Case Digest: Manila Prince Hotel v. GSIS, GR. No. 122156, February 3, 1997

Political Law Review | Self-executing Provisions, Doctrine of Constitutional Supremacy

  • The GSIS decided to privatize the Manila Hotel by selling 51% of its shares to a qualified bidder through public bidding.

  • In the bidding, the Manila Prince Hotel Corporation (MPHC) offered ₱41.58 per share, which was ₱0.58 higher than the ₱41.00 per share offered by a Malaysian firm, Renong Berhad.

  • Despite MPHC being a Filipino-owned corporation and having a higher bid, the GSIS awarded the sale to the Malaysian firm, citing that MPHC failed to match the terms of payment required.

  • MPHC filed a petition, invoking Section 10, second paragraph, Article XII of the 1987 Constitution, which states: “In the grant of rights, privileges, and concessions covering the national economy and patrimony, the State shall give preference to qualified Filipinos.”

  • MPHC argued that the provision is self-executing and GSIS was bound to apply it without need for an enabling law.


Whether Section 10, Article XII of the 1987 Constitution (Filipino First Policy) self-executing? YES

  • The provision is self-executing because it is complete in itself and can be enforced without need for further legislation.

  • Unless the Constitution clearly intends otherwise, its provisions should be deemed self-executing; otherwise, the legislature could effectively nullify them by not enacting a law. This specific provision embodies a nationalist economic policy to give preference to qualified Filipinos in the grant of rights over national economy and patrimony.

  • The Constitution is supreme over all laws and contracts. 

  • Any law, contract, or executive action that violates it is null and void. Since the Constitution’s preference clause was violated by awarding the sale to a foreign corporation despite a qualified Filipino’s higher bid, the GSIS action had no legal force. The constitutional provision is deemed written into the bidding rules and the contract of sale, making GSIS bound by it.

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