/ AFP PHOTO / TED ALJIBE
(Eagle News) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday (November 8) directed Senator Leila de Lima and the Office of the Solicitor General to submit their respective memoranda within 10 days on the issue of the President’s immunity from suit.
In a press briefing, Supreme Court spokesperson Theodore Te said that this directive from the court was “without necessarily giving due course” to the petition for habeas data filed by Senator de Lima earlier on Monday (November 7).
The court noted that “the issue of immunity of the President from suit is a prejudicial question to be first resolved before the court decides whether to require him to comment or not pursuant to the rule of habeas data.”
Below is the full statement of Atty. Te as he read the Supreme Court’s resolution during the press briefing:
“In the matter of GR 227625, Leila de Lima vs Rodrigo Roa Duterte in his capacity as President of the Philippines, the Court resolved as follows:
‘Without necessarily giving due course to the petition, the petitioner and the office of the office the solicitor general are directed to submit their memorandum on the issue of whether the president of the Republic of the Philippines as the sole respondent in this case is immune from suit including this one within a non-extendible period of 10 days from notice. It is noted that the issue of immunity of the president from suit is a prejudicial question to be first resolved before the court decides whether to require him to comment or not pursuant to the rule of habeas data.’