CHIEF Justice Reynato S. Puno expressed concern over President Arroyo’s declaration of martial law in Maguindanao, saying such a move must remain the “ultimate weapon” in dealing with rebellion.
Speaking at the awarding ceremonies of the Karapatan sa Malikhaing Paraan (KaSaMa) Knowledge Forum at the University of the Philippines on Tuesday, the Supreme Court chief said the declaration of military rule in that province was meant “ostensibly to restore peace and order.”
But Puno pointed out that the Constitution gives the President three options to meet lawless violence, a rebellion or an invasion: call out the Armed Forces of the Philippines; suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus; or declare martial law.
“The declaration of martial law,” Puno said, “is the ultimate weapon in the legal armory of the President as commander in chief to put down rebellion in the country.”
He warned, “The use of martial law is scary enough, but more scary is if its use fails to restore peace and order.”
“We can only pray that, hereafter, there will be no unsheathing of extraconstitutional powers of authority,” he said.
Puno deplored the slaughter in Ampatuan town that killed at least 57 people, more than half of whom were journalists.
“We have exhausted all epithets in the dictionary to denounce the Maguindanao massacre,” he said.
“It was more than mass murder, more than cruelty. It was a blow directed at the heart of our democracy,” Puno said, adding the tragedy was meant to “frustrate the faith of the people in free and honest elections. “
He also blamed the continuing violation of human rights in the country on the monopoly of power and wealth by the few.
“If we are to believe analysts, the reason for this mess is we have a democracy of special interests,” he said, adding, “A small but powerful oligarchy has continued to monopolize power and control wealth in our country.”
Puno noted that while human rights violations have apparently become a common occurrence in the country, the Maguindanao massacre “underscores the fact that the human rights problem has gone from bad to worse.”
The Philippines, he said, is now regarded as the most dangerous place for journalists.
“To add insult to injury, most of the extrajudicial killings of media and judges remain unsolved,” he said. But, he added, the real cause for concern is the accusation that these extrajudicial killings are state-sponsored.
Puno was the keynote speaker in the KaSaMa ceremonies which awarded grants to various groups for projects that promote human rights in the country. He said the Philippine government should also be supporting projects such as these.
“We need to realize that we ourselves must effect the change to stop the unbridled violation of human rights,” he said.
Donor agencies in KaSaMa included the Embassies of Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain and the United Kingdom as well as The Asia Foundation. VERA Files was one of the 12 recipients of the awards.