THE 1987 Philippine Constitution does not grant the vice president of the Philippines immunity from suit. Only the president is immune from suit and this is only recognized in prevailing jurisprudence.
In the case of Leila de Lima vs President Rodrigo Duterte (G.R. No. 227635), the Supreme Court cited the case of David vs Arroyo that “the concept of presidential immunity is not explicitly spelled out in the 1987 Constitution. However, the Court has affirmed that there is no need to expressly provide for it either in the Constitution or in law.”
Additionally, in the same cited case, the Supreme Court settled the “doctrine that the president, during his tenure of office or actual incumbency, may not be sued in any civil or criminal case, and there is no need to provide for it in the Constitution or law.”
This issue raises the question: why do we give presidents immunity?
There are two reasons. First, a president has a very important function. His job is very challenging and demanding that he has no time to be harassed by law suits. The Supreme Court ruled in David vs Arroyo that the President must be freed from any form of harassment, hindrance or distraction to enable him to fully attend to the performance of his official duties and functions.
Second, the Office of the President must maintain its dignity by avoiding any law suit.
One of the aims of this mechanism is to balance the power of the three branches of the government. It is stressed in David vs Arroyo that unlike the legislative and judicial branches, only one constitutes the executive branch and anything which impairs his usefulness in the discharge of the many great and important duties imposed upon him by the Constitution necessarily impairs the operation of the Government.
The privilege extends only during the term and incumbency of the president.
However, in the present situation, it is as if the President wants to escape accountability. It should be noted that we are in a republican and democratic state. The sovereignty resides in the people. The President is a public servant who protects and defends the people. He must protect both the human rights and human dignity of every citizen.
It is true that the courts have no jurisdiction over the president when a law suit is filed against him for acts performed in connection to his official duties. Thus, a crime or a wrongful act committed by the incumbent president is an unofficial act.
Of course, the President always loves to tell jokes. And maybe this is also one of his jokes. He is a lawyer. He knows the law. He knows that a vice president has no immunity from suit. And this really calls for the real intentions behind the possible vice presidential bid of the President – to be a successor president.
Let us wait for the Supreme Court to decide. It should clarify the doctrine of presidential immunity from suit in order to promote the rule of all./PN
