kulayan v. abdusakur tan

8/13/2019 Kulayan v. Abdusakur Tan

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ust law law review, vol lvi i , no. 1 , november 2012

JAMAR KULAYAN, et al.v. GOV. ABDUSAKUR TAN,

in his capacity as Governor of Sulu, et al.

G.R. No. 187298, 03 July 2012,EN BANC (Sereno,J.)

The calling-out powers contemplated under the Constitution is exclusive to the President.

An exercise by another ofcial, even if he is the local chief executive, is ultra vires, and may not

be justied by the invocation of Section 465 of the Local Government Code.

Three members from the International Committee of the Red Cross

(ICRC) were kidnapped in the vicinity of the Provincial Capitol in Patikul, Sulu.

Andres Notter, Eugenio Vagni, and Marie Jean Lacaba, were purportedly inspecting

a water sanitation project for the Sulu Provincial Jail when they were seized by

three armed men who were later conrmed to be members of the Abu SayyafGroup (ASG). A Local Crisis Committee, later renamed Sulu Crisis Management

HELD:

The Senate Committees power of inquiry relative to PSR No. 455 has

been passed upon and upheld in the consolidated cases of In the Matter of the

Petition for Habeas Corpus of Camilo L. Sabiowhich cited Article VI, Section 21 of

the Constitution, as follows:

The Senate or the House of Representatives or any of its

respective committees may conduct inquiries in aid of legislation

in accordance with its duly published rules of procedure. The

rights of persons appearing in or affected by such inquiries shall

be respected.

The Court explained that such conferral of the legislative power of

inquiry upon any committee of Congress, in this case, the respondents Senate

Committees, must carry with it all powers necessary and proper for its effective

discharge. On this score, the Senate Committee cannot be said to have acted with

grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or in excess of jurisdiction when it

submitted Committee Resolution No. 312, given its constitutional mandate to

conduct legislative inquiries. Nor can the Senate Committee be faulted for doing

so on the very same day that the assailed resolution was submitted. The wide

latitude given to Congress with respect to these legislative inquiries has long been

settled, otherwise, Article VI, Section 21 would be rendered pointless.


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Committee (Committee) was then formed to investigate the kidnapping incident.

The Committee convened under the leadership of respondent Abdusakur Mahail

Tan, the Provincial Governor of Sulu.

Governor Tan issued Proclamation No. 1, Series of 2009, declaring a state

of emergency in the province of Sulu. The Proclamation cited the kidnapping

incident as a ground for the said declaration, describing it as a terrorist act pursuant

to the Human Security Act (R.A. 9372). It also invoked Section 465 of the Local

Government Code of 1991 (R.A. 7160), which bestows on the Provincial Governor

the power to carry out emergency measures during man-made and natural disasters

and calamities, and to call upon the appropriate national law enforcement agencies

to suppress disorder and lawless violence. In the Proclamation, Tan called upon

the PNP and the Civilian Emergency Force (CEF) to set up checkpoints and

chokepoints, conduct general search and seizures including arrests, and other

actions necessary to ensure public safety.

Petitioners, Jamar Kulayan, et al.claimed that Proclamation No. 1-09 was

issued ultra vires, and thus null and void, for violating Sections 1 and 18, Article

VII of the Constitution, which grants the President sole authority to exercise

emergency powers and calling-out powers as the chief executive of the Republic

and commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

ISSUE:

Whether or not a governor can exercise the calling-out powers of a

President

HELD:

It has already been established that there is one repository of executive

powers, and that is the President of the Republic. This means that when Section

1, Article VII of the Constitution speaks of executive power, it is granted to the

President and no one else. Corollarily, it is only the President, as Executive, who

is authorized to exercise emergency powers as provided under Section 23, Article

VI, of the Constitution, as well as what became known as the calling-out powers

under Section 7, Article VII thereof.

While the President is still a civilian, Article II, Section 3 of the

Constitution mandates that civilian authority is, at all times, supreme over the

military, making the civilian president the nations supreme military leader. The

net effect of Article II, Section 3, when read with Article VII, Section 18, is that


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a civilian President is the ceremonial, legal and administrative head of the armed

forces. The Constitution does not require that the President must be possessed

of military training and talents, but as Commander-in-Chief, he has the power to

direct military operations and to determine military strategy. Normally, he would

be expected to delegate the actual command of the armed forces to military

experts; but the ultimate power is his.

Given the foregoing, Governor Tan is notendowed with the power to call

upon the armed forces at his own bidding. In issuing the assailed proclamation,

Governor Tan exceeded his authority when he declared a state of emergency and

called upon the Armed Forces, the police, and his own Civilian Emergency Force.

The calling-out powers contemplated under the Constitution is exclusive to the

President. An exercise by another ofcial, even if he is the local chief executive,

is ultra vires, and may not be justied by the invocation of Section 465 of the Local

Government Code.

ARNOLD VICENCIO v. HON. HEYNALOO A. VILLAR, et al.

G.R. No. 182069, 3 July 2012,EN BANC (Sereno,J.)

The mandate of the Commission on Audit is to observe the policy that government

funds and property should be fully protected and conserved; and that irregular, unnecessary,

excessive or extravagant expenditures or uses of such funds and property should be prevented.

The City Council or the Sangguniang Panglungsod ng Malabon (SPM),

presided by Hon. Benjamin Galauran, then acting Vice-Mayor, adopted and

approved City Ordinance No. 15-2003, entitled An Ordinance Granting Authority

to the City Vice-Mayor, Hon. Jay Jay Yambao, to Negotiate and Enter into Contract

for Consultancy Services for Consultants in the Sanggunian Secretariat Tasked toFunction in their Respective Areas of Concern.

Arnold Vicencio was elected City Vice-Mayor of Malabon. By virtue of

this ofce, he also became the Presiding Ofcer of the SPM and, at the same time,

the head of the SanggunianSecretariat. Vicencio, representing the City Government

of Malabon City, entered into Contracts for Consultancy Services. After the

signing of their respective contracts, the three consultants rendered consultancy

services to the SPM. Thereafter, the three consultants were correspondingly

paid for their services pursuant to the contracts therefor. However, an AuditObservation Memorandum (AOM) was issued disallowing the amount for being

kulayan v. abdusakur tan

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