Party lists rally against martial law in Congress

MANILA, Philippines - Party list lawmakers on Monday filed separate resolutions to revoke Proclamation 1959 placing Maguindanao province under martial law, even as Speaker Prospero Nograles filed his own in support of the move.

In filing House Resolution 1525, Nograles said he believes there was basis to place Maguindanao under martial rule following the grisly massacre of at least 57 people in the province on November 23.

“The issuance of Proclamation 1959 will help the executive department to effectively restore the functions of the local government units in the province of Maguindanao and to preserve and restore public order and safety,” Nograles said.

Nograles said he expects majority in the House of Representatives will support his resolution, which could reflect the outcome of the voting in a joint session with the Senate, if it pushes through.

In a joint session, the 268 congressmen and the 23 senators would vote jointly to either concur or revoke President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s Proclamation 1959.

“If the resolution, which I have filed, will get the support of the majority of the members or a total of 147, which is a majority of all the members of Congress with the House and Senate voting jointly as prescribed under the Constitution, there's no need for a joint session,” Nograles said in a separate statement.

Senators have insisted on a joint session to discuss the proclamation. A number of them are questioning the basis in placing the province under martial rule.

Anti-martial law congressmen also started filing resolutions on Monday.

House Resolution 1528 by Akbayan party list Representatives Risa Hontiveros and Walden Bello said the proclamation should be revoked.

“Nowhere in the report can the elements of rebellion be found. Moreso, the proclamation excluding from its coverage areas controlled by the MILF belies the claim that the rebellion of the Ampatuan group is supported by the MILF,” the Akbayan resolution said.

It added that the “1987 Constitution contemplates the existence of an actual rebellion and not a mere imminent danger of taking up arms against the government as clearly provided by the Constitutional Commission deliberations.”

Representatives Satur Ocampo, Teodoro Casino and Neri Colmenares of Bayan Muna, Liza Maza and Luz Ilagan of Gabriela, Rafael Mariano and Joel Maglunsod of Anakpawis and Raymond Palatino of Kabataan also filed Joint Resolution 52 urging the both chambers to reject it.

“Proclamation 1959 is clearly unconstitutional on its face because it admits that the imposition is merely based on the supposed acts by armed groups of ‘establishing a position’ to resist government troops which is clearly not an act of rebellion as defined under the Revised Penal Code as amended,” it said.

“The government even recognizes that the Maguindanao massacre was not an act of rebellion as it charged Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. and other suspects with the crime of murder (multiple counts) and not the crime of rebellion,” the resolution added.

Ocampo and company said that legitimizing martial rule in Maguindanao would pave the way for the subsequent imposition of martial law all over the country, adding that the President can always claim that members of the New Peoples Army or the MILF are “establishing positions” to resist the government thereby necessitating the imposition of martial law.

At the press conference of the pro-opposition lawmakers, ABA-AKO party list Representative Leonardo Montemayor said the declaration could be invoked as a precedent case for other parts of the country to also be placed under martial rule.