G.R. No. 182734 , January 10, 2023
BAYAN MUNA PARTY-LIST REPRESENTATIVES SATUR C. OCAMPO AND TEODORO A. CASIÑO, ANAKPAWIS REPRESENTATIVE CRISPIN B. BELTRAN, GABRIELA WOMEN’S PARTY REPRESENTATIVES LIZA L. MAZA AND LUZVIMINDA C. ILAGAN, REP. LORENZO R. TAÑADA III, AND REP. TEOFISTO L. GUINGONA III, PETITIONERS, VS. PRESIDENT GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY EDUARDO R. ERMITA, SECRETARY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, SECRETARY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY, PHILIPPINE NATIONAL OIL COMPANY, AND PHILIPPINE NATIONAL OIL COMPANY EXPLORATION CORPORATION, RESPONDENTS.

FACTS

This case involves the constitutionality of the Tripartite Agreement for Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) executed in 2005 by China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), Vietnam Oil and Gas Corporation (VOGC), and the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC). The JMSU authorized the parties to conduct seismic work, including collecting and processing seismic lines, within the Agreement Area in the South China Sea for the purpose of joint research of petroleum resource potential as a pre-exploration activity. The agreement was signed by the President and CEO of PNOC, with government involvement only through a permit issued by the Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary in 2005. The President of the Philippines was not a signatory to the JMSU.

ISSUE

Whether the JMSU is unconstitutional for failing to comply with the requirements under Article XII, Section 2 of the 1987 Constitution , specifically the requirement that the President must be the signatory to agreements with foreign-owned corporations for large-scale exploration of natural resources.

RULING

The Separate Concurring Opinion of Chief Justice Gesmundo concurs with the ponencia’s ruling that the JMSU is unconstitutional. The opinion holds that the seismic survey under the JMSU constitutes “exploration” as contemplated under the Constitution, as its objective is the discovery of petroleum. Since the JMSU involves an agreement with foreign-owned corporations (CNOOC and VOGC) for large-scale exploration, compliance with Article XII, Section 2 is mandatory. This constitutional provision specifically vests upon the President alone the power to enter into such agreements. The signatory to the JMSU was the PNOC President and CEO, not the President of the Philippines. Citing Resident Marine Mammals of the Protected Seascape Tañon Strait v. Reyes and La Bugal-B’laan Tribal Association, Inc. v. Ramos, the opinion emphasizes that the Constitution requires the President himself to be the signatory to service agreements with foreign-owned corporations involving the exploration of natural resources. The failure to comply with this requirement renders the agreement null and void. Therefore, the JMSU is unconstitutional.