RODRIGUEZ VS.

MACAPAGAL-ARROYO

Facts:
Petitioner Noriel Rodriguez is a member of Alyansa Dagiti Mannalon Iti Cagayan (Kagimungan),
a peasant organization affiliated with Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP). He claims that the
military tagged KMP as an enemy of the State under the Oplan Bantay Laya, making its members targets of
extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.

Rodriguez was abducted by military men and was tortured repeatedly when he refused to confess
to his membership in the NPA. When released, he filed a Petition for the Writ of Amparo and and Petition
for the Writ of Habeas Data with Prayers for Protection Orders, Inspection of Place, and Production of
Documents and Personal Properties. The petition was filed against former Pres. Arroyo, et al. The writs
were granted but the CA dropped Pres Arroyo as party-respondent, as she may not be sued in any case
during her tenure of office or actual incumbency.

Issue:
Whether former Pres GMA should be dropped as respondent on the basis of presidential immunity
from suit

Held:

1. No. It bears stressing that since there is no determination of administrative, civil or criminal
liability in amparo and habeas data proceedings, courts can only go as far as ascertaining
responsibility or accountability for the enforced disappearance or extrajudicial killing.

As was held in the case of Estrada v Desierto, a non-sitting President does not enjoy immunity
from suit, even for acts committed during the latter’s tenure; that courts should look with disfavor upon the
presidential privilege of immunity, especially when it impedes the search for truth or impairs the
vindication of a right. The deliberations of the Constitutional Commission also reveal that the intent of the
framers is clear that presidential immunity from suit is concurrent only with his tenure and not his term.
(The term means the time during which the officer may claim to hold the office as of right, and fixes the
interval after which the several incumbents shall succeed one another. The tenure represents the term
during which the incumbent actually holds office. The tenure may be shorter than the term for reasons
within or beyond the power of the incumbent.) Therefore, former Pres. GMA cannot use such immunity to
shield herself from judicial scrutiny that would assess whether, within the context of amparo proceedings,
she was responsible or accountable for the abduction of Rodriguez.