MANILA, Philippines -- A peace-and-order council created by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to flush out communist rebels in the countryside could be a tool to pave the way for martial law, Senator Manuel “Mar'' Roxas II warned on Tuesday.

Roxas said the new peace-and-order council, which he called a throwback to the Marcos regime, was alarming because it is composed entirely of top government officials.

“There are no representatives from humanitarian agencies of government,'' he said at a Liberal Party-sponsored forum on martial law at the Dusit Hotel in Makati City.

The council, whose role is to eradicate the communist rebellion, is headed by Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno and composed of the heads of departments and law enforcement agencies, according to Roxas, LP president.

If people are not watching, the council could be used to “operationalize'' martial law in the country, he said.

“We've come full circle, not in a positive sense. [It] looks like we're back to the time before martial law. Executive Order 739 was signed on August 19, reorganizing the National Peace and Order Council,'' he said.

Former Senate president Jovito Salonga, a past LP president who narrated his experience during martial law at the forum, said he has seen “signs of authoritarian tendencies'' in the Arroyo administration.

“Probably, instead of imposing martial law, they would look at the possibility of imposing emergency rule,'' Salonga told reporters. “The difficulty here is you have to get the consent of the United States before emergency rule can be imposed by the present administration.''

Senator Rodolfo Biazon, LP vice president for external affairs, said the imposition of martial law before Arroyo ends her term in 2010 would depend on whether Congress, the Supreme Court, or the Armed Forces would allow it.

“It is possible, but improbable,'' he said at the forum, titled “The Lingering Specter of Martial Law: Drawing Lessons from the Past, Resisting Future Threats.''

Former Senate president Franklin Drilon, LP national chairman, told reporters the extension of Arroyo’s term through Charter change between now and 2010 was more likely to happen than the imposition of martial law.

Political analyst Ramon Casiple said if Malacañang failed to amend the Constitution -- to lift the term limits of the president or get Arroyo to serve as prime minister in a parliamentary government -- it could resort to emergency rule.

“This is where the danger lies. The temptation to undertake some form of state of emergency or martial rule in order to dislocate the opposition can create a climate of fear,'' he said.