Gonzales vs Echanova (9 SCRA 230)

FACTS:
Respondent executive secretary authorized importation of 67,000 tons of foreign
rice to be purchased from private sources. Ramon A. Gonzales, a rice planter and
president of Iloilo Palay and Corn Planters Assoc. filed and averring that in making or
attempting to make importation of foreign rice are acting without jurisdiction or in
excess of jurisdiction because RA 2207, explicitly prohibits the importation of rice
and corn by Rice and Corn Administration or any government agency.
ISSUE:
Whether an international agreement may be invalidated by our courts.
HELD:
The power of judicial review is vested with the supreme court in consonance to
section 2 art. VIII of the constitution. The alleged consummation of the contracts
with Vietnam and Burma does not render this case academic. RA 2207 enjoins our
government not from entering contracts for the purchase of rice, but from entering
rice, except under conditions prescribed in said act.