Terror alarm raised after habeas corpus remarks
AFTER HE warned last week of a possible suspension of the writ of habeas corpus if the state of lawlessness in the country spreads, President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Monday, Nov. 14, cautioned the public about terrorists from the Middle East who he said might come to the Philippines.
“We have to prepare for it, because once the terrorists of the Middle East are deprived of the land area, a real estate where they can sleep, stand on, or just simply sit down, they would [now] wander to other places and they will come here, and we have to prepare for that,” Mr. Duterte said yesterday during the 80th anniversary of the National Bureau of Investigation.
“Remember, these guys, they do not have an iota of what a human right is, believe me,” he added.
Mr. Duterte said the government will have a “calibrated response” but did not elaborate on this.
“So we will have a calibrated thing here. I will not just sit down and allow my people to be slaughtered, for the sake of human rights. That’s bullshit. That’s bullshit,” he said.
“My response be... would always a [ sic] calibrated to what we are facing — to destroy the Filipino nation.”
Mr. Duterte on Friday, Nov. 11, said of the continuing state of lawlessness that “if you force my hand into it, I will declare the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, not martial law.”
These remarks drew criticism by legislators of the opposition Liberal Party, as well as its ally in the vice- presidency, Maria Leonor “Leni” G. Robredo who cited the constitutional limits on the suspension of the writ to “invasion or rebellion,” as stated in Section 18 of Article VII on the Executive Department.
Moreover, the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus is limited to sixty days, according to the Constitution drafted in 1986 (and ratified the succeeding year) in response to the country’s experience with the Marcos regime, which had recourse to this and the indefinite power to impose martial law.
Also under the Constitution, “The suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall apply only to persons judicially charged for rebellion or offenses inherent in, or directly connected with, invasion.”
Asked by reporters to comment on Mr. Duterte’s remarks, his justice secretary also cited the constitutional basis for the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, the judicial remedy for persons brought under arrest.