EDCA oral arguments start; Saguisag says Aquino has no say on EDCA

Oral arguments at the Supreme Court on the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement started on Tuesday, with former Senator Rene Saguisag insisting President Benigno Aquino III has no authority to decide on the controversial bilateral pact.

"Whether military foreign troops should be kept in our nation is something that should be decided as widely as possible," said Saguisag, who was tasked to deliver an opening speech on behalf of the petitioners contestng the legality of the EDCA, a deal signed by Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and US Ambassador Philip Goldberg in April.

"It is not up to the President or the Defense Secretary to decide on something that has intergenerational consequences," the former lawmaker added.

Saguisag said bilateral agreements like the EDCA should have been decided upon by "icons" like former senators Jovito Salonga, Lorenzo Tañada and Jose Diokno.

Thirteen of the 15 SC justices were in attendance during the oral arguments, as Associate Justice Francis Jardeleza recused himself from the case and Associate Justices Lucas Bersamin and Diosado Peralta were absent.

As of posting time, lawyer Harry Roque Jr is presenting his argument against the EDCA. — Mark Merueñas/BM, GMA News