GMA lifts martial law: State of emergency stays

MANILA, Philippines – President Arroyo yesterday lifted martial law in Maguindanao on the recommendation of her security officials.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita made the announcement shortly after a meeting of the National Security Council that recommended the lifting of Proclamation 1959 that placed Maguindanao under military rule to contain a supposed rebellion in the province.

“Proclamation 1959 is lifted effective 9 p.m. today (last night),” Ermita told a news conference in Malacañang.

Ermita clarified, however, that a state of emergency would still be in effect in Maguindanao, including the province of Sultan Kudarat and Cotabato City.

Security forces, under the state of emergency Proclamation 1946 issued Nov. 24, would remain in the region to contain a possible spillover of violence.

Ermita said the military and police are still allowed to set up checkpoints and seize firearms from civilians.

Mrs. Arroyo convened her top security officials earlier in the day and the meeting concluded that the government, after one week, had achieved its main objectives in placing Maguindanao under martial law, Ermita said.

Mrs. Arroyo placed Maguindanao under martial law last Dec. 4 to allow security forces to move against the Ampatuan family, who have been blamed for the Nov. 23 massacre of 57 people and accused of fomenting a rebellion to prevent authorities from arresting members of the family.

Ermita said the weeklong implementation of martial law in the province had achieved the government’s objective of crippling the Ampatuans.

Ermita said the government had succeeded in taking the principal suspect, Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., into custody and charged him with murder while 62 other family members led by patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr. and their supporters have been charged with rebellion.

He said 138 militiamen hired by the Ampatuans have surrendered and 339 more have been taken into custody.

Ermita said 248 others have been referred to the Department of Justice for investigation.

He said the military and police have already cleared Maguindanao of all its security threats and the local government has started to function and basic services restored.

“The reason for which martial law and the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus as declared by the

President under Proclamation 1959 had been accomplished,” Ermita said.

“That’s why initially we mentioned to you the arrests, people taken into custody and the judicial system and local government back and functioning, and so we can say that the rebellion had been addressed and the purpose for which it was called is achieved,” he added.

Ermita said the Cabinet security group that recommended the lifting of Proclamation 1959 had taken these developments into account.

Ermita said a letter, along with the copy of the lifting of Proclamation 1959, is being prepared for transmittal to Congress.

Yesterday’s decision to lift martial law in Maguindanao is expected to end the review of the proclamation by a joint session of the Senate and the House of Representatives that started last Wednesday.

The same could be expected of the petitions before the Supreme Court (SC) questioning the declaration of martial law.

Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera, however, said the issue does not end there since she is still required to file an answer to the petitions in the SC.

Devanadera denied yesterday’s decision to lift martial law in Maguindanao was made to preempt what many expect to be a rejection by Congress and the high court.

“You know martial law is a power that is exercised out of necessity and when public safety requires it,” Devanadera said.

“So when we have already on the ground, as reported by the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) and PNP (Philippine National Police), that public safety is no longer at threat, then this power of necessity must logically be lifted,” she added.

Officials said the declaration of martial law in Maguindanao was justified by the “looming rebellion” in the province as well as the breakdown of the judicial and local government functions.

The AFP and PNP said armed groups belonging to the Ampatuans had been amassing in several areas and posed a threat to peace and order in the province.

The military reported hundreds of assorted firearms, including mortars and machine guns, and thousands of rounds of ammunition have been seized in and near properties owned by the Ampatuans.

Last Thursday, the military said troops were moving in on strongholds of some 4,000 armed militiamen loyal to the Ampatuans but no clashes had been reported.

These reasons were cited by the Cabinet officials and the military to justify the declaration of martial law during the hearings held last Wednesday and Thursday by the joint session of Congress.

‘Preemptive strike’

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile led lawmakers in expressing their opinion against continuing the joint session following yesterday’s lifting of martial law.

“There’s no matter anymore to discuss,” Enrile said.

He said, however, that it would be up to the senators and congressmen to make the decision on whether to continue the joint session.

Speaker Prospero Nograles, however, said the joint session should continue tomorrow to “formally close” it without having to vote on the proposed revocation of the proclamation of martial law.

According to Nograles, he reached a consensus with Enrile to continue the joint session tomorrow, even after they learned that Mrs. Arroyo had lifted martial law in Maguindanao.

Nograles said Enrile was with him in Davao when they heard the news that the President had lifted martial law.

“The joint session will continue on Monday and formally close on Monday. The debate whether or not to revoke Proclamation 1959 has become moot and academic with the lifting of martial law in Maguindanao,” Nograles said.

Enrile, on the other hand, said it was a good decision for the President to lift martial law. He said the decision would put an end to speculations on what Mrs. Arroyo could do if she continues to implement military rule in Maguindanao.

“All of these are in the exercise of her powers. If she can suspend the writ of habeas corpus, she can also proclaim martial law. She can also end it,” he said.

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said the President’s decision to lift martial law would allay fears that she might include other areas in the country.

“Martial rule, however, is not the answer, but an effective implementation of our stringent laws regardless of religion and influence,” Zubiri said.

Zubiri noted the statements made by Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago who said martial law in Maguindanao is part of a grand scheme to put other trouble spots under military control.

For Sen. Joker Arroyo, the President’s decision to lift martial law made Congress “look funny” amid the heated debates during the joint session.

Arroyo called the President’s move to lift martial law as a “preemptive strike.”

“For two nights, senators and congressmen were arguing heatedly over whether martial law in Maguindanao is good or not. But the President thought all along that it would not reach a vote because she would lift it,” Arroyo said.

He said the SC had been saddled with the petitions questioning the legality of the proclamation of martial law that forced the government to prepare an answer.

“All those preparations came to naught. The President must be giggling right now. She made a fool of us,” he said.

Sen. Loren Legarda said the proclamation of martial law was unnecessary since it raised more fears of possible human rights abuses in the province.

Sen. Manuel Villar said the administration must have realized that the civilian authority should always prevail in controlling lawlessness and violence in any part of the country.

Sen. Francis Pangilinan said the lifting was expected considering the difficulty of implementing military rule and justifying the existence of a rebellion.

“The rebellion existed only in their (government) minds. The illegal proclamation could not stand the test of time. The longer it took for them to lift it, the greater the burden for them to prove the fake rebellion,” he said.

Still there

Ermita revealed Mrs. Arroyo and the rest of the Cabinet members present during the security meeting were relieved by the collective decision to lift martial law, which they noted has generated a multitude of criticism and fears from all sectors.

Ermita said Mrs. Arroyo actively presided over the exchanges during yesterday’s meeting and promptly issued her directive after hearing the reports of the NSC.

“Of course at the end she said that if that is what you think we must do (it). So she said go ahead prepare the proclamation,” Ermita said, quoting Mrs. Arroyo.

“So I will repeat, the President said okay, then we will revoke the proclamation after hearing the report and everybody’s position on the matter,” Ermita added.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno, for his part, said yesterday’s lifting of martial law does not mean that rebellion had been quelled in Maguindanao.

“However, in the belief of the executive committee as conveyed to (President Arroyo), the powers of martial law and the imposition of martial law can be lifted already because although rebellion may continue to exist, the AFP and the PNP have so established themselves in the area that they can assure public safety,” he said.

AFP chief Gen. Victor Ibrado said the military would still remain in Maguindanao even after martial law has been lifted.

He said the military has to go after the thousands of armed supporters of the Ampatuans still scattered all over the province.

“That force (of militiamen) is quite sufficient to control anything, any grouping later,” Ibrado said.

PNP chief Director General Jesus Verzosa, for his part, said the police have the job to go after the remaining suspects in the massacre and prevent supporters of the Ampatuans from staging a rebellion.

The Ampatuans’ rival, Buluan Vice Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu, said he was satisfied by the government’s move to go after the suspects that killed his wife and two sisters during the massacre.

“There are more or less 20 others still at large,” he said elaborating.

Mangudadatu has alleged the mass killings were carried out to prevent him from running against Ampatuan Jr. for governor of Maguindanao for the next year’s elections.

Ampatuan Jr. has been charged with multiple counts of murder for allegedly ordering and participating in the kidnapping and subsequent shooting of 57 people, including journalists and relatives of his rival Mangudadatu.

The massacre shocked the nation and the international community, and was described as the worst violent incident in the country’s political history. –Marvin Sy (The Philippine Star) with Aurea Calica, Marichu Villanueva, Pia Lee-Brago, Jaime Laude, Evelyn Macairan, AP