For the third time, the Supreme Court majority voted 9-4 on
Tuesday to upheld the the constitutionality of the extension of martial law and the suspension of
the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in the war-torn Mindanao until the
end of 2019.
Supreme Court Spokesman Brian Keith Hosaka confirmed the
voting and validity of Martial Law extension in the south.
In a press statement, the Chief Hosaka said four petitions
were dismissed challenging the constitutionality of the extension by the High
Court during its full court session.
Reasons for the dismissal of the petitions did not been
stated by the PIO.
The dismissed were the consolidated petitions filed by the
groups of Albay Rep. Edcel C. Lagman, Bayan Muna Party-List Rep. Carlos Isagani
T. Zarate, Christian S. Monsod, and Rius Valle who were lawmakers, human rights
lawyers and Mindanao residents.
Those who voted in favor of the constitutionality of the
extension were Chief Justice Lucas P. Bersamin and Associate Justices Diosdado
M. Peralta, Mariano C. del Castillo, Estela M. Perlas Bernabe, Andres B. Reyes
Jr., Alexander G. Gesmundo, Jose C. Reyes Jr., Ramon Paul L. Hernando and
Rosamari D. Carandang.
Those who voted to grant the petitions were Senior Associate
Justice Antonio T. Carpio and Associate Justices Marvic Mario Victor F. Leonen,
Francis H. Jardeleza, and Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa.
Hosaka said that Justice Carandang who was the most junior
member of the current SC table, will now be the new ponente since Justice
Caguoia voted for the minority eventhough his assignment was to take charge of
the martial law extension petitions.
Hosaka also told that the oral arguments on the petitions
were held on January 29.
The copy of information in the decision has not been
released.
Likewise, the Congress in a joint session in December, voted
235-28-1 in majority favor of extending martial law in Mindanao for the third
time until year end.
Speaker Gloria Arroyo, then was glad for the pronouncement
of the martial law extension.
“It’s good, we’re very happy because we voted to extend it,”
Arroyo told reporters in an ambush interview after attending the House
oversight hearing on the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) flood
control projects.
The SC upheld constitutionality of Duterte’s martial law
declaration in its subsequent year-long extensions on the end of 2017 and of
2018 as a result of the attack in Marawi City by the terrorist Maute Group and
its followers.
However, petitioners led by Albay 1st district Rep. Edcel
Lagman still insisted that there was no factual basis to justify the violent
incidents to extend martial law in Mindanao, saying those were acts of
terrorism and not rebellion as required by law in declaring martial law.
“The following acts of terrorism and lawless violence
mentioned in the letter dated 06 December 2018 of the President do not per se
evince the existence of rebellion and the President failed to connect or relate
said acts to rebellion or furtherance of rebellion,” petitioners reteirated.
“Terrorism is not equivalent to rebellion because they
differ in motive, target and scope: While terrorism has the purpose of sowing
fear and panic among the populace, rebellion is an armed uprising against the
government for the culpable purpose of removing the country or a portion
thereof from allegiance to the Republic or preventing the President or the
Congress from exercising their respective powers,” they added.
Meanwhile, Solicitor General Jose C. Calida stated during
the oral arguments in behalf of the Executive and Legislative departments of
government that there is still the need to extend martial law because of the
ongoing threats to public safety and menace of rebellion not only by communist
groups but as well as the local terrorist groups, especially those
Daesh-inspired groups.
“In the present case, it is apparent that the NPA continues
to rise publicly and take up arms against the government. From January 1 to
December 31, 2018, there have been a total of 369 NPA-initiated violent
incidents. 193 of these were committed in Mindanao alone,” he said.
"The Jolo cathedral bombing was part of the ongoing
rebellion. But even without the Jolo bombing we already have factual basis for
the extension of martial law,” he added.
He cited official reports of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines (AFP) on ongoing rebellion of the Daesh-Inspires groups and its
local and foreign allies, particularly the Daulah Islamiyah (DI) and also of
the Communist Party of the Philippines – New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) forces in
Mindanao which are key requirement for declaration of martial law under the
Constitution.
