Lim v Executive Secretary, GR No.

151445, April 11, 2002

Facts: This case involves a petition for certiorari and prohibition as well as a petition-in-
intervention, praying that respondents be restrained from proceeding with the so-called
"Balikatan 02-1" and that after due notice and hearing, that judgment be rendered
issuing a permanent writ of injunction and/or prohibition against the deployment of U.S.
troops in Basilan and Mindanao for being illegal and in violation of the Constitution.

Beginning January of this year 2002, personnel from the armed forces of the United
States of America started arriving in Mindanao to take part, in conjunction with the
Philippine military, in "Balikatan 02-1." These so-called "Balikatan" exercises are the
largest combined training operations involving Filipino and American troops. In theory,
they are a simulation of joint military maneuvers pursuant to the Mutual Defense Treaty,
a bilateral defense agreement entered into by the Philippines and the United States in
1951.

The entry of American troops into Philippine soil is proximately rooted in the
international anti-terrorism campaign declared by President George W. Bush in reaction
to the tragic events that occurred on September 11, 2001.

On February 1, 2002, petitioners Arthur D. Lim and Paulino P. Ersando filed this petition
for certiorari and prohibition, attacking the constitutionality of the joint exercise. They
were joined subsequently by SANLAKAS and PARTIDO NG MANGGAGAWA, both
party-Iist organizations, who filed a petition-in-intervention on February 11, 2002.

Held: The Court held that no doubt that the US forces are prohibited / from engaging in
an offensive war on Philippine territory. Yet a nagging question remains: are American
troops actively engaged in combat alongside Filipino soldiers under the guise of an
alleged training and assistance exercise? The Court cannot take judicial notice of the
events transpiring down south, as reported from the saturation coverage of the media.
As a rule, it does not take cognizance of newspaper or electronic reports per se, not
because of any issue as to their truth, accuracy, or impartiality, but for the simple reason
that facts must be established in accordance with the rules of evidence. It cannot
accept, in the absence of concrete proof, petitioners' allegation that the Arroyo
government is engaged in "doublespeak" in trying to pass off as a mere training
exercise an offensive effort by foreign troops on native soil. The petitions invite the
Court to speculate on what is really happening in Mindanao. Wherefore, the petition and
the petition-in-intervention were dismissed

Lim vs. Executive Secretary