Article III, Section1

Equal Protection of the Law

(284) Biraogo v. PTC

G.R. No. 192935. December 7, 2010
Mendoza, J.

FACTS:
Aquino signed E. O. No. 1 establishing Philippine Truth Commission of 2010 (PTC). PTC is a mere ad hoc
body formed under the Office of the President with the primary task to investigate reports of graft and
corruption committed by third-level public officers and employees, their co-principals, accomplices and
accessories during the previous administration, and to submit its finding and recommendations to the
President, Congress and the Ombudsman. PTC is not a quasi-judicial body as it cannot adjudicate, arbitrate,
resolve, settle, or render awards in disputes between contending parties. It can gather, collect and assess
evidence of graft and corruption and make recommendations. It may have subpoena powers but it has no
power to cite people in contempt, much less order their arrest. Although it is a fact-finding body, it cannot
determine from such facts if probable cause exists as to warrant the filing of an information in our courts of
law.Petitioners asked the Court to declare it unconstitutional and to enjoin the PTC from performing its
functions. They argued that E.O. No. 1 violates separation of powers as it arrogates the power of the
Congress to create a public office and appropriate funds for its operation.

ISSUE:
Whether or not E.O No. 1 violates the equal protection clause.

RULING:
Yes, the clear mandate of the envisioned truth commission is to investigate and find out the truth
"concerning the reported cases of graft and corruption during the previous administration" only. The intent
to single out the previous administration is plain, patent and manifest. The Arroyo administration is but just
a member of a class, that is, a class of past administrations. It is not a class of its own. Not to include past
administrations similarly situated constitutes arbitrariness which the equal protection clause cannot
sanction. Such discriminating differentiation clearly reverberates to label the commission as a vehicle for
vindictiveness and selective retribution.