UDK No. 16838 – 902 Phil. 539 – Political Law -Constitutional Law – The Executive Department – Presidential Immunity; Immunity is Inherent
During the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the government sought to procure Sinovac Vaccines. Mayor Pedrito Nepomuceno filed a petition for mandamus to compel the President and other government officials to have the vaccine be tested first under prevailing Food and Drug Administration Rules and that no vaccination shall be done without the required testing.
ISSUE: Whether or not the suit against the President is proper.
HELD: No. The President was dropped as a respondent. Settled is the rule that the President of the Republic of the Philippines cannot be sued during his/her tenure. This immunity from suit applies to President Rodrigo Duterte (President Duterte) regardless of the nature of the suit filed against him for as long as he sits as the President of the Republic of the Philippines.
Unlike in previous Philippine Constitutions, the concept of presidential immunity is not explicitly spelled out in the 1987 Constitution. However, the Court has affirmed that there is no need to expressly provide for it either in the Constitution or in law.
