Philippine Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Martial Law

Felipe Villamor and Jeoffrey Maitem
2017.07.04
Manila and Marawi, Philippines
170704-PH-martial-620.jpg Flanked by a soldier, a businessman enters his store in Sarimanok district, Marawi City, for the first time since residents fled after fighting broke out, June 30, 2017.
Froilan Gallardo/BenarNews

The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday in favor of President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration of martial law for the southern Philippine island of Mindanao to quell what he called a rebellion by militants linked to the Islamic State.

Eleven justices voted in favor of Proclamation 216, three agreed but said martial law should be confined in the southern city of Marawi where the gunmen have dug in and one disagreed, the court said.

Duterte declared martial law on May 23, giving the military widespread powers, including carrying out warrantless arrests, to defeat Abu Sayyaf Group and Maute gunmen who had laid siege in Marawi backed by foreign fighters. The predominantly Muslim city in the south has been emptied of its 200,000 residents since fighting began six weeks ago.

The edict gave the military police powers in the entire southern region of Mindanao, a development that had alarmed rights activists.

Solicitor General Jose Calida, who argued the government’s case at the court, called the ruling a monumental decision.

“As the conscience of our nation, the Supreme Court did not sit idly to watch our country get dismembered,” he said. “In fact, this decision shows the honorable Supreme Court is one with the president in protecting and defending our country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Duterte spokesman Ernesto Abella said the ruling shows the entire government, including the judiciary, “now stands together as one against a common enemy.”

“We ask the public to give their full support and cooperation to local authorities. After all, securing communities is a responsibility that must be shared by everyone,” Abella said.

Comparison to Marcos

The ruling puts to rest dissents to the declaration of martial law, including activists and Duterte opponents who claim that 74-year-old leader was preparing to expand coverage beyond Mindanao.

They claimed it was a throwback to the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos’s regime, which put the entire country under martial law, leading to widespread abuses, including the killing of thousands of activists during his term. A “people power” revolution toppled his two-decade rule, sending him into exile to Hawaii in 1986, where he died three years later.

Richard Javad Heydarian, a political science professor at the De La Salle University in Manila, said in the wake of the Marawi attacks, Duterte’s defense and military officials succeeded in convincing the high court that martial law was necessary.

“The high court was also obviously squeezed in between the two larger and directly elected branches of the government, which openly threatened to ignore any unfavorable ruling,” he said. “Clearly, the Supreme Court is making decisions not irrespective of broader political atmosphere.”

Warning to political opposition

Duterte on Monday rallied the troops fighting in Marawi and thanked them for their relentless effort against the terrorists.

He vowed to remain steadfast and alert as martial law in Mindanao “will remain in effect to counter the persistent threat of terrorism and insurgency.”

Duterte threatened to arrest any of the high court’s 15 justices if they voted against his martial law, and some pundits said that may have factored in Tuesday’s voting.

Officials said intense clashes have so far left 85 troops, 39 civilians and 337 gunmen dead, with no immediate end in sight.

Foreign fighters

Lt. Col. Jo-Ar Herrera, military spokesman in Marawi, on Tuesday said troops had recovered the remains of a foreign militant.

“A cadaver of a foreign looking individual was also recovered by troops. It is believed that it is one of the reported foreign fighters from Singapore. A total of 11 suspected foreign fighters have been reportedly killed so far,” he said.

Among those killed, according to earlier reports, were a Malaysian, two Saudis, two Indonesians, a Yemeni, a Chechen and two other Middle Eastern-looking men.

Herrera said troops have taken control of Marawi’s Dansalan College, a key accomplishment. The school was host to some high rise structures that served as machine gun nest and snipers’ vantage positions for the gunmen.

Military officials said about 300 to 500 civilians remain trapped in Marawi’s highly urbanized commercial district, where the militants are believed holding out.

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