ARTHUR D. LIM vs. HON.

EXECUTIVE SECRETARY

G.R. No. 151445, April 11, 2002

FACTS

In accordance with the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) of 1999, personnel from the United
States Armed Forces began arriving in Mindanao in January 2002 to participate in "Balikatan
02-1" alongside the Philippine military. The "Balikatan" exercises are the largest combined
exercises of Filipino and American troops, and are intended to simulate joint military operations
under the Mutual Defense Treaty signed by the Philippines and the United States in 1951.

Lim and Ersando, as lawyers, taxpayers, and private citizens, were subsequently joined on
February 1, 2002, by SANLAKAS and PARTIDO, who allege that some members of their
organization live in Zamboanga and Sulu and would be directly impacted by the "Balikatan." A
petition for certiorari and prohibition was filed, challenging the legality of the joint exercise.

ISSUE

Whether or Not the Balikatan 02-1 violates the independent foreign policy.

RULING

 No, the Balikatan 02-1 does not violate the independent foreign policy

Under the expanded concept of judicial power under the Constitution, courts are charged with
the duty "to determine whether or not there has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to
lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of any branch or instrumentality of the government."
From the facts obtaining, we find that the holding of "Balikatan 02-1" joint military exercise has
not intruded into that penumbra of error that would otherwise call for correction on our part. In
other words, respondents in the case at bar have not committed grave abuse of discretion
amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction.

In the same manner, both the Mutual Defense Treaty and the Visiting Forces Agreement, as in all
other treaties and international agreements to which the Philippines is a party, must be read in the
context of the 1987 Constitution. In particular, the Mutual Defense Treaty was concluded way
before the present Charter, though it nevertheless remains in effect as a valid source of
international obligation. The present Constitution contains key provisions useful in determining
the extent to which foreign military troops are allowed in Philippine territory.