FORMER Senate President Jovito Salonga and a group of lawyers on Monday afternoon asked the Supreme Court to schedule oral arguments on their petition questioning the constitutionality of Proclamation No. 1959 even after President Gloria Arroyo on Saturday lifted martial law in Maguindanao.
Issued on Dec. 4, Proclamation No. 1959 imposed martial law and suspended the writ of habeas corpus following the Nov. 23 election-related massacre in Maguindanao that left 57 people dead. The Ampatuans have been charged with multiple murder and rebellion.
Despite the lifting of martial law, Salonga and his co-petitioners told the Supreme Court their petition should be heard for various reasons:
• Arroyo violated the Constitution by declaring martial law despite the total absence of an invasion or rebellion, the two exclusive grounds for imposing martial rule.
• The situation in Maguindanao province is of “exceptional character” and public interest is “paramount.”
• The fundamental constitutional issues raised by their petition, especially regarding the constitutional limits on the extraordinary martial law powers of Arroyo as Commander-in-Chief, require the formulation of controlling principles to guide the bench, the bar, and the public.
• Arroyo’s action is capable of repetition yet evading review. The petitioners cited a high probability that Arroyo might again place Maguindanao, and even the whole Mindanao, under martial law due to her “perceived” notion that there is a “looming” rebellion.