Aquino hailed for rejecting calls to impose martial law in Yolanda-hit areas
President Benigno Aquino III INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – A civil society group lauded President Benigno Aquino III for not imposing martial law in Tacloban despite reported massive looting in there after monster typhoon “Yolanda” smashed the city.
“While a despot would welcome any opportunity to infringe on civil liberties, including the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, which would mean non-recourse to the courts to question a person’s detention, [we] are happy that [President Aquino] rejected the temptation to exercise powers of a dictator,” lawyer Harry Roque of Centerlaw.
Roque said the President is correct that declaring martial law in the area should be exercised with caution.
Thousands of people were killed and billions worth of properties were destroyed by typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) which ravaged several provinces in Visayas and Mindanao.
Related Stories
‘Miracle’ baby born in Philippine typhoon rubble
After ‘Yolanda,’ 3 Mindanao provinces brace for brewing storm
Comelec to provide generators to power up areas smashed by ‘Yolanda’
Person finder now in INQUIRER.net’s Storm Radar on ‘Yolanda’
‘Yolanda’ destroys P138.6-M worth of crops — report
Netizens on Aquino walk-out: ‘Anyare?’
Spoelstra, Miami Heat send sympathies to Yolanda victims
10 deadliest natural disasters in the Philippines
‘Yolanda’ kills 300 in Samar – official
Chaos, dead bodies on typhoon-ravaged streets of Tacloban City
10,000 feared dead in typhoon-hit Philippine province – police
151 killed by ‘Yolanda’; 4.5M people affected – NDRRMC
120 policemen deployed to prevent looting in Tacloban City
Daughter’s last words: ‘Ma, just let go… Save yourself’
Australia gives $10 million to typhoon-hit Philippines
Japan to fly medical team to Philippines
Philippines struggles to help desperate typhoon victims
