Duterte mulled martial law after Davao blast – Palace

MANILA, Philippines – President Duterte considered declaring martial law right after the bombing in Davao City, but decided to declare a state of emergency due to lawless violence instead, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea admitted yesterday.

Medialdea also signed and issued an order allowing the military and police to invoke warrantless arrest and seizures in certain situations under the state of emergency.

Medialdea bared that the President thought of declaring martial law right after the Davao bombing, but he later agreed on declaring a state of emergency due to lawless violence to prevent the violence in Davao from spilling to other parts of the country.

Medialdea downplayed insinuations that the President is keen on declaring martial law. He maintained that the military would just augment the police force during operations, which would be an extra effort to prevent terrorist activities.

“That’s unfounded. As a matter of fact, within the day we will issue guidelines for the military how to do it. This is not martial law and it is not going to be martial law,” he added.

Medialdea noted that the President gave strict directives to avoid deployment of military tanks on the streets to avoid giving undue alarm to the public. 

“The President does not want to see such...He wanted to make sure that the problem will be addressed in a very civilized manner,” he added.

Warrantless arrests, seizures allowed

But even without declaring martial law, the Palace identified situations when the police and the military can invoke warrantless arrests and seizures during the state of emergency.

In a three-page memorandum order issued by Medialdea, the Department of National Defense (DND) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) were tasked to “coordinate with the immediate deployment of the additional forces of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to suppress lawless violence and acts of terror in Mindanao.”

While the order stated that “no civil or political rights are suspended during the existence of a state of lawless violence,” it said warrantless arrests may be effected under the following circumstances:

• When the person to be arrested has committed, is actually committing, is attempting to commit an offense in front of arresting officers;

• When an offense has just been committed and the arresting officer has personal knowledge of facts indicating that the person to be arrested committed the offense;

• When the person to be arrested is a prisoner who has escaped from a penal establishment where he is serving final judgment or temporarily confined while his case is pending; and

• When the person arrested, or to be arrested, has voluntarily waived his right against warrantless arrest.

The order also detailed “existing rules and jurisprudence” which shall be “strictly observed” while effecting warrantless searches and seizures. These are:

• When the person to be searched has consented to the search and voluntarily waived his right against warrantless searches and seizures;

• As an incident to a lawful arrest and the search is contemporaneous to the arrest and within a permissible area of search;

• search of vessels and aircraft for violation of immigration and customs laws;

• search of automobiles at borders or “constructive” borders for violation of immigration or smuggling laws; where the objects and effects to be seized are in plain view;

• stop-and-frisk situations; and

• search arising from exigent and emergency circumstances.

“In case of police/military checkpoints, inspection shall be upon request to roll down vehicle windows, search for things in plain view,” the order added. “No further intrusive actions shall be taken such as the demanding the opening of trunks or lids or asking persons on board to step out, unless the subject individual consents or agrees thereto.”

In stop-and-frisk situations, search shall be limited to light patting on the outer garments of the subject individual to detect the possession of weapons or similar effects. With Helen Flores, Delon Porcalla