EDITORIAL - Lift it

Shares have risen and the peso is recovering. Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile and former Ambassador to Washington Ernesto Maceda are being held without bail for rebellion. Barricades are up around Malacañang, presumably strong enough this time to withstand an assault by unfriendly forces. And President Arroyo, in a conciliatory move, has visited her predecessor Joseph Estrada in the bungalow where he is being held without bail in Laguna. The meeting, arranged by Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, archbishop of Cebu, appeared to be cordial.

There’s no curfew and the writ of habeas of corpus has not been suspended. But rallies around Malacañang are banned at least until Monday when the "state of rebellion" will be lifted, depending on the situation, according to Palace officials. Why prolong the "state of rebellion"? The government apparently needs it to effect the warrantless arrest of certain personalities suspected of involvement in an alleged plot to topple the Arroyo administration.

It’s been a few days since the assault on Malacañang. By this time investigators presumably already have in their possession enough evidence to pin the alleged coup plotters for rebellion – depositions from witnesses, for example, and videotapes of the march to Malacañang that have been made available even to media outfits. Just present the evidence to a judge and get an arrest warrant for the suspects.

The law on rebellion is in the Revised Penal Code, as amended, and can be applied even without a "state of rebellion" being declared. If the govern-ment’s evidence is strong, the suspects will be denied bail, as the Quezon City court denied bail yesterday to Enrile and Maceda. Anyway, two of the most wanted among the alleged coup plotters – Sen. Gregorio Honasan and former national police chief Panfilo Lacson – are believed to be hiding outside Metro Manila, the only region where the "state of rebellion" is in effect and warrantless arrests can be made. On the other hand, arrest warrants issued by the courts have a nationwide reach.

Already the opposition, including candidates who have been doing poorly in all surveys since the start of the campaign, have seized the controversy over the "state of rebellion" and warrantless arrests as an opportunity to cry harassment and divert attention from their role in the violence at Malacañang last Tuesday. It’s disconcerting enough to hear Panfilo Lacson invoking human rights. The administration should not turn any of these people into martyrs. The sooner the "state of rebellion" is lifted, the better.