Carpio to Marcoleta: Treason can’t be committed during peacetime

MANILA, Philippines — Retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio clapped back at Sen. Rodante Marcoleta’s threat to sue him for treason over a decision he wrote in 2011 regarding a case that involves the territorial waters of the Philippines. 

Marcoleta earlier said that he will charge Carpio with treason due to the 2011 Magallona vs. Ermita case.

The senator pointed out that Carpio agreed to the government’s argument to limit the scope of the Philippines’ territorial sea in the belief that the country would gain more from its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

READ: Lawyers’ group offers to host Carpio-Marcoleta debate

Responding to this, Carpio pointed out in a statement that under Article 114 of the Revised Penal Code, the case of treason can solely be applied “if the Philippines is at war.”

“Every first year law student knows that treason cannot be committed during peacetime,” Carpio said in a statement. 

He also said Marcoleta should amend Article 114 first to apply treason during peacetime and charge him with the case.

The former Supreme Court senior associate justice likewise said the senator has to repeal the two provisions of the Constitution: 

• The prohibition against ex post facto laws avoiding the retroactive application of penal laws 
• The automatic incorporation of general principles of international law, such as the 12-nautical-mile territorial sea limit, as part of the law of the land

READ: WPS showdown: Carpio accepts Marcoleta’s debate challenge

“Next, he has to convince the President and the Senate to withdraw the Philippines from UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea), a treaty which limits the territorial sea to 12-nautical miles, prohibiting coastal states from declaring any part of the EEZ and the high seas as part of their territorial seas,” Carpio also said.

“Finally, he has to convince the Supreme Court that the Senators and House Members who overwhelmingly enacted RA 9522 amending our archipelagic baselines to conform to UNCLOS, the President who signed into law RA 9522, and the Supreme Court Justices who unanimously upheld the constitutionality of RA 9522, have all committed treason,” he continued.

Marcoleta recently challenged Carpio to a debate following the long-standing public arguments about the 2016 Arbitral award that invalidated China’s claim over the West Philippine Sea. Carpio accepted Marcoleta’s challenge. /jpv