Cha-cha for ‘unbridled’ martial law powers? No way, says Poe

Senator Grace Poe and President Rodrigo Duterte. FILE PHOTOS

“Allowing the President’s declaration of martial law without the oversight of Congress or the Supreme Court as to its validity is the wrong reason to amend the Constitution,” Senator Grace Poe said on Friday.

Poe was reacting to President Rodrigo Duterte’s statement that he would like to amend the 1987 Constitution so he would be allowed to declare martial law even without the approval of Congress and the Supreme Court.

Under the 1987 Constitution, the President needs the approval of Congress and the high court before declaring martial law.

But the lady senator rejected Duterte’s idea.

“We all agree that poverty is one of the root causes of rebellion for which martial law powers are primarily meant for. To address such cause, what we need is to open up our economy to more investments and to strengthen our public institutions for the purpose of uplifting the lives of the poor Filipinos,” Poe said.

She said that there is also no need to declare martial law if indeed the President’s claim that his government is winning the war on drugs “coupled with his confidence” of forging peace with the rebels were true.

READ: Duterte: I’m sometimes tempted to declare martial law

“The President himself insists that illegal drugs is one of the biggest problems and maintains that he is winning the war against it. This, if indeed true, coupled with his confidence in the ongoing peace talks with the communists as well as the cooperation of the Moro rebels, belie the need for an unbridled martial law powers,” Poe added.

Duterte floated the idea of Charter change (Cha-cha) to accommodate this during a speech in Angeles City, in Pampanga on Thursday.

READ: Duterte’s wish: Martial law sans Congress, SC nod

“Kung mag-declare ako ng martial law at may invasion ngayon o giyera, I cannot proceed on and on, lalo na kung may gulo. Pupunta pa ako sa Congress, pupunta pa ako doon sa Supreme Court, if there is anybody who’d file a complaint to look into the factual, kung totoo ba, which you could not do,” the President was quoted in the media as saying.

(If I declare martial law in case there is an invasion or a war, I cannot just proceed even if a conflict calls for it. I still need to go to Congress and the Supreme Court if anyone questions the factuality of the reason for the declaration.)

“Eh kung iba ang Supreme Court, magsabi ang Congress yes, no ito, or no ito, yes itong isa? Saan mo ako ilagay? Kaya kailangan ko talagang palitan ‘yan,” he said.

(But what if the Supreme Court and the Congress say two different things? How do I decide? That’s why there’s a need to amend that.) IDL