Case Digest: In Re: Saturnino Bermudez, G.R. No. 76180, October 24, 1986

Political Law | 1987 Constitution

  • Under Proclamation No. 3 (March 25, 1986), the Provisional (Freedom) Constitution was promulgated to act as the interim basic charter pending the drafting and ratification of a new constitution.

  • It retained certain provisions of the 1973 Constitution, introduced new articles on executive powers and administrative reorganization, and provided for the creation of a Constitutional Commission with 30–50 members to draft a new constitution.

  • Saturnino Bermudez, a lawyer, petitioned the Supreme Court via declaratory relief asking for interpretation of Section 5, Article XVIII of the proposed 1986 Constitution, which states: “The six‑year term of the incumbent President and Vice‑President elected in the February 7, 1986 election is … extended to noon of June 30, 1992.”

  • Bermudez sought clarification whether this extension applied to President Corazon Aquino and Vice‑President Salvador Laurel, or to the previously elected Ferdinand Marcos and Arturo Tolentino. 


Who are the “incumbent President and Vice-President” referred to in the draft Constitution. 

  • The Court found no ambiguity in Section 5, Article XVIII, it clearly referred to President Corazon Aquino and Vice-President Salvador Laurel.

  • The petition was effectively a suit against President Aquino, who, as incumbent President, is immune from suit during her tenure.

  • Reaffirming its earlier ruling in Lawyers League for a Better Philippines v. Aquino, the Court held that the Aquino government was not only de facto but also de jure, having been accepted by the people and recognized internationally.

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