Malacañang on Tuesday scored Vice President Leni Robredo for twisting President Rodrigo Duterte’s recent statements and making it appear that the chief executive is intent on declaring Martial Law.
“In context, the President was saying that if Martial Law was taken for what it was supposed to be, which is to protect and preserve the safety of the people, then it should be facilitated,” presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said.
“However, Vice President Leni [Robredo] seems to have amplified her concerns and seems to make it appear as if President was actively planning to do it. But if you read it in context, it was not in that way,” Abella added.
In a speech delivered in Pampanga on Dec. 22, Duterte said that he wants the Constitution amended to make it less difficult for any president to declare Martial Law.
He said it should be the sole prerogative of any president, citing the alleged inefficiency of having Congress and the High Court to concur with the declaration.
Robredo scored the President for his pronouncement, saying it was “appalling” for Duterte to “challenge the democratic safeguards of the very constitution he swore to uphold.”
Robredo said that Duterte’s statement was a “threat of a return to Martial Law and one-man rule” and called it “the worst Christmas gift to the Filipino people.”
In an earlier interview, chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo said the Vice President’s fears were “misplaced,” reminding her of existing “safeguards” provided by the Constitution.
“It’s misplaced, in the sense that she may have misunderstood the context. I know where she is coming from, and I can understand the fears of victims of Martial Law but we have to consider the character of this man. He will not tolerate any violation of any law,” Panelo said.