Idineklara ng Supreme Court (SC) na ‘unconstitutional’ at walang bisa ang Tripartite Agreement Undertaking sa pagitan ng Pilipinas, Vietnamese at Chinese Oil Firms .
Sa botong 12-2-1 ng Supreme Court En Banc, idineklara nitong ‘unconstitutional’ at ‘void’ ang ” Tripartite Agreement for Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) by and among China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), Vietnam Oil and Gas Corporation (PETROVIETNAM), and Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC)”.
Sakop sa tripartite agreement ang 142,886 square kilometers sa South China Sea.
Sinabi ng SC na ang JSMU ay ‘unconstitutional’ dahil sa pagpayag sa
“wholly-owned foreign corporations” na makilahok sa exploration sa natural resources ng bansa nang hindi tinitingnan ang ” safeguards” na napapaloob sa Section 2, Article XII of the 1987 Constitution.
Ang kaso ay nag-ugat mula sa petition for certiorari na kumukuwestiyon sa “constitutionality” ng JMSU na isinampa ni Bayan Muna Party-List Representatives Satur C. Ocampo at Teodoro A. Casiño, et al.
Iginiit ng petitioner na nilabag ng JMSU ang Section 2, Article XII ng 1987 Constitution na may mandato na ang exploration, development at utilization (EDU) natural resources ay dapat na nasa ilalim ng full control at supervision ng estado.
Gayunman,sinabi ng respondent na ang Section 2, Article XII ng Constitution ay “inapplicable” sa naturang probisyon.
“That the Parties designated the joint research as a “pre-exploration activity? is of no moment. Such designation does not detract from the fact that the intent and aim of the agreement is to discover petroleum which is tantamount to exploration” anito.
Nabatid na ang desisyon ay isinulat ni Associate Justice Samuel H. Gaerlan na sinang-ayunan naman ni Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo at 10 iba pang Associate Justices, habang sina Associate Justice Amy C. Lazaro-Javier at Associate Justice Rodil V. Zalameda ay :nag-dissent, samantalang si Associate Justice Ramon Paul L. Hernando ay naka-leave naman. (Jantzen Tan)
