Poe: Senate duty doesn’t stop at issuing martial law resolution

Senator Grace Poe. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / RICHARD A. REYES

Senator Grace Poe said she would not object to martial law “if it is the pathway to ensuring the safety of our countrymen in Marawi.”

Poe issued the statement on Tuesday when asked why she did not sign a resolution supporting President Rodrigo Duterte’s martial law declaration in Mindanao.

READ: 15 senators: ‘No compelling reason’ to revoke martial law declaration in Mindanao

The senator pointed out that the Constitution does not require Congress or the Senate, in particular, to issue a resolution supporting martial law.

“More than issue a resolution on the collective consensus of where Congress stands, it is our responsibility as lawmakers to put forward our individual manifestations for or against the imposition of martial law, in order for students of history to be able to fully understand and appreciate our individual take on this matter,” she said in a statement.

“I also believe that since a resolution is not warranted anyway, it would have been prudent if the Senate had reiterated also the safeguards in our Constitution, highlighting the fact that public safety should remain our paramount concern,” Poe added.

READ: Poe expresses doubts but supports martial law vs Maute

The senator also assured that she would not renege on her duty to strike a balance between ensuring the safety of the people in Marawi and in ensuring that the constitutional safeguards against abuses are followed.

Fifteen of 23 senators signed Senate Resolution No. 388, expressing their support for Proclamation No. 216 entitled: “Declaring a state of martial law and suspending the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in the whole of Mindanao” issued by the President last May 23.

The signatories believed the proclamation was constitutional and in accordance with the law, hence, there was “no cause to revoke the same.”

Only Poe and Senator Francis Escudero from the Senate majority group did not sign the resolution. Aside from the two, all six senators belonging to the minority bloc also did not affix their signatures to the measure.

The six are Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, Senators Francis Pangilinan, Bam Aquino, Risa Hontiveros, Anotnio Trillanes IV, and Leila de Lima, who has been detained at Camp Crame in Quezon City over drug charges. IDL/rga