Basis to declare martial law?

RONNIE Dayan, the driver-bodyguard of former Justice secretary and now Sen. Leila Delima, was arrested the other day on the strength of the order issued by Congress after he ignored the subpoena for him to attend the inquiry on the proliferation of illegal drugs inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP).

Kerwin Espinosa, the alleged drug lord in Eastern Visayas, was arrested in the United Arab Emirates. Under heavy escort by policemen, Kerwin arrived on Friday in Manila. He is now under the custody of Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Bato dela Rosa.

Dela Rosa promised to keep Kerwin alive after his father, Albuera mayor Onik Espinosa, was shot and killed inside his cell in the sub-provincial jail in Babybay City by agents of Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) from Region 8.

Meanwhile, the anti-Marcos protesters continued their protest-rally on the hurried burial of the remains of the late president Ferdinand E. Marcos on Friday noon at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB) while President Duterte was in Lima, Peru attending the summit of leaders.

The anti-Marcos protesters, who are mostly victims of the martial law regime of the late dictator Marcos, filed a petition in the Supreme Court (SC) to cite in contempt of court the Marcos family and the military officials for interring Marcos before the SC's decision could become final and executory.

Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman also filed a separate petition for the exhumation of the remains of the late president Marcos allegedly to determine if the body inside the coffin is that of the late president.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II believes that Dayan was the bagman of Senator de Lima when she was justice secretary and illegal drugs proliferated inside the NBP. Convict-witnesses in the congressional inquiry pointed to Dayan as de Lima's bagman.

Dayan, during a press conference in Congress, denied he received money from the drug lords inside the NBP. However, he admitted having received some P8 million from Kerwin Espinosa sometime in 2014, which money he gave to Senator de Lima.

Kerwin testified in the Senate yesterday. But before that Sandra Cam, without mentioning names, already revealed that two senators received money from Kerwin. As to who is the other, we are left guessing.

Sen. Ping Lacson, who has read the affidavit of Kerwin, told members of media in Manila that there are many police officers that Kerwin named in his sworn affidavit. Could former police regional director of Region 8 and now Daanbantayan Mayor Vicente Loot be one of them?

Taking a cue from Senator Lacson somehow leads us to suspect that the police officers who served the supposed search warrant on the late Albuera mayor Rolando Espinosa and shoot him dead in his jail, might be in the list.

On the burial of Marcos in LNMB, the protesters are planning a huge protestrally tomorrow, which they call “Black Friday”. President Duterte, who will arrive tomorrow from a summit in Lima, Peru, would be met by the protesters.

Before all these hullabaloo, President Duterte, using the trouble in Mindanao and his ongoing war against the illegal drug trade, intimated that he would suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus. That puts everyone jittery except the residents of Malacañang.

People have varied views on the hurried internment of Marcos in the LNMB. The leftists are back on the streets protesting Marcos's burial at the LNMB, something that they consider a desecration of the memories of those who died with honor and dignity for the country.

Call me an alarmist or pessimist. But I have could sense and strongly feel that the continuing protest-rallies by the leftists on the burial of Marcos in LNMB could provide the President with the basis to suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus. Worse, he could declare martial law.

Lawyer Mocring Barcenas, a martial law survivor, in a chance meeting told me that based from the way President Duterte talks he could sense that he will suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus and then declare martial law later.

Of course, I am not saying that to preempt the President from declaring martial law and that we just fold our hands and keep mum and let the tyrant rule. We believe that there are no tyrants if there are no slaves.