“And it should be realised that taking the initiative in introducing a new form of government is very difficult and dangerous, and unlikely to succeed. The reason is that all those who profit from the old order will be opposed to the innovator, whereas all those who might benefit from the new order are, at [...]

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 [...]

1959 was the third time Martial law was availed of by government as an emergency measure. The first time was when President Jose P. Laurel, the government caretaker, declared martial rule when foreign invaders entered Manila. The Laurel proclamation was deemed judicious because the country was then under invasion. The second was the classic Proclamation 1081 on [...]

span style=”font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;”>What are the conditions existing that justifies the declaration of martial rule? Under Section 18 of Article 7 of the 1987 Constitution, it is clearly stated that:   “The President shall be the Commander-in-Chief of all armed forces of the Philippines and whenever it becomes necessary, he may call [...]