LegMet / Case Outlines / Wahab 2009c / page 1
Tañada v. Angara (1997)
FACTS:
 Petition for certiorari: State action to enter into
WTO
 April 15 1994 – DTI Sec signed in Morocco the
final act embodying the results of multilateral
negotiations regarding the WTO
o Aug 12 – Senate receives letter from
President submitting the Uruguay Final
Act
o Aug 13 – president’ letter submitting
the Agreement establishing the WTO,
Ministerial Declarations, etc
o Dec 9 – PS 1083, immediate adoption of
the Agreement Establishing the WTO
o Dec 14 – Senate Resolution No. 97,
senate concurring in the ratification by
the president of the agreement
establishing the WTO
o Dec 29 – present petition was filed
 Petitioner argues for the unconstitutionality of
the WTO:
o WTO requires the Philippines to place
nationals and products of member-
countries at par with each other
o WTO limits, intrudes, impairs the
constitutional powers of both Congress
and the SC
o WTO violates the constitutional
mandate: to develop a self-reliant and
independent national economy
effectively controlled by Filipinos, to
give preference to qualified Filipinos
and to promote preferential use of
Filipino labor, domestic materials and
locally produced goods
 Petitioner specifically seeks:
o For the nullification of the concurrence
of the Senate with the President’s
agreement to join the WTO
o For the prohibition of the enforcement
and implementation of the WTO
ISSUE/s:
 WON the petition presents a political question
 WON the members of the Senate who
participated in the deliberations and voting
leading to the Senate Reso No. 97 are estopped
from impugning the validity of the same, or the
Agreement
 WON the provisions of the Agreeement violate
the provisions of Sec19, Art 2, and Secs 10 and
12, Art 12 of the 1987 Consti
 WON the provisions of the Agreement unduly
limit, restrict, and impair the sovereignty of the
Phil Legislature
 WON provisions of the Agreement impair the
exercise of judicial power
 WON Senate acted with a grave abuse of
discretion in concurring only in the agreement
establishing the WTO
SC RULING:
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 ISSUE # 1: MATTER OF JURISDICTION: political or
justiciable
o JUSTICIABLE because it seeks the
nullity of a senate resolution on the
ground that it contravenes the
Constitution
o An act of legislature is alleged to have
infringed the Constitution: judicial
review not just a matter of right but a
duty (within the court’s expanded
jurisdiction)
o Application of a constitutional provision
o Judiciary as final arbiter on GADLEJ
o Judicial review for GADLEJ, not review
of the wisdom of a legislative or
executive policy, not upon the merits
nor propriety of govt policies, ONLY to
determine WON there has been GADLEJ
 WTO AGREEMENT AND ECONOMIC NATIONALISM
o Economic nationalism: violated by the
parity provisions and national
treatment clauses in the WTO
Agreement
o Economic nationalism in Sec 19, Art 2,
Secs 10 and 12, Art 12 of the Consti
o WTO: places nationals and foreign
products on the same footing as Filipino
and domestic products in contravention
of the FILIPINO FIRST POLICY
 Render meaningless
“effectively controlled by
Filipinos”
 WTO: ensures conformity of national economic
laws, regulations, and administrative procedures
with its annexed agreements and imposed
obligations
o Negate the preferential treatment
accorded to Filipino labor, domestic
materials and locally produced goods
 RESPONDENTS:
o Constitutional provisions are not self-
executing, merely policies
o Such nationalistic provisions must be
read in relation to: Art 12, Sec 1 and
13.
o Read properly, the cited WTO provisions
do not violate the Consti
o WTO agreement contains sufficient
safeguards for developing countries
• Declaration of Principles NOT SELF-EXECUTING
o Article 2 is a mere declaration of
principles and state policies – basic
political creed of the nation
o Not intended to be self-executing
o Used as aids by the judiciary in
adjudication, or legislature in
lawmaking
o Not self-executing provisions, a
disregard of which cannot give rise to a
cause of action in the courts
o Kilosbayan, Inc v. Morato: Do not
embody judicially enforceable
constitutional rights but guidelines for
legislation

o Basco v. Pagcor: broad constitutional
principles need legislative enactments
to implement them
• WHY? Because of basic considerations of due
process and the lack of judicial authority to
wade into the unchartered ocean of social and
economic policy making (READ OPOSA-
Feliciano’s concurring)
• ISSUE # 2: ECONOMIC NATIONALISM SHOULD NOT
BE READ WITH OTHER CONSTITUTIONAL
MANDATES TO ATTAIN BALANCED DEVELOPMENT
OF ECONOMY
o Sec 10 and 12 of Article 12 should be
read with relation to Sec 1 and 13 of
the same Article: ideals of economic
nationalism does not espouse an
isolationist economy but a self-reliant
and competent economy, able to
compete in foreign markets, and trade
policies that uphold equality and
reciprocity, protection of Filipino
enterprises from unfair trade practices
and overbearing foreign competitions
o AND FURTHER, there are enough
balancing provisions in the Constitution
that allow the Senate to ratify the
concurrence with the WTO agreement
• Need fore business exchange
on the bases of equality and
reciprocity
• Protectionist policy only
against unfair trade practices
• Does not encourage entry of
foreign goods services, but
does not prohibit them either
 WTO RECOGNIZES NEED TO PROTECT WEAK
ECONOMIES
o WTO has some built-in advantages to
protect weak and developing countries
o Each vote by a member is equal to one,
equal to any other’s vote, unlike in the
Security Council where major states
have permanent seats and veto powers
o Poor countries can protect their
economies through one-on-one
negotiations with developed countries
o Not mere practical alliances, but real
negotiations rooted in law
 SPECIFIC PROVISOS TO PROTECT DEVELOPING
COUNTRIES
o Amount of tariff reduction, period
within which the reduction is to be
spread out (page 61)
o Export subsidy for agricultural
production (GATT)
o Anti-dumping measures, countervailing
measures and safeguards against import
surges
 CONSTITUTION DOES NOT RULE OUT FOREIGN
COMPETITION
o Policy of self-reliance does not
necessarily mean no foreign exchange
allowed
JUDGMENT: The validity of the assailed resolution is upheld.
I like to move it, move it.. I like to move it, move it… I like to move it, move it… I like to… MOVE IT! 
Amidst the mountains of cases, may we never forget why we are here in the first place…
LegMet / Case Outlines / Wahab 2009c / page 2
o Not economic seclusion nor mendicancy
in the international community
o Independence refers to freedom from
undue foreign control of the national
economy
o WTO rules on most favored nation,
national treatment, and trade without
discrimination – rules of equality and
reciprocity applying to all members
 CONSITUTION FAVORS CONSUMERS NOT
INDUSTRIES OR ENTERPRISES
o WON the WTO/GATT will favor
consumers is a political question;
wisdom of legislative policy
 CONSITUTION DESIGNED TO MEET FUTURE
EVENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
 ISSUE # 3: WTO AGREEMENT AND LEGISLATIVE
POWER
o Petitioners: because each member-
country is required to conform to the
laws and regulations of the WTO, the
lawmaking body of Congress is limited
to this conformity
o Especially as WTO infringes on the
taxation power of Congress: when WTO
fixes tariff rates
 SOVEREIGNTY LIMITED BY INTERNATIONAL LAW
AND TREATISES
o All government authority is inherently
limited by the fact that it is a member
of a family of nations
o Doctrine of incorporation: the country
is bound by generally accepted
principles of international law, which
are considered to be automatically part
of the country’s laws
o Authority limited by principles of
international law and treaty
stipulations
 UN CHARTER AND OTHER TREATIES LIMIT
SOVEREIGNTY
 ISSUE # 4: WTO AND JUDICIAL POWER:
o In question: WTO TRIPS – Trade Related
Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
intrudes on the power of the SC to
promulgate rules concerning pleading,
practice and procedures
o Burden of proof on proving the
authenticity of a patent similar to
something else by another country
o SC upholds said TRIPS, similar to RA
165, Patent Law
 ISSUE#5: CONCURRENCE ONLY IN THE WTO
AGREEMENT AND NOT IN OTHER DOCUMENTS
CONTAINED IN THE FINAL ACT
o Assailed Senate Resolution expressed
concurrence in what the Final Act
required, concurrence of the Senate in
the WTO agreement
o Ministerial Declarations were deemed
accepted without being ratified, by
virtue of Article 25: Sec 1 of GATT
 LegMet / Case Outlines / Wahab 2009c / page 3

(NOTE: MISSING CASE OUTLINE OF LEGASPI v. MIN OF FINANCE)

I like to move it, move it.. I like to move it, move it… I like to move it, move it… I like to… MOVE IT! 
Amidst the mountains of cases, may we never forget why we are here in the first place…