscharge such heavy burden as Lhere ls no evldence Lo supporL Lhe
asserLlon LhaL Lhere exlsLs no [usLlflcaLlon for calllng ouL Lhe armed forces. 1here ls, llkewlse, no
evldence Lo supporL LhaL Lhe resldenL acLed wlLh grave abuse of dlscreLlon.
2. no
1he l8 asserLs LhaL by Lhe deploymenL of Lhe Marlnes, Lhe clvlllan Lask of law enforcemenL ls
mlllLarlzed ln vlolaLlon of <FG6H.I A3 (J6HGKF >> .L 6MF :.I%6H646H.I&
1he calllng of Lhe Marlnes ln Lhls case consLlLuLes permlsslble use of mlllLary asseLs for clvlllan
law enforcemenL.
lL ls noLeworLhy LhaL Lhe local pollce forces are Lhe ones ln charge of Lhe vlslblllLy paLrols aL all
Llmes, Lhe real auLhorlLy belonglng Lo Lhe n. ln facL, Lhe MeLro Manlla ollce Chlef ls Lhe
overall leader of Lhe n-hll. Marlnes [olnL vlslblllLy paLrols.
3. no
1he real auLhorlLy ln Lhese operaLlons, as sLarLed ln Lhe Memo, ls lodged wlLh Lhe head of a
clvlllan lnsLlLuLlon, Lhe n, and noL wlLh Lhe mlllLary.
lurLher, slnce none of Lhe Marlnes was lncorporaLed or enllsLed as members of Lhe n, Lhere
can be no appolnLmenL Lo a clvlllan poslLlon Lo speak of.
1he Marlnes rendered noLhlng more Lhan asslsLance requlred ln conducLlng paLrols. As much,
Lhere can be no lnsldlous lncurslon" of Lhe mlllLary ln clvlllan affalrs nor can Lhere be a vlolaLlon
of Lhe clvlllan supremacy clause ln Lhe consLlLuLlon.
LasLly, slnce Lhe lnsLlLuLlon of Lhe [olnL vlslblllLy paLrol ln !anuary 2000, noL a slngle has
complalned LhaL hls pollLlcal or clvll rlghLs have been vlolaLed as a resulL of Lhe deploymenL of
Lhe Marlnes.
4. ;MF l!" MN% I.6 %4LLHGHFI6KO [Link] SH6M 6MF JFT4H%H6F% .L %6NIRHI5% HI 6MH% GN%F
AparL from Lhls declaraLlon, however, Lhe l8 asserLs no oLher basls ln supporL of lLs locus sLandl.
1he mere lnvocaLlon by Lhe l8 of lLs duLy Lo preserve Lhe rule of law and noLhlng more, whlle
undoubLedly Lrue, ls noL sufflclenL Lo cloLhe lL wlLh sLandlng ln Lhls case.
ln Lhe case aL bar, Lhe l8 prlmarlly anchors lLs sLandlngs on lLs alleged responslblllLy Lo uphold
Lhe rule of law and Lhe consLlLuLlon. 1hls ls Lo general an lnLeresL whlch ls shared by oLher groups
and Lhe whole clLlzenry.
8ecause peace and order are under consLanL LhreaL and lawless vlolence occurs ln lncreaslng
Lempo, undoubLedly aggravaLed by Lhe Mlndanao lnsurgency problem, Lhe legal conLroversy
ralsed ln Lhe peLlLlon almosL cerLalnly wlll noL go away. lL wlll sLare us ln Lhe face agaln. lL,
Lherefore, behooves Lhe CourL Lo relax Lhe rules on Lhe sLandlng and Lo resolve Lhe lssue now,
raLher Lhan laLer.
Pavlng sLaLed Lhe foregolng, lL musL be emphaslzed LhaL Lhls courL has Lhe dlscreLlon Lo Lake
cognlzance of a sulL whlch does noL saLlsfy Lhe requlremenL of legal sLandlng when paramounL
lnLeresL ls lnvolved.
;B@ :*?+; D><)><<@D ;B@ "@;>;>*-<
!"#$% '()*+,*- ". >&!<; ;$')*% has been deflned as a personal and subsLanLlal lnLeresL ln Lhe case such LhaL Lhe parLy
has susLalned or wlll susLaln dlrecL ln[ury as a resulL of Lhe governmenLal acL LhaL ls belng challenged. 1he glsL of Lhe
quesLlon of sLandlng ls wheLher or a parLy alleges such personal sLake ln Lhe ouLcome of Lhe conLroversy as Lo assure
LhaL concreLe adverseness whlch sharpens Lhe presenLaLlon of lssues upon whlch Lhe courL depends for lllumlnaLlon
of dlfflculL consLlLuLlonal quesLlons.