MANILA, Philippines – Saying it is the right of Filipinos to be informed of matters of public interest, two Liberal Party senators are appealing to Congress to hold a joint session on President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration of martial law and suspension of the writ of habeas corpus in Mindanao as a response to the Marawi crisis.
However, LP’s Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan and Ana Theresia “Risa” Hontiveros’ call is being drowned by the position of administration lawmakers led by Senate president Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III and Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez that a joint session isn’t needed because Duterte’s martial law proclamation does not need legislative nod and they see no clamor among legislators to move for its revocation.
That stand was articulated just hours before Congress leaders received, minutes before 10pm Thursday, the President’s report on the basis for declaring martial law in Mindanao, beating the constitutionallly mandated deadline. The Congress leaders earlier received the copy of Proclamation 216 formally declaring martial law in Mindanao and suspending the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus on the island.
On Friday, Solicitor General Jose Calida, in a press conference, cited “invasion by foreign terrorists” as a basis for martial law in Mindanao. Security forces had earlier been pointing to sightings of foreign-looking men, apparent jihadists, in parts of Mindanao.
Article VII, Section 18 of the 1987 Constitution states that, “The President has the power to proclaim Martial Law for a period of not more than 60 days without congressional approval, but the Congress, voting jointly, by a vote of all its Members … may revoke such proclamation or suspension, which revocation shall not be set aside by the President.”
But while Pangilinan recognized that the said provision of the Charter does not mandate Congress to approve Duterte’s martial law, the senator insisted that a joint session was still needed because the people deserved the right to be informed of “matters of public interest.”
“It is legally untenable that revoking the declaration and thereby sparing our citizens from the infringement of their rights must be done in a joint public session, while allowing it to remain uncontested with the rights of millions curtailed or diminished need not be done in an official proceeding,” said Pangilinan on Thursday.
“Our citizens are spared in the first instance, and punished in the second. While a person need not know why he or she is spared from punishment, every person needs to know why he or she is being punished,” he said.
“We urge Congress leaders to rethink their position and convene the joint session of Congress,” added Pangilinan.
On Friday, Hontiveros reiterated Pangilinan’s call, saying that, “More than trusting the President, we should put our trust in our check-and-balance mechanisms.”
“This is one of the best ways to ensure that any declaration of martial law, valid or not, is not abused,” she said.
Hontiveros said that a joint session would also be an opportunity for lawmakers to officially record their vote and show their constituents and the general public where they stand on “this important issue.”
“The people deserve to know where their lawmakers stand on this important matter. If they believe that they stand on the right side of history, I don’t see why Congress can’t convene a joint session,” she said.
Last Thursday, Pimentel said that so far, many lawmakers were supportive of martial law in Mindanao and while some legislators said that the government should guard against abuses amid the military rule in Southern Philippines, this did not mean that they want Proclamation 216 revoked.
“Sa lahat ng nababasa ko at dumarating sa akin na info, wala naman akong nabasa o narinig na sinabi na i-revoke ‘yong proclamation,” said Pimentel.
“Ang sinabi, ang pinakamasama na sinabi or let’s put those words na masama in quotation, pinakanegative na sinabi, let us guard against human rights abuses and other abuses, which is not really calling for the revocation of the proclamation,” he added.
Also on Thursday, after the House of Representatives received a written report from Duterte about his martial law declaration and its basis, Alvarez said lawmakers had agreed that they won’t convene and that Mindanao legislators would return to their respective districts to check on the condition of their constituents.
“Natanggap po namin ‘yong written report ng ating Pangulo kagabi. Wala po kaming gagawin na pag-convene ng Kongreso pero bigyan ng kopya bawat miyembro.”
“Napagkasunduan namin na lahat ng mga kongresista lalo ‘yong mga taga-Mindanao ay umuwi muna sa kanilang mga distrito upang tignan ‘yong kalagayan ng kanilang mga constituents.”
