Martial Law in Maguindanao: Senators to Arroyo on ML 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.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Senators to Arroyo on ML says:

Overkill. This was how senators described President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's move of imposing martial law in Maguindanao, almost two weeks after 57 people were massacred in the province allegedly by the Ampatuans and their gunmen.

Senators Francis Escudero, Francis Pangilinan, and Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino are one in saying that the situation in Maguindanao does not merit the imposition of martial rule because there is neither invasion nor rebellion in the area.

"These are not obviously present in Maguindanao," Escudero said in a press statement released on Saturday. "The current state of emergency would have sufficed to address the clamor for justice for the massacre victims ans restore the rule of law in the province."

Pangilinan said Mrs. Arroyo should immediately take back the declaration because all key personalities linked to the November 23 killings are already under police custody.

"The factual basis for a martial law declaration therefore appears to be nonexistent. The Maguindanao massacre is a case of multiple murder involving local government officials loyal to Arroyo. It is clear that invasion or rebellion are the only grounds for a declaration of martial law," said Pangilinan in a test message to GMANews.TV on Saturday.

For his part, Aquino said the people must ask Malacañang to explain the circumstances that led Mrs. Arroyo to impose martial law. He said the President must also be asked on how she intends to use the vast powers under a martial rule and for how long does she intend to implement it.

"The rule of law must prevail; constitutional processes must prevail. The courts cannot be abolished there or elsewhere. The President of the Philippines remains accountable not only to the Congress of the Philippines, but to the people of the Philippines for taking this extraordinary course," he said in a statement.

Martial Law in Maguindanao