Martial Law in Maguindanao: RAMOS says:

Martial Law in Maguindanao

Now, therefore I, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution and by law, do hereby proclaim as follows:

Sec. 1: There is hereby declared a state of martial law in the province of Maguindanao except for the identified areas of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front as referred to in the implementing operational guidelines of the GRP-MILF agreement on the General Cessation of Hostilities.

Sec. 2: The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall likewise be suspended in the aforesaid area for the duration of the state of martial law.

Done in the City of Manila this 4th day of December in the Year of Our Lord, Two Thousand and Nine.

(Originally Signed)

Gloria M. Arroyo

By the President:

(Originally Signed)

Eduardo Ermita
Executive Secretary

Congress in Joint Session

House Speaker Prospero C. Nograles and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile jointly preside over the historic opening of the joint session of Congress at the Batasan Pambansa solely convened to tackle Presidential Proclamation No. 1959 declaring Martial Law in the province of Maguindanao, following the gruesome and brutal killing of more than 50 people including more than a dozen members of the media. The ongoing joint session will vote on whether to concur or revoke the presidential edict. Shown are Senators and Congressmen listening intently during plenary proceedings of Congress which converted itself into a "committee of the whole" to allow members of the President's Cabinet, led by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera, and DILG Secretary Ronaldo Puno, to explain and answer all queries raised in plenary to justify the presidential proclamation.

Friday, December 4, 2009

RAMOS says:

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's Proclamation 1959 declaring martial law in Maguindanao province was an overreaction and indication of the government's incompetence. "It appears to me as an overreaction. Very similar to what President Arroyo had done in that situation in Fort Bonifacio, I think it was two years ago -- the so-called February [coup],"

"So, are these agencies that are supposed to enforce the law and serve justice so incompetent that they have to be assisted by a hammerblow by the so-called martial law within that province?"

"People still remember the equanimity and the cool approaches by the late president Cory Aquino, who was attacked, not just seven times but nine times in various coup attempts throughout the whole country during the period of her presidency,"

Martial Law in Maguindanao