No less than President Duterte himself revealed in a gathering with businessmen in Davao City recently that if the problem on illegal drugs took a turn for the worse, he would be forced to declare martial law.
The President stressed that no one, not even the Supreme Court, could stop him from doing so.
This move was supposedly intended to preserve the nation and its people, especially the youth. And he didn’t even seem to mind that it is legally allowable only for 60 days.
According to the 1987 Constitution, the President could only declare martial law for a period not exceeding 60 days in case of invasion, rebellion or when the public safety requires it.
Director-General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, Philippine National Police Chief, reaffirmed the loyalty and “101 percent” support of the police to the President in case he declared martial law.
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Duterte, however, has been known for changing his mind on a number of occasions. Merely a month ago, the President dismissed as nonsense any suggestion that he might declare martial law since it did not improve our lives before.
In case we do revert to martial rule, most of the people who have been hit by the administration’s bloody war on illegal drugs fear for the worse.
More than 6,000 people have died in police operations or due to unexplained killings by suspected vigilantes since July when Duterte took control of the government.
Over a million drug users and pushers have either been caught or voluntarily surrendered themselves just to remain alive and avoid becoming target of a police operation.
In a government under martial rule, the police and army will be omnipotent and have no one to answer to except the President. Remember that Duterte is the main man behind the anti-drug campaign and he has given his all-out support to his operatives.
Can you imagine the deaths that may occur in such a set-up with the cops and military having unlimited power in their hands?
There are some who suspect that Duterte is considering the declaration of martial law as an option merely to avoid the promise he made to step down from office if he fails to stop the drug problem in six months (which was extended to one year).
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SHORT BURSTS. For comments or reactions, email [email protected] or tweet @Side_View. Read current and past issues of this column atTempo – The Nation’s Fastest Growing Newspaper. (Robert B. Roque, Jr.)