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Martial law until May elections, AFP suggests

By Aytch S. de la Cruz and Gerry Baldo

12/07/2009

Malacañang and military officials hinted yesterday that the martial law currently in force in Maguindanao may last longer than the 60 days allowed under the Constituion possibly until the elections next year even before Congress holds a joint session tomorrow to approve or revoke Proclamation 1959 that imposed military rule on the province where 57 persons were massacred last month.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) deputy chief of staff for operations Maj. Gen. Gaudencio Pangilinan told reporters yesterday of the armed forces desire that a longer period of martial law be in force over Maguindanao since 60 days will not be enough to completely dismantle the armed network of the dreaded Ampatuan clan.

Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives will study Arroyo’s report on the move, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said.

“We are waiting for the president’s report,” Enrile said. Malacañang, nevertheless, said the report was already transmitted to both chambers of Congress late yesterday.

“The action of Congress now is (to decide) whether to reject it, if we are not convinced. Or if we are convinced, to allow it to last for 60 days as mandated by the Constitution,” Enrile said.

He said his counterpart in the lower chamber, House Speaker Prospero Nograles, had agreed to hold the joint session tomorrow.

“We wish it (martial law in Maguindanao) could be extended for a little while. Sixty days, maybe longer, maybe until elections so we can ensure that the elections will be

credible. But it’s up to Congress now,” Pangilinan said.

Pangilinan said whether Congress upholds the President’s proclamation or not, the joint forces of the AFP and the Philippine National Police (PNP) will be ready as they have prepared contingency plans in the event of a veto of the proclamation.

“If Congress decides to lift it (Martial Law) by tomorrow, we’re prepared. We have contingency on that. If they decide to have it longer, it will be fine. But we believe it will take more than 48 hours for us to get most of the suspects and most of the firearms,” he said.

Malacañang, moreover, also implied yesterday that they are already numb to all the criticisms being hurled against them and therefore the existing public flaks they are receiving upon imposing a Martial Law rule in Maguindanao no longer have any effect on them.

Malacañang said it has all the right reasons to defend the proclamation before the international community that has also expressed fears of abuse with the government’s action.

Remonde said Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo is part of the National Security Council (NSC) which saw to it that proper explanation of the matter will be sent to the international community.

Remonde added that the public is assured of the Commission on Human Rights’ (CHR) involvement in Maguindanao.

“We really welcome that (CHR’s entry) so that they can testify for themselves how our soldiers and policemen were behaving,” Remonde said.

AFP Spokesperson Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner said the PNP and the AFP will remain professional in performing their duties according to their mandate.

“We would like to assure the public that your AFP and the PNP will always remain professional and our soldiers and policemen will be disciplined throughout the proclamation of Martial Law and there is no cause for alarm also as to the spillover of Martial Law to other parts of the country,” he said.

Arroyo declared martial law in Maguindanao province late Friday to quell what the government said was a rebellion led by a powerful Muslim clan, whose members have been accused of masterminding the massacre on November 23.

Her critics warned that the unpopular president could expand martial law to cover the entire country in a bid to hold on to power.

“I will not give an opinion or a judgment as of now. I am going to study the facts, because I do not know the facts that the president used when she decided to declare martial law,” Enrile said.

Arroyo’s declaration triggered fears in some sectors that the country may descend into dictatorship similar to the 20-year regime of Ferdinand Marcos.

Under martial law, Marcos used his troops to stifle dissent and jail thousands of activists. He was toppled in a bloodless popular revolt in 1986, and died three years later in exile in Hawaii.

The constitution grants a president the power to declare martial law for 60 days in cases of invasion or rebellion.

Voting jointly, the congress by a simple majority may revoke the declaration, approve it or extend it.

More allies of President Arroyo yesterday backed the declaration of Martial Law in Maguindanao even as they dismissed as “ridiculous and unfounded” critics’ claim that martial law was a ploy for charter change and the scrapping of the May 2010 elections.

Her allies said that President Arroyo and her administration can adequately justify before Congress and even the Supreme Court the necessity of issuing Proclamation 1959.

The lawmakers stressed that instead of sowing unfounded fear among the people, critics should support the call for calm and sobriety as government moves to attain the objective of martial law in Maguindanao.

They said that Martial Law is purely meant to quell any rebellion attempt, arrest the suspects in the massacre, protect the witnesses, dismantle armies and ensure press freedom in the area.

Rep. Rodito Albano (Lakas-Kampi-CMD, Isabela) said critics, especially opposition candidates, are exaggerating the martial law proclamation for media mileage.

“It’s absurd for them to think that the martial law declaration is in pursuit of chacha and no-el. They’ve always been propagating lies about chacha and no-el but none of these ever materialized during the term of President Arroyo. Their main concern should be the pursuit of justice, peace and normalcy in Maguindanao, not their own vested interests,” said Albano.

Albano expressed confidence that the President can explain thoroughly and adequately in her report to Congress the basis for issuing Proclamation1959.

“I don’t think the Joint Congress will revoke the declaration once it reviews her report. The situation in Maguindanao warrants a martial law imposition,” he said.

Rep. Jose “Joboy” Aquino II (Lakas-Kampi-CMD, Agusan del Norte), one of Lakas-Kampi’s spokespersons, said the martial law declaration showed the decisiveness of the President and the administration in taking bold, necessary and lawful steps to pursue justice for the massacre victims and their families and bring back normalcy to Maguindanao through the arrest of all perpetrators of the Nov. 23 massacre.

“It’s a shame that critics are muddling the issue with their wild chacha and no-el scenarios to create panic among the people. They should let members of the House and the Senate jointly convene and act on the President’s report instead of drawing their own conclusions. The President has our support and we are confident her grounds for issuing Proclamation 1959 are acceptable and constitutional,” said Aquino.

Rep. Jeci “Bong” Lapus (Lakas-Kampi-CMD, Tarlac) said critics should stop grandstanding at the expense of the President who has strongly condemned the Maguindanao massacre and mobilized government agencies for the prosecution of all those behind the slays.

“Amid government efforts to pursue justice for the victims, these critics still have the temerity to link the martial law declaration in Maguindanao to chacha and no-el. They’re using the Maguindanao situation as another opportunity to discredit the Arroyo administration. But we believe that justice will prevail and the Supreme Court will uphold the President’s decision in case this will be questioned in the high court,” said Lapus.

Lapus said the martial law declaration was not a case of overreaction or overkill as critics claim.

“It was carefully studied. Members of the national security cluster assessed the situation in Maguindanao and recommended martial law imposition. Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Gen. Victor Ibrado said that even before the discovery of a huge arms cache near the ARMM governor’s residence in Shariff Aguak last Thursday, he and Philippine National Police chief Jesus Verzosa had been receiving field reports about the massing of private armed groups all over Maguindanao,” Lapus explained.

House Speaker Prospero Nograles, also joined the fray.

“The President’s declaration of Martial law in Maguindanao is beyond politics. It is to protect national interest,” Nograles said.

Nograles said he will lead members of the House in the passage of a House Resolution supporting the Martial law declaration.

Malacanang said the effectivity of the state of martial law will last for 30 days, a move that hints on the government’s intent to restore peace and order in the area within two months and ensure that justice is served the victims and their families.

“Many of my colleagues even believe that the declaration should have been made earlier,” Nograles added. “It is, however, clear that the President made the right decision demanded by national good and by justice.”

Congress will hold a joint session to act on the Constitutional process relative to the declaration of Martial law on Tuesday following the President’s submission of Executive Order 1959, placing the province of Maguindanao under the state of martial law and effective within 60 days.

“This is a matter of extreme national concern which we must take up with urgency,” Nograles said as he lamented statements of former members of the House branding the House of Representatives as a mere “rubber stamp” of the President.

The Speaker was alluding to Senator Noynoy Aquino’s public discourse claiming that the House, from which he came from in the first place, is devoid of independence – a rubber stamp.

“The good senator was a former member of this chamber. How could he be so unfair,” Nograles said, asking “why the ungentlemanly tirades.”

This developed as a lawmaker said that the declaration of martial law in Maguindanao is not only unconstitutional since it was merely based on a supposed threat of rebellion, but is also a prelude to a declaration of martial law nationwide and no elections in 2010. The people should reject any member of Congress who voted in favor of martial law.

“Since the Constitution has deleted ‘imminent threat’ of rebellion as a ground for declaring martial law, it cannot be the basis for imposing martial law under Proclamation 1959”, Rep. Neri Javier Colmenares of Bayan Muna said in a statement.

“I warn the Department of Justice not to conspire in this unconstitutional act of Malacanang by charging the Ampatuan’s with Rebellion instead of murder. The Maguindanao massacre was not intended as an act of rebellion against the government but was merely electoral terrorism” said Colmenares who was an active human rights lawyer before becoming congressman.

Gerry Baldo

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