G.R. No. 152259 July 29, 2004 'Contrary to law.

'
ALFREDO T. ROMUALDEZ, petitioner, vs.
THE HONORABLE SANDIGANBAYAN (Fifth Division) and the "On December 27, 1996, the accused filed his first 'MOTION TO
PEOPLE of the PHILIPPINES, respondents. DISMISS

DECISION "The [Motion to Dismiss] raise[d]

PANGANIBAN, J.: 'III. PURSUANT TO ARTICLE VII, SECTION 17 OF THE 1973

CONSTITUTION, [PETITIONER] IS IMMUNE FROM CRIMINAL
The Facts PROSECUTION

"[The People of the Philippines], through the Presidential Ruling of the Sandiganbayan Motion for Reconsideration filed by
Commission on Good Government (PCGG), filed on July 12, 1989 petitioner, denied.
an information before [the anti-graft court] charging the accused
[with] violation of Section 5, Republic Act No. 3019,5 as amended. Hence, this Petition.11
The Information reads:
The Issues
'That on or about and during the period from July 16, 1975 to July
29, 1975, in Metro Manila, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of In his Memorandum, petitioner assigns
[the Sandiganbayan], said [petitioner], brother-in-law of Ferdinand F. Pursuant to Article VII, Section 17 of the 1973 Constitution,
E. Marcos, former President of the Philippines, and therefore, petitioner x x x is immune from criminal prosecution.
related to the latter by affinity within the third civil degree, did then
and there wil[l]fully and unlawfully, and with evident bad faith, for The Court's Ruling
the purpose of promoting his self-interested [sic] and/or that of
others, intervene directly or indirectly, in a contract between the The Petition has no merit.
National Shipyard and Steel Corporation (NASSCO), a
government-owned and controlled corporation and the Bataan Fifth Issue
Shipyard and Engineering Company (BASECO), a private
corporation, the majority stocks of which is owned by former Petitioner argues that he enjoys derivative immunity, because he
President Ferdinand E. Marcos, whereby the NASSCO sold, allegedly served as a high-ranking naval officer -- specifically, as
transferred and conveyed to the BASECO its ownership and naval aide-de-camp -- of former President Marcos.70 He relies on
all its titles and interests over all equipment and facilities Section 17 of Article VII of the 1973 Constitution, as amended,
including structures, buildings, shops, quarters, houses, plants and which we quote:
expendable and semi-expendable assets, located at the Engineer
Island known as the Engineer Island Shops including some of its "The President shall be immune from suit during his tenure.
equipment and machineries from Jose Panganiban, Camarines Thereafter, no suit whatsoever shall lie for official acts done by him
Norte needed by BASECO in its shipbuilding and ship repair or by others pursuant to his specific orders during his tenure.
program for the amount of P5,000,000.00. "x x x xxx x x x"
As the Sandiganbayan aptly pointed out, the above provision is not
applicable to petitioner because the immunity amendment became
effective only in 1981 while the alleged crime happened in 1975.

In Estrada v. Desierto,71 this Court exhaustively traced the origin

of executive immunity in order to determine the extent of its
applicability. We explained therein that executive immunity
applied only during the incumbency of a President. It could
not be used to shield a non-sitting President from prosecution
for alleged criminal acts done while sitting in office. The
reasoning of petitioner must therefore fail, since he derives his
immunity from one who is no longer sitting as President. Verily, the
felonious acts of public officials and their close relatives "are
not acts of the State, and the officer who acts illegally is not
acting as such but stands on the same footing as any other
trespasser."

In sum, petitioner utterly fails to show that the Sandiganbayan

gravely abused its discretion in issuing the assailed Resolutions.72
On the contrary, it acted prudently, in accordance with law and
jurisprudence.

WHEREFORE, the Petition is DISMISSED, and the questioned

Resolutions of the Sandiganbayan AFFIRMED. Costs against
petitioner.

SO ORDERED.

Davide, Jr., C.J., Quisumbing, Carpio, Austria-Martinez, Carpio-

Morales, Callejo, Sr., and Azcuna, JJ., concur.
Puno, Ynares-Santiago, and Sandoval-Gutierrez, JJ., in the result.
Corona, J., on leave.
Tinga, J., in the result. Please see separate opinion.
Chico-Nazario, J., no part. Ponente of assailed SB Resolutions.