Juan Ponce-Enrile: Arroyo’s Martial Law is `toothless’

Juan Ponce-Enrile, ex-implementor of Martial law

Senator Juan Ponce-Enrile says the martial law declared in Maguindanao is a “toothless” one, unlike that of his friend and boss, Ferdinand Marcos in 1972. In 1972, Marcos declared martial law and effectively wielded it for decades. Now, says Enrile, Mrs. Arroyo and her hawks may only effect martial law for sixty days. There are checks and balances in place under the Constitution to prevent or deter abuses.

For example, says Enrile, if the military arrested somebody under martial law, he can avail of a remedy–invoke the Amparo rule. The arrest will only take effect within 36 hours, by which time, the suspect can post bail and win his freedom. Enrile also said that  a person can actually claim legal recourse when his rights as an individual are abused. The abused victim can either go to the regular courts and file cases or he can go to the Commission on Human Rights and report them. Under this new version of martial law, regular courts are in operation; meaning, there are venues available for seeking remedies.

Yep, there are legal remedies but we all know what happens in reality. Most instances, victims fail to avail of these legal remedies and result to widespread abuse of human rights. This is what happened during the Marcos regime’s martial rule. And we expect this also under Arroyo.

I ask Mr. Enrile—why trifle with martial law in the first place? Why try the limits of the law? The Maguindanao episode can be solved through effective application of police powers. You don’t need martial law to contain a warlord. This is like saying that it is not enough for the State to contain a warlord just by using police powers. It’s like saying that thousands of troops cannot even neutralize just one warlord.