Jose Calida. GRIG C.MONTEGRANDE
“I wish you luck. You’ll need it.”
This was the message of Solicitor General Jose Calida on Wednesday to those who dare challenge the extension of martial law in Mindanao before the Supreme Court (SC).
“The extension of martial law in the whole of Mindanao, having been approved overwhelmingly by Congress, underscores the factual basis of the on-going rebellion,” Calida said on Twitter.
“To those who intend to challenge the extension of martial law before the Supreme Court, I wish you luck. You’ll need it,” the solicitor general said.
Calida, the government’s top lawyer, scored legal victories in the SC after majority of the justices voted in favor of President Duterte’s declaration of martial law and affirmed their decision with finality.
The SC’s 82-page landmark decision, penned by Associate Justice Mariano Del Castillo, said that the 1987 Constitution grants Duterte the prerogative to put any part of the country under martial rule.
“There is no constitutional edict that martial law should be confined only in the particular place where the armed public uprising actually transpired,” the SC declared.
Duterte placed Mindanao under martial law on May 23 to curb the Maute terrorist group’s attacks on Marawi City. The clash ended last October after Duterte declared that the city has been liberated.
Congress, in a special joint session, voted 240-27 to approve Duterte’s request to extend martial law in Mindanao for another year.
Duterte cited the threats posed by extremists and “continuing crime” of rebellion by the New People’s Army (NPA) in his request to Congress.