MALACAÑANG has asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the petitions seeking to void President Rodrigo Duterte’s proclamation placing the entire Mindanao under martial law following the attacks by the Maute terrorist group in Marawi City.
In a 45-page comment, the Executive department, through Solicitor General Jose Calida, sought the dismissal of three consolidated petitions assailing the legality of Duterte’s Proclamation 216 for lack of merit.
Calida says the declaration should be accorded the presumption of constitutionality as it is within the powers of the President under Section 18 of Article VII of the Constitution.
He says Duterte’s decision to declare martial law was based on factual reports from the Armed Forces as well as on the intelligence information submitted to him.
“There is nothing arbitrary in this reliance as the President”•given his vast responsibilities as head of state, chief representative in foreign affairs, and commander-in-chief of the Philippine armed forces”•could not be reasonably expected to personally determine the veracity of all these reports,” Calida says.
He disputes the petitioners’ claims that there is no factual basis to justify the proclamation of martial law and the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus.
He says there exists a rebellion that poses a threat to public safety in the entire island, and that it was the main basis for the proclamation. He says the terrorist group Maute is linked to the Islamist State in Iran and Syria.
“The facts relied on by President Duterte for the issuance of Proclamation 216 sufficiently establish the existence of a rebellion in Mindanao,” Calida says.
“ISIS-inspired local rebel groups have taken arms against the Philippine government for the purpose of removing Mindanao from its allegiance and of depriving the Chief Executive of his prerogatives therein.”
Calida also rejects the argument of the petitioners on the lack of recommendation from or consultation with the ranking defense and military authorities as reportedly admitted by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana when he briefed members of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
“The recommendation of the Secretary of National Defense, or any member of the Executive Department for that matter, is not a condition precedent to the President’s exercise of his power to proclaim martial law or suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus,” Calida said in his comment.
“Consequently, the absence of such positive recommendation does not affect the validity of Proclamation 216; neither does it impact on the sufficiency of the factual basis for its proclamation.”
Calida says the petitioners failed to justify the need for the Supreme Court’s intervention on the declaration.
As a result, he seeks the dismissal of the three consolidated petitions by opposition lawmakers led by Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, local Mindanao leaders led by Lumad leader Eufemia Campos Cullamat, and a group of women from Marawi led by Norkaya Mohamad for their failure to prove the grave abuse of discretion on the part of the President in issuing Proclamation 216.
“Quite the contrary, the Proclamation is amply supported by facts that a rebellion does exist, and the public safety requires it,” Calida says.
The high court will hear this case in a three-day oral argument starting today.