IT is the time for the Supreme Court (SC) and Congress to show they have spine and stand up to the abuses of President Duterte, who has just imposed martial law all over Mindanao.
James Ross, legal and policy director of Human Rights Watch (HRW) who covered the Philippines during the Marcos dictatorship for the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights (LCHR), and documented the abuses during the period, said Duterte “is summoning the ghost of Marcos” and even threatened to be as harsh, if not worse, than his “idol”.
A day after declaring martial law all over Mindanao, Duterte issued an ominous message for enforcing it by saying, “Martial law is martial law ha. It will not be any different from what President Marcos did. I’d be harsh.”
The human-rights watchdog Karapatan said the clashes started when the Armed Forces launched an operation designed to capture Isnilon Hapilon, a leader of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), in Marawi.
In response, the Maute Group operating in the areas adjoining Marawi City launched a counter-attack, burning schools and a jail, attacking a hospital and ambushing troops, killing two soldiers and a policeman in the process.
Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana said under martial law, the military will have “control of movement, searches and arrest of detained people, suspension of writ of habeas corpus”.
Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo also declared martial law in Maguindanao in 2009 to arrest more than 100 suspects in the massacre of 38 journalists and civilians by armed men led and funded by the late Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr., who was said to be an Arroyo ally.
“Given the lawlessness of Duterte’s ‘war on drugs’, in which the police and their agents have been implicated in the cold-blooded killing of more than 7,000 suspected drug dealers and users, military restraint in Mindanao may be wishful thinking,” Ross also said.
“Duterte faces one significant obstacle to becoming the next Marcos: The 1987 Philippine Constitution, which places restrictions on the imposition and conduct of martial law,” Ross said.
“Congress can revoke the martial- law proclamation by majority vote and the SC can rule on the factual basis for its declaration.”
“Martial law can’t be used to suspend the Constitution, the courts or the legislature, and military courts can’t try civilians if the civil courts function. Anyone arrested must be charged by a judge within three days or released,” Ross explained.
International jurists ask Duterte: Protect human rights
BANGKOK—The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) has urged Duterte to ensure that human rights are protected and respected in Mindanao, which he had placed under martial law.
ICJ reminded Duterte that “he remains responsible for upholding its international human-rights legal obligations, notwithstanding the imposition of martial law.”
The commission also called on the two houses of Congress and the SC, “to exercise their oversight authority to ensure that the declaration is necessary and lawful, and that the activities conducted under martial law respect human rights.”
“The suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, which is vital for protecting the right to liberty and preventing torture, ill-treatment and enforced disappearance, must be lifted immediately,” said Frederick Rawski, ICJ regional director for Asia and the Pacific.
Rawski added: “The provision of the Philippine Constitution providing for the possibility of suspension of the writ of habeas corpus is in contravention of international law, and denying the right to challenge the lawfulness of a detention is incompatible with recognized principles of the rule of law.”
ICJ said, “The right to challenge the lawfulness of one’s detention through habeas corpus or similar procedures must always be available, even under states of exception like martial law.”
Bayan blasts Marawi attack
THE Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) has condemned the attack in Marawi City by the Maute Group and the Abu Sayyaf, but insisted declaring martial law to contain the bandit gangs in one city is an “overkill”.
“Let us be clear, the Maute Group-Abu Sayyaf and/or Isis [Islamic State in Iraq and Syria] wannabes operating in Marawi must be stopped. The burning of civilian facilities, such as the UCCP [United Church of Christ in the Philippines] school, must be strongly condemned. Duterte is right to cut short his trip and return to Manila to oversee the resolution of the crisis,” Bayan Secretary-General Renato M. Reyes Jr. said.
“However, we oppose Duterte’s martial-law declaration because it is open to all sorts of abuses by state security forces notorious for human-rights violations. It is a blanket endorsement of so many abuses arising from warrantless arrests, searches and seizures and the filing of trumped-up charges. It threatens to unleash more violence against the people,” Reyes said.
“The declaration of martial law will create more problems than solutions. Its coverage is the entire Mindanao, where there are various other armed conflicts and struggles not related to Isis or the Maute Group and Abu Sayyaf. Will martial law be used against them, as well? How will that sit with the peace negotiations Duterte is undertaking with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Moro National Liberation Front?” Reyes asked.
“The various armed conflicts in Mindanao are rooted in decades-old problems of poverty, inequality, discrimination and violations of the right to self-determination. These will ultimately require more than just a military solution. Martial law is not the answer,” Reyes added.
“We express our solidarity with the people of Marawi who have been witness to and victims of the attacks. We call for peace and justice in Mindanao by addressing the roots of the armed conflict,” Reyes concluded.
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