Duterte’s men downplay threat as mere hyperbole

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/ MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II on Sunday dismissed as “hyperbole” President Duterte’s threat to suspend the privilege of writ of habeas corpus if lawlessness continues.

Presidential Communication Secretary Martin Andanar likewise sought to downplay Mr. Duterte’s remarks on  Friday, saying it was “just an idea that was floated.”

“That is the nature of the President. He is fond of hyperbole, but he really doesn’t intend to do those (threats),” Aguirre told reporters.

He said the President, as a lawyer and former state prosecutor, understood that there were legal requirements necessary for suspending the privilege of writ.

“The President is aware that he cannot declare such suspension of the writ of habeas corpus just because of the state of lawlessness. There has to be either actual rebellion or invasion of the country,” Aguirre said.

He said Mr. Duterte could just be “thinking out loud when he said that he will go as far as suspending the writ of habeas corpus if the drug syndicates won’t stop.”

While the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group and its faction, the Maute Group, have been fighting security forces in Mindanao, Aguirre said they could not launch a rebellion to bring down the government.

Interviewed over state radio dzRB, Andanar on Sunday said the President referred to “our problem on illegal drugs,” which had “become severe and widespread.”

“The President is so worried already, that’s why he has asked for the help of everybody several times because he cannot solve it on his own,” he said.

On Friday night, Mr. Duterte said he may temporarily suspend the privilege of writ of habeas corpus if the “lawlessness” in the country worsened.

Ironically, he spoke at a gathering held in honor of the President’s mother, the late Soledad Duterte, a known anti-Marcos activist in Mindanao.

“There is a rebellion being waged down in Mindanao. If lawlessness becomes widespread, I might be forced to … It’s just my warning to them. I don’t want it because it’s not good,” the President said at the launch of Pilipinong May Puso Foundation Inc.

“But if you force my hand into it, I will declare the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, not martial law. I have no political plans,” he said.

According to Andanar, the country’s problems about terrorism in Mindanao and the drug plague were both complex at varying degrees.