Maguindanao Martial Law--Is There an Invasion or Rebellion?

The 1987 Constitution provides for Presidential powers to declare martial law:

“ Article VII, Section 18 - The President shall be the Commander-in-Chief of all armed forces of the Philippines and whenever it becomes necessary, he may call out such armed forces to prevent or suppress lawless violence, invasion or rebellion. In case of invasion or rebellion, when the public safety requires it, he may, for a period not exceeding sixty days, suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus or place the Philippines or any part thereof under martial law.”

The president is then mandated to submit a report to the Congress which may revoke the declaration or suspension of the writ of habeas corpus.

In the declaration of martial law in Maguindanao, the basis of the declaration cannot be helped but be questioned. As provided for in the Constitution, the president may declaration of martial law only in the case of invasion or rebellion.

Under the said provision, where does the Maguindanao situation fall under? Invasion? By who? Is it a rebellion? Is the provincial government of Maguindanao led by the Ampatuans taking up arms against the government?

While I would like to support government initiatives which will ensure the maintenance of law and order in Maguindano following the Ampatuan Massacre, I do not see the reasons that would justify a declaration of martial law as prescribed in the Constitution. Considering the current atmosphere of peace and order, there is not even enough reasons to call out the Armed Forces because there is no lawless violence going on in Maguindanao.

The Congress should reject this declaration because it has no firm basis to stand on and it will open up the avenue for those who have previously expressed their proposal for a no-elections scenario to pursue their plans. If martial law is allowed to go on in Maguindanao, trouble can easily be created in other parts of the country and the expansion of the coverage of martial law can immediately be justified.

With elections just around the corner, and recent talks of No-El scenarios still ringing in our ears, the imposition of Martial Law in Maguindanao under circumstances which do not require it should really be met with skepticism.

Malacañang Was Warned About the Maguindanao Massacre Three Months Ago

The whole world was caught by surprise and shocked by the Maguindanao Massacre. It was something never before seen in our country and it has immediately placed us in the number one position in the list of the world’s most dangerous places for journalists to be assigned.

People are saying this was something unimaginable, that no one expected it and no one could have foreseen the carnage. Well, it turns out that those premises were wrong. Someone did see it coming.

Someone saw it coming and warned the government. He warned Malacañang. And the warnings went unheeded.

About three months ago, August 28, 2009 to be exact, the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security and the Committee on Peace, Unification and Reconciliation conducted a joint public hearing on the peace process in Zamboanga City. One of those invited to be a resource person was the Vice-Governor of North Cotabato Manny Piñol. Vice Governor Piñol is one of the most respected officials whose opinion matters when the Mindanao situation is discussed.

In his statement to the Committee, Vice Governor Piñol revealed that he had warned Malacañang about the potential for the outbreak of hostilities between the MAngudadatus and the Ampatuans in relation to the 2010 elections. It was a warning which was explicit and clear. But in spite of that, it was ignored.

Following is the statement of Vice Governor Piñol lifted from the transcript of that hearing :

MR. PIÑOL : Government must be clear and straightforward with the MILF on what it can and cannot give. Government peace negotiators must get out of the box of the international standards and methodologies for conflict resolution and look at the Mindanao conflict as a problem we cannot and should not compare to the Northern Ireland or Darfur conflicts.

We were amused by the idea of Tony Blair negotiating peace in Mindanao. We were appalled by the suggestion that Manny Pacquiao could bring peace to Mindanao.

This shows how shallow and superficial the appreciation of some of our leaders of the problems in Mindanao. There should be no generic solution to the Mindanao conflict given the fact that problems have different complexions depending on the political, social and economic conditions of a specific area.

Take, for example, Maguindanao. What is the cause of the conflict in Maguindanao right now? It is a feud between the Ampatuans, a big political family and the MILF. And mind you, I have already forewarned Malacañang of an impending bigger trouble come 2010 elections because the Ampatuans are facing another big family, the Mangudadatus, and the Ampatuans are being backed by the military, the government. And that Sends the Mangudadatus towards the MILF orbit and this could spell trouble for Maguindanao in 2010.

I have already warned the GRP panel about this and I have forwarded this message to Chairman Rafael Seguis of the GRP panel.

The statements of Vice Governor Piñol were quite clear. The government was warned. If the warnings were heeded and the government stepped in by disabling the private armed groups in the area, we probably wouldn’t be mourning the deaths of 57 innocent people.

On whose hands have their blood spilled?