HOLDING that the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) was pursuant to the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) between the United States and the Philippines, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of EDCA, maintaining that it was not EDCA that allowed foreign troops into the country but the Visiting Forces Agreement. This too was the subject of constitutional litigation, and the Supreme Court upheld its constitutionality.
The VFA case was itself interesting because it squarely dealt with the issue that while for the Philippines, it was a treaty, for the US, it was an executive agreement. The Supreme Court, relying largely on the representation of the US government that it conducted most of its foreign affairs in executive agreements, ruled that for as long as the agreement "had the effect of a treaty" on the US, the requirements of the Philippine Constitution were met.
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