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Nicolas vs. Romulo [DISSENTING OPINION, PUNO, J.]

SUZETTE NICOLAS y SOMBILON, Petitioner, versus ALBERTO ROMULO, in his capacity as Secretary of Foreign Affairs; RAUL GONZALEZ, in his capacity as Secretary of Justice; EDUARDO ERMITA, in his capacity as Executive Secretary; RONALDO PUNO, in his capacity as Secretary of the Interior and Local Government; SERGIO APOSTOL, in his capacity as Presidential Legal Counsel; and L/CPL. DANIEL SMITH, Respondents.

G.R. No. 175888 | 2009-02-11

DISSENTING OPINION

PUNO, C.J.: 

The question of the constitutionality of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) comes back to this Court as the custody over Lance Corporal Daniel J. Smith, a member of the US Armed Forces found guilty of rape by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Makati, is put at issue in the case at bar pending appeal of his conviction.

I strongly dissented in the case of Bayan v. Zamora[1] proffering the view that the VFA falls short of the requirement set by Section 25, Article XVIII of the 1987 Constitution stating that the agreement allowing the presence of foreign military troops in the Philippines must...