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Facts :
A petition for mandamus and prohibition asks the court to order the respondents to issue
travel documents to former President Marcos wherein his deathbed has signified his wish to
return to the Philippines to die. Considering the dire consequences to the nation of his return
at a time when the stability of the government Is threatened from various directions and the
economy is just beginning to rise and move forward, Pres. Aquino, stood firmly on the
decision to bar the return of then Marcoses. Former President Marcos and his family filed this
petition to enjoin the implementation of the President's decision to bar their return to the
Philippines.
Issue : Whether or not in the exercise of the powers granted by the Consitution, President
Aquino may prohibit the Marcoses from returning o the Philippines?
Ruling:
No. Separation of power dictates that each department has exclusive powers. According to
Section 1, Article VII of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, the executive power shall be
vested in the President of the Philippines. However, it does not define what is meant by
executive power although in the same article it touches on exercise of certain powers by
the President, i.e., the power of control over all executive departments, bureaus and offices,
the power to execute the laws, the appointing power to grant reprieves, commutations and
pardons (art VII secfs. 14-23). Although the constitution outlines tasks of the president,
this list is not defined & exclusive. She has residual & discretionary powers not stated in the
Constitution which include the power to protect the general welfare of the people. She is
obliged to protect the people, promote their welfare & advance national interest. (Art. II, Sec.
4-5 of the Constitution). Residual powers, according to Theodore Roosevelt, dictate that the
President can do anything which is not forbidden in the Constitution (Corwin, supra at 153),
inevitable to vest discretionary powers on the President (Hyman, American President) and
that the president has to maintain peace during times of emergency but also on the day-today operation of the State.
The rights Marcoses are invoking are not absolute. Theyre flexible depending on the
circumstances. The request of the Marcoses to be allowed to return to the Philippines cannot
be considered in the light solely of the constitutional provisions guaranteeing liberty of
abode and the right to travel, subject to certain exceptions, or of case law which clearly
never contemplated situations even remotely similar to the present one. It must be treated
as a matter that is appropriately addressed to those residual unstated powers of the
President which are implicit in and correlative to the paramount duty residing in that office
to safeguard and protect general welfare. In that context, such request or demand should
submit to the exercise of a broader discretion on the part of the President to determine
whether it must be granted or denied.