Ocampo et al. vs. Enriquez, G.R.

Nos. 225973, November 2016

Maribeth Brown-Oliver
FACTS
MARCOS WIL
L BE
ALLOWED T
O BE
BURIED AT T
HE
LNMB.
During the campaign period for the 2016
Presidential Election, then candidate Rodrigo
R. Duterte (Duterte) publicly announced
that he would allow the burial of former
President Ferdinand E. Marcos (Marcos) at
the Libingan Ng Mga Bayani (LNMB). He
won the May 9, 2016 election and formally
assumed his office.
FACTS
PREPARE FOR THE
On August 7, 2016, public respondent MARCOS BURIAL AT THE
Secretary of National Defense Delfin N. LNMB… UTOS NI
PRESIDENTE!
Lorenzana issued a Memorandum to the public
respondent Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces
of the Philippines (AFP), General Ricardo R.
Visaya, regarding the interment of Marcos at
the LNMB.
FACTS
Dissatisfied with the verbal issuance, several informations
were filed by petitioners mostly on petitions on certiorari and
prohibition. In this consolidated case, political activist
Saturnino Ocampo leads the petition.
 Whether the Issuance and

ISSUE implementation of the assailed

memorandum and directive violate
the Constitution, domestic and
Powers of the President international laws
HELD
Petition lacks merit.

As the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG)

logically reasoned out, while the Constitution
is a product of our collective history as a
people, its entirety should not be interpreted
as providing guiding principles to just about
anything remotely related to the Martial Law
period such as the proposed Marcos burial at
the LNMB.
HELD
Tañada v. Angara already
ruled that the provisions in
Article II of the Constitution
are not self-executing.
In the same vein, Sec. 1 of Art.
XI of the Constitution is not a
self-executing provision
considering that a law should
be passed by the Congress to
clearly define and effectuate
the principle embodied
therein.
By its very title, Article II of the Constitution is a
"declaration of principles and state policies." The
counterpart of this article in the 1935 Constitution is
called the "basic political creed of the nation" by Dean
Vicente Sinco. These principles in Article II are not
intended to be self executing principles ready for
enforcement through the courts. They are used by the
judiciary as aids or as guides in the exercise of its power
of judicial review, and by the legislature in its enactment
of laws. As held in the leading case of Kilosbayan,
Incorporated vs. Morato, the principles and state policies
enumerated in Article II x x x are not "self-executing
provisions, the disregard of which can give rise to a
cause of action in the courts. They do not embody
judicially enforceable constitutional rights but guidelines
for legislation."
HELD
Petitioners' reliance on Sec. 3(2) of Art. XIV and
Sec. 26 of Art. XVIII of the Constitution is also
misplaced. Sec. 3(2) of Art. XIV refers to the
constitutional duty of educational institutions in
teaching the values of patriotism and nationalism
and respect for human rights, while Sec. 26 of Art.
XVIII is a transitory provision on sequestration or
freeze orders in relation to the recovery of
Marcos' ill-gotten wealth. Clearly, with respect to
these provisions, there is no direct or indirect
prohibition to Marcos' interment at the LNMB.
HELD
The second sentence of Sec. 17 of Art. VII
pertaining to the duty of the President to
"ensure that the laws be faithfully
executed," which is identical to Sec. 1,
Title I, Book III of the Administrative
Code of 1987, is likewise not violated by
public respondents. Being the Chief
Executive, the President represents the
government as a whole and sees to it that
all laws are enforced by the officials and
employees of his or her department.
Under the Faithful Execution Clause, the
President has the power to take "necessary
and proper steps" to carry into execution
the law. The mandate is self-executory by
virtue of its being inherently executive in
nature and is intimately related to the
other executive functions. It is best
construed as an imposed obligation, not a
separate grant of power.
The provision simply underscores the rule
of law and, corollarily, the cardinal
principle that the President is not above
the laws but is obliged to obey and execute
them.
FALLO
Consistent with President Duterte's
mandate under Sec. 17, Art. VII of the
Constitution, the burial of Marcos at
the LNMB does not contravene R.A.
No. 289, R.A. No. 10368, and the
international human rights laws cited
by petitioners.

CASE DISMISSED.