THE Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday dismissed a petition challenging the constitutionality of Executive Order (EO) No. 94, which established the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) to investigate anomalies in government flood control projects in the country.
In a resolution written by Associate Justice Samuel H. Gaerlan, the High Court鈥檚 en banc ruled that the petition failed to meet the 鈥渂asic requirements for judicial review,鈥 specifically citing a violation of the hierarchy of courts doctrine.
According to the SC brief shared with the media, the justices emphasized that 鈥渨hile direct recourse to the SC is allowed in exceptional cases, the petition failed to cite any compelling reason to bypass the lower courts.鈥
The tribunal found that the petitioners, Jacinto V. Paras, Manuelito Delos Reyes Luna, and Ferdinand S. Topacio, failed to establish an actual case or controversy as they did not show 鈥渢hat their rights were violated, or that EO 94 adversely affected them.鈥 鈥 Erika Mae P. Sinaking
