A kind of constitutional betrayal

There are news reports that, to me, just do not add up. They are disturbing, to say the least. I get confused that many of my perceptions, as an ordinary citizen of this country, of how things should be seem to be contradicted, if not shattered by developments that are reported by the media. Factual accounts of recent events in the national and local scenes indeed, challenge some of these notions that I hold dear in life.

Here is one. I believe that when an elected official assumes an office, he has sworn to perform his duties primarily in accordance with the law. Thus, when President Rodrigo RoaDuterte took his oath of office, he, as the chief executive of the country, swore to uphold and support the constitution.

Teachings of Constitutional Law tell us the principle that sovereignty is indivisible and inalienable. One facet of this principle and certainly, not the least, puts upon the president a most sacred duty of preserving our territorial sovereignty. The president is to make sure that no portion of our territory is given up to any foreign government or ruler. That is why he, in the constitution, is placed as the commander in chief of all armed forces so that, theoretically speaking, he is supposed to lead the army in defense against any aggressor descending on our shores.

Yet, few days ago, the sources of news revealed that China conducted exploratory research in a part of Philippine territory called Benham Rise which truth to tell I have not heard of till recently. China has no right at all to do what it was doing in our country. When Chinese assets set on Benham Rise, they violated our territorial integrity and their act was not unlike raping our women.

I thought that the Chinese incursion would warrant a violent and foul-mouthed reaction from President Duterte. I expected him to show our righteous indignation for the Chinese violation of our sovereign rights. To me his first move was to demand upon the Chinese Ambassador to relay an order of the Philippine Government for China to leave our shores immediately. To the Philippine president, there should have been no Chinese explanation acceptable as justification for the latter's virtual invasion of our land. I also expected President Duterte to assemble whatever military force, no matter now inutile, to drive out a superior force. In his speeches, the president is not averse to using the word KILL. I thought he would use that word to instruct our forces to kill all invaders or be killed by them in defense of motherland.

But, media reported that President Duterte said that he gave permission to China to, in a manner of speaking, rape our territory. The Chinese incursion, if media accounts were correct, was not unauthorized, after all because no less than the president, in utter disregard of his constitutional mandate to defend our territory from foreign invaders, gave a kind of permission, one, which in the constitutional sense of the word, was not at his disposal.

I remember the doctrine of residual power in Constitutional Law. It was used by the late Pres. Corazon C. Aquino to do her constitutional duty of preserving our peace and order by disallowing the Marcoses to come back to the Philippines. When China invaded the Benham Rise, it did more than just disturb our peace and so President Duterte should have discharged his constitutional duty our defending our territorial sovereignty.  By his action, he betrayed the constitution and our people.

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