People's rights remain even with Proclamation 1017, say guv, lawyer
Iloilo Governor Niel Tupas Sr. respects President Arroyo's Proclamation 1017 declaring the nation under state of emergency saying it is her prerogative as president of the country.
Tupas said such power is given the president under the 1987 Constitution however it should only pertain to the economic provisions of the constitution and not to be used as a license to violate the citizen's basic rights.
"The emergency powers should only be used by the president to address the immediate concerns the country is facing and not to be used to curtail people's freedom enshrined in our Bill of Rights," Tupas said.
Tupas cited that similar emergency power was invoked by former President Fidel Ramos during his time when the country experienced a power crisis.
The governor said Arroyo's emergency powers could not be likened to the dreaded martial law powers imposed by dictator Ferdinand Marcos before where the government could arrest just about anybody.
Tupas was saddened by the series of arrests of persons in Manila perceived to be threats to the administration.
"It's not right," he said, adding "they (authorities) must show proof that one has committed a crime before effecting arrest."
Meanwhile, lawyer Honorato Sayno, president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Iloilo Chapter scored Proclamation 1017 being a pseudo-Martial law.
Sayno said never in the Constitution can we find what is contained in Proclamation 1017 except that it was patterned from the Martial Law provisions of the constitution.
"It is no different from Martial Law. It is even dangerous since it does not have safeguards," Sayno said.
Sayno had a round table discussion with some Iloilo journalists on Monday regarding the implications of Proclamation 1017 on the mass media.
Sayno noted that one of the targets of the Proclamation 1017 being considered by Arroyo as a threat to her administration.
The lawyer cited the raid on the Daily Tribune office in Metro Manila hours after the state of emergency was declared.
Sayno called on the public to be vigilant as even with the state of emergency the people's constitutional rights are not curtailed.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to issue a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) on Proclamation 1017.
The high tribunal reportedly scheduled oral arguments next week to hear the claims of the petitioners who questioned the constitutionality of the said proclamation.
The Daily Tribune newspaper, whose editorial offices were raided by police Friday, has filed a temporary restraining order against the presidential proclamation. Former senator Loren Legarda also filed a TRO plea on Tuesday.
A group of lawyers and an activist group led by University of the Philippines professor Randy David filed separate petitions before the Supreme Court Monday questioning the proclamation.
The Alternative Law Group (ALG) also submitted a separate challenge to the legality of the proclamation and its application, General Order No. 5. ALG said Proclamation 1017 should be "struck down and nullified because the President has illegally exercised martial-law powers by resurrecting the 1973 martial law and mangling" the 1987 Constitution.
Both petitions sought the issuance of a TRO to stop immediately the implementation of the proclamation.
Malacañan on Tuesday said it expects the Supreme Court to side with the administration in determining the constitutionality of Proclamation 1017.
Presidential Legal Counsel Eduardo Nachura said the declaration of a state of emergency is a prerogative of the President as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces.
He said Malacañan lawyers were ready to defend the President's order before the court.
The President declared a state of emergency nationwide last Friday after allegedly thwarting a coup attempt by civilian and military plotters allied with communist rebels.