MANILA — The Consultative Committee (Concom) tasked by President Rodrigo R. Duterte to review the 1987 Constitution has voted to add “lawless violence” as one of the grounds to declare martial law in the proposed federal Constitution it is drafting.
Concom member and retired lieutenant general Ferdinand Bocobo said that there will now be three grounds for the declaration of martial law namely invasion, rebellion and lawless violence.
Bocobo, who proposed the inclusion of the phrase “lawless violence”, said that this could refer to both terrorism and violent extremism.
“In the original provisions of the grounds for the declaration of martial law, it’s just rebellion or invasion but because of the events in present time and perhaps in the future where we [might] have lawless violence, so we inserted the word lawless violence,” Bocobo said in a press briefing at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC).
“Lawless violence means terrorism and violent extremism,” he added, noting that this term will be explained and its parameters defined in the proposed Constitution’s annotation.
Bocobo said that the term “widespread lawless violence” was initially proposed but “widespread” was eventually dropped since lawless violence may not necessarily be widespread but still endanger public safety or pose serious threats.
He noted that the provision was adopted after consulting resource persons from the Department of National Defense, the office of the National Security Adviser, and the Department of the Interior and Local Government based on the current threats of national security.
The provision was among the revisions in the Article on the Executive Branch approved by the Concom in an en banc session on Tuesday, Bocobo said.
Below is a comparison of Section 18 in the 1987 Constitution and in the Concom’s proposed federal Constitution:
The 1987 Constitution reads:
“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 Concom’s proposed amendment reads:
“Section 18: (1) 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.
(2) In case of lawless violence, invasion or rebellion when the public safety requires it, he may for a period not exceeding sixty (60) days, suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus or place the Philippines or any part thereof under martial law…”
On May 23, 2017 President Rodrigo R. Duterte declared martial law in the entire Mindanao island amid the ongoing clashes between government troops and Maute group terrorists in Marawi City.
Wednesday, May 23, 2018, marks the commemoration of the first anniversary of the Marawi siege and the day Duterte declared martial law in Mindanao. (PNA)
