OPINION
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY June 16 - 30, 2017
Martial Law in Mindanao:
Unconstitutional and more
Tinig Migrante
By E. Maestro
June 12 is a reminder
to all Filipinos how sacred
and fragile our freedoms
and rights are -- regardless
if some recognize that this
date is controversial, that its
significance as “independence
day in name only” exposes the
subservience of the country
to foreign interests. The
marking of June 12 for many
becomes a call to ”Continue
the Unfinished Revolution of
1896” which is a logical call to
make after a thorough study
of our Philippine history.
June
12
also
becomes the backdrop and
point of reflection of how our
rights and freedoms can easily
be threatened, disregarded,
and trampled upon by the
declaration of martial law
in Mindanao by President
Duterte. I have heard and
seen how discussions turn
ugly because certain people
exact loyalty, criticize any
dissent, and allow their
passions to turn to hate and
the humiliation of those who
dare to stand up and say
“revoke martial law” and
“martial law never again.”
I say that people
begin and continue to study
their history, to follow the
news with critical eyes and
minds, to hold principled
discussions and come to their
own decisions. And know that
when political tides change,
positions and firmly-held
beliefs change. In the end, it
is not one man, or one group
or one army that should stand
supreme, it is the people and
their interests and welfare,
the people who make up the
nation.
The
proclamation
of martial law in Mindanao
(Proclamation
No.
216)
on May 23, 2017 is
unconstitutional and
should be declared
void. This was strongly
stated by six (6) local
Mindanao leaders and
12 national leaders
from government and
people’s organizations
in their petition before
the Supreme Court
submitted last June
9, 2017 against the
Respondents
that
included
President
Duterte and the military.
It outlined very clearly
how Proclamation No.
216 failed to “provide
sufficient factual basis
on the existence of
rebellion in the entire
province of Mindanao”
as well as “sufficient
factual basis of its
assertion that public
safety requires the
imposition of martial law and
the suspension of the writ of
habeas corpus in the entire
Mindanao.”
The
petitioners
argued that the Proclamation
No. 216 is “unwarranted,
unjustifiable, and wholly out
of proportion to the threat
posed by the Maute and Abu
Sayaff groups because aside
from the violence in Marawi,
Respondents failed to prove
sufficient factual basis that
rebellion or at the very least
incidents similar to that in
Marawi are simultaneously
occurring in the rest of the
twenty seven (27) cities and
four hundred twenty two (422)
municipalities of Mindanao,
to justify its imposition in the
entire island. ”
The framers of the
1987 Constitution did not
want a repeat of the abuse of
power and sought to defend
and protect the people from
the abuses of martial law.
Constitutional delegate Lino
Brocka, a film director and
a political prisoner under
the Marcos martial law
regime, spoke out during
the deliberations at that time
that amended the provisions
of the declaration of martial
law: “Whether martial law is
declared for one day or 60
days, the fact is, when martial
law is declared the very basic
and fundamental human
rights of the citizenry are taken
away from them. It does not
matter whether it is one day,
one hour or 60 days.”
Already, the military
has committed human rights
violations against civilians
from the first day of the
declaration of martial law.
Aerial bombings, helicopter
strafings in North Cotabato
and Bukidnon resulted in
1000 residents (or 252
families) fleeing their homes.
Illegal arrests were made of at
least 260 individuals in Davao
who failed to show ID. Thirty
(30) women in Sultan Kudarat
were held and interrogated
by Marines for over an hour.
Even relief operations from
the Dept. of Social Welfare
(DSWD) are being repressed
making delivery of relief
packs a challenge. Striking
workers of the Shin Sun
Tropical Fruits in Davao were
violently dispersed and their
picket line broken. Displaced
communities,
our
very
own internal refugees, are
now in shelters. According
to the DSWD, in the first
week of martial law, 54, 335
individuals in Marawi City have
been displaced. In Regions X
and ARMM, a total of 59,149
persons were evacuated.
And these are only a
few incidents. The question
begs to be asked: Are ordinary
people in Mindanao, women,
children,
peasants
and
workers the target of martial
WWW.PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY.COM
law?
The military and
the police at the call of their
Commander-in-Chief seem to
have not had enough of the
killings in their so-called “war
on drugs” across the country.
From individual drug suspects,
they have now targeted whole
communities using aerial
strikes, bombings, strafings,
check-points, arrests and
detention in their so-called
war against the Maute and
Abu Sayaff and “other rebel
groups.”
Martial law has not
brought peace and order. It
has brought havoc and terror.
Against the people.
To read the full text
of the Petition to the Supreme
Court, visit the human rights
alliance
KARAPATAN
at
http://www.Karapatan.org
(Photo
credit:
NCCP)