THE public need not panic about President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration of a national emergency following the bombing of a night market in Davao that killed 15 people and injured 70 others, the dean of the San Beda Graduate School of Law said Tuesday.
“Our existing rights under the Constitution are not derogated or curtailed under a state of national emergency,” said Ranhilio Aquino, San Beda law dean.
The safeguards set by law on human rights and civil liberties remain while the nation is under a state of national emergency, which allows the President to use military forces to curb heinous crimes such as terrorism.
“Such a declaration does not give blanket authority to the President, the military, or the police to conduct warrantless arrests—except for cases where warrantless arrest is allowed under the law whether or not there is a state of national emergency,” Aquino said.
“The only effect of this is that law enforcement is not left only to the police but is entrusted to the Armed Forces who will assist the police in quelling mayhem,” he added.
The law dean also pointed out that the writ of habeas corpus, which protects citizens from illegal arrest and detention, is not suspended under a state of emergency, so victims of abuses by authorities may still seek relief from the courts.
Aquino believes that fears that authorities would abuse its power under emergency situations—just like during the martial law era—stem from a common misconception on the calibrated powers of the President as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces.
“The President has the power to declare state of emergency. It is one of his calibrated powers, namely the power to summon the Armed Forces, the power to suspend the Writ (of Habeas Corpus) and the power to declare Martial Law,” he said.
However, Aquino said that even the power of the President to declare Martial Law has a requisite under the Constitution—it must be with concurrence of Congress.
Justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, for his part, also defended the President’s action, saying it was not tantamount to Martial Law.
He said Duterte was only making good use of his power under the Constitution as commander-in-chief to protect the people against possible more attacks.
Aguirre said the objective of the declaration is simply to “suppress lawless violence.”
Vice President Leni Robredo, who has often spoke out against the administration, said she respected Duterte’s decision to call out the military to help suppress lawless violence.
“And we appreciate that the proclamation makes clear that this does not suspend any part of the Constitution or impair any of our fundamental rights,” she said in a statement.
Senator Francis Pangilinan, on the other hand, questioned the declaration of a state of national emergency when the police were reporting that the crime rate had declined.
Senate Minority Leader Ralph Recto added that he had his reservations about an indefinite state of lawlessness.
“I am for a national emergency which has an expiry date for the simple reason that it injects a deadline to be met in quelling lawless violence,” Recto said.
By stating when the emergency will end, he said pressure is exerted on the government to restore normalcy as soon as possible.
Malacañang on Tuesday released the signed Proclamation No. 55 “Declaring a State of National Emergency on Account of Lawless Violence in Mindanao.”
But Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea on Tuesday revealed that President Duterte had considered the idea of declaring Martial Law right after the Davao City bombing on Friday night.
He immediately decided it was unnecessary, howerver, Medialdea added.
He also denied an earlier claim by Presidential Legal Adviser Salvador Panelo that the President had been planning to declare a state of lawless violence even before the Davao blast.
“I don’t know where he got that idea,” Medialdea said. “This state of lawless violence came in only right after the bombing took place.”
Medialdea said Duterte’s proclamation of a national emergency was “forced” by the bombing at a night market in Davao City on Friday, which left 15 people dead and 70 others wounded.