Senator Leila De Lima filed a test case on Monday to test the immunity of President Rodrigo Duterte from suit, as stated in the Constitution.
Immunity from suit is granted to the President in order to make sure that he or she can perform his duties and functions as the President of the country without any hindrance or distraction.
In De Lima’s test case, she said that there are acts that are not covered by this immunity.
“The verbal attacks on petitioner’s womanhood and threats on her person are not covered by presidential immunity from suit because they are not the official act of a President,” De Lima said.
In several occasions, President Duterte had mentioned the alleged relationship of De Lima and her Driver and the senator’s “propensity for sex.”
De Lima said that the acts of the President “constitute unlawful, unofficial conduct that have nothing to do with the President’s duties and responsibilities,” and that the attacks against her are “outside the realm of legitimate public concern.”
In the senator’s 20-page petition for habeas data, she indicated that Duterte’s discriminate remarks against her “constitute psychological violence prohibited by Republic Act 9710 or the Magna Carta of Women.” Moreover, according to De Lima, those personal attacks are also violations of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.
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Senator De Lima submitted her 20-page petition along with a compact disc that contains videos and recordings of Duterte’s verbal and personal attacks against her and an assessment report of the psychological effect of Duterte’s attacks made by Dr. Sylvia Estrada Claudio.
The petition asks the Supreme Court to stop Duterte and his people from gathering personal information about De Lima’s private life and that “illegally-obtained pieces of private information should be deleted, destroyed or rectified.”
De Lima’s legal counsel, De La Salle University (DLSU) College of Law Dean Jose Manuel Diokno, said that De Lima’s test case was a “groundbreaking case” since this is the first time that such a case was filed to the high court.
“Immunity cannot be used to block this case. There is a blatant violation of the magna carta for women, code of conduct for public officials. We hope the Supreme Court will listen to the plea of Senator de Lima and give consideration to this petition because we believe it is of groundbreaking importance,” Diokno said.
After De Lima filed a petition, House leaders have spoken up and said that the senator simply cannot sue the President.
“I don’t know the details of the case. As a lawyer, it’s prudent for me to also find out the details before I make a comment,” House Deputy Speaker Pia Cayetano said.
“Let’s get our feet wet again and updated on what’s going on. I don’t know if the Supreme Court will try to change a long-standing policy, it’s been a long-standing policy that the president has immunity from suit, so I think your question should be directed to the Supreme Court. I’m not aware if there’s any reason to change that,” Cayetano added.
For his part, House Deputy Speaker Rolando Andaya Jr. said that De Lima’s test case should not be tagged as a gender issue.
“Everybody has that right. It’s a constitutionally guaranteed right, I think. It should not be a matter of trying to make this a gender sensitive issue because whoever would feel that they are being harassed or they need to take redress before the court, that’s a constitutional right that anybody can avail of, man or woman,” Andaya said.
However, De Lima said that she did not file a case against the President of the Philippines but against Rodrigo Roa Duterte.
“Ang sinampahan ko ng kaso ay si Rodrigo Roa Duterte, hindi ang Pangulo ng ating bansa. Nagkataon lang na ang isa sa mga maskarang isinusuot ni Rodrigo Roa Duterte ay ang mascara ng pagka-Pangulo ng ating bansa,” De Lima said.
Source: (newsinfo.inquirer.net, news.abs-cbn.com)
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