PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte had planned to declare a state of lawlessness even before the deadly Davao City bombing last Friday night, which left more than a dozen dead and over 60 wounded, his chief legal adviser said Sunday.
“That was not the trigger,” said Presidential Legal Adviser Salvador Panelo in an interview on radio dzBB.
“Actually, [the declaration was in the] planning stage,” Panelo said, adding that a draft of the proclamation had already been prepared.
Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, in fact, had prepared several drafts, and the final one was supposed to be released Sept. 4 or 5.
The reasons for the declaration, he added, were the ongoing campaign against illegal drugs, criminality, terrorism and the offensive against the Abu Sayyaf.
With 98 percent of all barangays affected by drugs, each user and pusher was a “potential killer,” Panelo said.
“President Duterte said he does not believe if you’re a user, you’re not also a pusher. If you’re a user, you need medication. But if you are not rich, you need to be a pusher so that you could afford to buy. The poor needs to sell in order to earn because they have no money to buy illegal drugs. That’s how bad the problem is because these are potential killers,” he said.
Panelo said criminality continued despite the reported drop in the crime rate.
He also said acts of terrorism, like those carried out by the Abu Sayyaf, were not just simple crimes, because they are aimed at sowing fear around the country.
These social conditions convinced Duterte to use the Armed Forces, through his order, to assist the Philippine National Police in its security operations.
“The President is looking on the extent of the problem. If this could be done without that, we will do it … but when there was a bombing, there really was a need to declare [the state of lawlessness] because this would stop the violence,” said Panelo.
“The PNP cannot do this alone,” he said.
Since the four conditions necessitating the declaration of a state of lawlessness are present nationwide, the implementation of Duterte’s order is not only confined to Davao City, he said.
“The problem cited is nationwide. Terrorism is not only in Davao. So why localize the declaration?” he said.
In line with the declaration, the implementation of a curfew is also being considered.
But the Palace official allayed fears that the declaration of a state of lawlessness was a precursor to Martial Law.
“If they [critics] have fears this would lead to Martial Law, no. Definitely not. A big ‘no.’ This will also not lead to the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. We are very far away from this,” Panelo said.
All citizens can still perform their normal activities with vigilance, he said.
“We can do our normal things everyday. The difference is, we will be alert because there are a lot of threats. If you are in public places …be observant of [your] surroundings,” he said.
Duterte’s critic, Senator Leila de Lima, urged the public to be vigilant about the government’s response to the attack in Davao City.
She said it was the right of people to call out any abuse that might result from the enhanced security measures that the government puts in place, and to remind officials of the limits to their power.
“The government must…be clear on who the enemies of the state are, and calibrate its response in accordance with the threat to national security that they represent,” she said.
On the other hand, House Deputy Minority Leader Lito Atienza said politicians should stop “over-analyzing” the state of lawlessness imposed by Duterte to avoid a “state of confusion.”
Atienza, Buhay party-list representative, also urged Malacañang to designate one spokesman on the Davao bombing and developments in the investigation.
“There should be one official only, if not the President himself, speaking authoritatively about the matter, to avoid any confusion,” he said.
Atienza cited the initial mix-up over which group was to blame for the Davao attack, with some officials instantly attributing the bombing to the Abu Sayyaf Group, while others blamed the drug cartels.
Earlier, lawmakers such Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said Duterte’s declaration was an “overkill” as the rest of the country was peaceful.
Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano said Martial Law must be declared in Mindanao to avoid the recurrence of the problem while House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said the President’s nationwide declaration must be supported.
“The authorities should waste no time in catching the Sept. 2 Davao City night market bombers, including their aiders and abettors, through skillful sleuthing. If we look at the experience of France and Belgium, because of effective police detection, it did not take them long to find and arrest the perpetrators of recent terrorist attacks,” Atienza said.
Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III said the declaration of a state of lawlessness was Duterte’s judgment call.
“Let us help him. Anyway that’s just a declaration to put on notice the military, the armed forces and the whole country, that he will start using the military to suppress [and] put an end to lawless violence. That is what it means,” Pimentel said. With Christine F. Herrera and Macon Ramos-Araneta