SC upholds martial law declaration in Mindanao

MANILA, Philippines (Updated 1:56 pm) — The Supreme Court en banc on Tuesday ruled that President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration of martial law in Mindanao is legal.

After its deliberations on validity, the SC voted 11-3-1 to uphold the constitutionality of Proclamation 216 or martial law in Mindanao.

Eleven justices voted in favor of this ruling while three partially voted to grant the petition and one dissented. SC Public Information Office chief Theodore Te refused to detail how the individual SC magistrates voted on the petitions against martial law.

Duterte declared martial law in the whole of Mindanao to neutralize the local terror group Maute and contain violence in the region following a clash between the government forces and the terror goup in Marawi City on May 23. He also suspended the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in Mindanao.

The move has popular support and was welcomed by business leaders in the region, saying martial law would create a more favorable environment for investors.

Opposition lawmakers however asked that the proclamation be nullified, citing Section 18, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution, which gives authority to the president to declare martial law "in case of invasion or rebellion, when public safety requires it."

Aside from House minority leaders, residents of Mindanao and women of Marawi also sought the high court’s decision to invalidate the martial law declaration. Some lawyers urged SC to order the Congress to convene on its proclamation.

The respondents of the petitions were Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and Gen. Eduardo Año, chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Lorenzana is martial law administrator while Año is implementor.

SC subsequently held three days of oral arguments from June 13 to 15 to discuss the merits of the petitions and of martial law itself. 

The petitioners can still file a motion for reconsideration before the SC.

Ahead of the SC ruling, several martial law critics gathered along Padre Faura Street in front of the SC to protest the president’s declaration. According to Bagong Alyansang Makabayan Secretary General Renato Reyes, allowing the declaration of martial law in Mindanao will pave the way for a martial law declaration in the whole country. 

The president has said in past speeches that he may suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in the Visayas if violence in Marawi spills over into the island group. Navy and coast guard patrols have been dispatched to the waters between Mindanao and the Visayas.

He has also said that martial law will be declared across the country if Islamic State-inspired terrorists gain a foothold in Luzon. — with a report from Alexis Romero