Human rights lawyers will be on guard against the possible warrantless arrests by the police of protesters who will be joining the rallies during President Rodrigo Duterte’s fifth State-of-the-Nation Address on July 27, a source said Friday.
Law expert Tony La Viña of the Concerned Lawyers for Civil Liberties says they will be protecting the protesters who might be arrested by the authorities without a warrant.
“We’ll be out in full force on July 27 if arrests are going to be done, but we can assure you, from a legal point of view, that cannot be because those would all be unconstitutional arrests,” La Viña said in a virtual forum called #SONAgkaisa.
He says his group and other lawyers’ groups will deploy their people in full force “to make sure, to guide people.”
He says they will also make sure that the participants will not be exposed to COVID-19 due to the alleged lack of health protocols among the police who might be making arrests.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III said Thursday Duterte will deliver his SONA at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City.
But presidential spokesman Harry Roque said it was not yet sure if the 75-year-old President would be physically present there.
Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said Friday Duterte’s address must present a 20/20 vision.
“Wherever it is delivered, through whatever medium, the SONA 2020 must contain one thing: an inspiring 20/20 vision that will rally this nation to move as one,” Recto said.
He says the message of the SONA is more important than where the messenger is. The principal audience of the SONA are not the politicians inside the hall but the people outside.
Meanwhile, Sotto says he wants the Senate to hasten in the second regular session legislative action on the five measures he has filed that seek to improve government systems and to uplift the labor sector.
He says he will push for priority discussions on his proposal to enact a Medical Scholarship Act, a Presidential Drug Enforcement Authority Act, Hybrid Election Act, Anti-False Content Act and the 14th-Month Pay Act.
“I will move for speedy but comprehensive committee and plenary discussions on these five priority measures that I believe can make a huge impact on the lives of the Filipino people,” Sotto said.
“The variety in the objectives of these measures would hopefully bring about needed reforms in governance, which at this time are essential to tip the scale in favor of public welfare over political, corporate or personal interests.”