DEFENSE Secretary Delfin Lorenzana expressed confidence Monday that the Supreme Court will rule in favor of the government after petitioners questioned the legality of President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration of martial law in Mindanao.
“I for one, am very confident that the Supreme Court will rule on the legality of martial law. I was there, I briefed them, I and General [Eduardo] Año briefed… the Supreme Court en banc,” Lorenzana, who is also martial law administrator, said in a news briefing.
“I believe we have sufficiently or competently answered all the questions on the basis for martial law … I look forward to seeing that they will say that it is legal for the President to declare martial law in the first place,” he added.
The Supreme Court is expected to resolve on Tuesday the consolidated petitions seeking to nullify the President’s declaration of martial law on the grounds that there is no factual basis for it.
The first of the three petitions was filed June 5 by a group of opposition lawmakers led by Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman. Two similar petitions filed by local Mindanao leaders led by lumad leader Eufemia Campos Cullamat and a group of women from Marawi led by Norkaya Mohamad followed shortly afterwards.
During oral arguments from June 13 to 15, the petitioners asked the Court to void the martial law declaration because there was no sufficient factual basis to justify martial law. Information cited in the proclamation, they added, were “false, inaccurate and contrived.”
They also alleged that a key element in act of rebellion—culpable purpose of removing allegiance from the Philippines and preventing the President and legislature from exercising their functions—was not present in the attack of the Maute terrorist group in Marawi City last May 23 that triggered martial law proclamation.
