Duterte’s call for constitutional amendments downplayed, hit

MANILA, Philippines - Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III said yesterday there was no cause for alarm over President Duterte’s call for constitutional amendments that would allow him to declare martial law without getting the permission of Congress and the Supreme Court.

But Vice President Leni Robredo said a threat to return to martial law was “the worst Christmas gift” to Filipinos while opposition lawmakers warned the nation against Duterte’s dictatorial tendencies.

“Let’s not get too emotional about this. This is just about constitution writing where we study what reforms or amendments that can be done and this will have to go through a thorough process, and may or may not be approved,” Pimentel said.

He said there was no malice in Duterte’s statements, which he described as “policy proposals.”

According to Pimentel, other countries have such a system where the head of government can declare martial law without having to go through the legislature or the judiciary.

“This is actually a default setup in many countries and we have the same system before but because of our experiences in the past, we now have the setup that involves Congress and the SC,” Pimentel said.

Appalling

Robredo said Duterte’s move to “challenge the democratic safeguards of the very Constitution he swore to uphold…is appalling.”

The Vice President also said Duterte’s statement that the current constitutional safeguards were a “reckless reaction” to the Marcos regime was an insult to the great suffering and hardship that Filipinos endured during martial law.

“Let us remain vigilant against any move that will curtail our freedoms,” the Vice President said.

“This is not a battle we will take sitting down. As Filipinos we have demonstrated our courage to stand up and make our voices heard for the sake of protecting our freedom and fighting for the truth,” she said.

Sen. Grace Poe warned that allowing the President’s declaration of martial law without the oversight of Congress or the SC as to its validity “is the wrong reason to amend the Constitution.”

“We all agree that poverty is one of the root causes of rebellion for which martial law powers are primarily meant. To address such cause, what we need is to open up our economy to more investments and to strengthen our public institutions for the purpose of uplifting the lives of poor Filipinos,” Poe said.

She also said if the government was really winning the war against illegal drugs and making significant peace inroads with Moro and communist rebels, then there would be no “need for unbridled martial law powers.”

Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III admitted Duterte’s proposal would be hard to sell in Congress.

‘Tyrant’

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV urged the people not to continue tolerating Duterte’s dictatorial tendencies as one day Filipinos might wake up finding themselves oppressed.

“We have a tyrant in our midst. The longer we deny that reality, the more powerful and oppressive he becomes. Snap out of it, people!” Trillanes said.

Sen. Leila de Lima, a vocal critic of Duterte, said the President need not worry about changing the Constitution for implementing martial law “because as of present, the President neither recognizes nor follows the Constitution anymore.”

She said Duterte was already encouraging a policy of summary execution in violation of the Constitution.

“I don’t think violating the Constitution in order to declare and implement martial law will still be a problem under a regime that has singularly destroyed the rule of law and disposed of government accountability in this country,” De Lima said.

“Basically, as things stand now, since he executes and kills citizens at will, as he himself admitted, Duterte can pretty much do anything he wants at will, most of all implement martial law without observing the constitutional niceties of congressional and judicial oversight,” she said.

Rep. Gary Alejano of party-list group Magdalo also said Duterte was a “virtual dictator for over two decades in Davao City, where thousands died under questionable circumstances in the hands of the Davao death squad.”

He said the President would like to have the same power on a national level. “He has a dictatorial tendency. That explains why he keeps on floating the issue of martial law,” he said.

Alejano, a former Marine officer, pointed out that the provisions of the Constitution subjecting a martial law declaration to congressional and judicial review were aimed at preventing the rise of another dictator like the late president Ferdinand Marcos.

It is part of the system of check-and-balance enshrined in the Charter, he stressed.

Rep. Tomasito Villarin of Akbayan said Duterte’s statements “show an utter disrespect for our Constitution and the values of democracy.”  – With Helen Flores, Jess Diaz