The Palace welcomed the decision of the Supreme Court dismissing the petition for mandamus filed against President Rodrigo Duterte.

"We welcome the decision of the Supreme Court dismissing the petition for mandamus filed against President Rodrigo Roa Duterte," Acting Presidential Spokesperson Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said on Wednesday.

The decision, which was penned by Associate Justice Rodil Zalameda on a June 21 decision but was uploaded on the Court’s website only on November 22.

"Executive power, indeed, rests on the President, including the peaceful and stable conduct of foreign affairs. Matters within the President's discretion cannot be compelled by mandamus," he said.

The petition for mandamus “a special civil action brought by an aggrieved party against a tribunal, corporation, board, officer or person unlawfully neglecting the performance of an act which the law specifically requires as a duty resulting from an office, trust or station” was filed by lawyer Romeo Esmero.

In his petition Esmero accused Duterte of “unlawful neglect or inaction in the performance of his constitutional duty resulting in the detriment of paramount public interest involving the livelihood of all of our poor Filipino fishermen and their families who are living in the coastal areas of the many islands facing the West Philippine Sea.”

Esmero said the Philippines should ''‘sue China with (sic) the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and demand that China should pay for the Kalayaan Islands which it took from us for trillions of dollars in damages.”

Nograles said the latest decision of the High Court affirmed that Duterte is the chief architect of foreign policy.

"The President has firmly kept his position to continue the peaceful resolution of disputes," he said. Robina Asido/DMS