Biazon slams Devanadera for poor defense

MANILA, Philippines (1st UPDATE) - An apparent debate between Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago and Makati City Rep. Teodoro Locsin on martial law in Maguindanao stood out in the second day of Congress' joint session.

Santiago opposed while Locsin defended Proclamation 1959 declaring martial law and suspending the writ of habeas corpus in Maguindanao.

"It is not without irony that I stand here defending martial law. But I do defend it. Nowhere and at no time has martial law been justified nor based more sufficiently or incontrovertible facts.... Look at the bodies. Look at the arms stockpiles," Locsin told the plenary.

As publisher of the Philippines' Free Press, Locsin's father was among those detained by President Marcos when martial law was declared in September 1972. 

The Arroyo administration said the imposition of martial law in Maguindanao last December 4 was needed due to the presence of heavily armed groups which were preventing the enforcement of the law with regard to the massacre of 57 people--including 30 journalists--in the worst election-related violence in Philippine history.

"We are seeing Maguindanao and what we see, unless we are morally blind, cries out for martial law--at least for now," Locsin said.

Locsin called on the executive department to make sure real changes happen with the enforcement of martial law.

"Proceed to destroy the political infrastructure of one warlord family—though I hope not to favor the other one—and permanently dismantle their political influence in the province—though I hope not to establish the political influence of the other warlord clan,” Locsin said.

Santiago's lecture

Santiago, on the other hand, challenged the government to show physical proof of actual rebellion in Maguindanao to justify martial law as required by the Constitution.

She lectured the plenary on the definition of rebellion. She even requested to take the podium beside the resource speakers to deliver what she called an "academic discourse" on martial law.

"If there is such a rebellion, why have we never seen any such footage in the TV newscasts or on the Internet? Are we now adopting the new concept of a secret rebellion? That would be a contradiction in terms, an oxymoron, like woman who is secretly pregnant," Santiago said.

"Proclamation No. 1959 does not even claim that there is a state of actual rebellion. This, in itself, is a fatal flaw. Instead, the proclamation claims that 'heavily armed groups in the province of Maguindanao have established positions to resist government troops.' The Constitution does not impose the condition that heavily armed groups have established positions to resist. The Constitution imposes the condition that there is actual rebellion. Thus, the Proclamation does not comply with the first condition," Santiago added.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Victor Ibrado admitted that they have no proof that “rebel groups” in Maguindanao have staged armed attacks. Ibrado said they have detected 400 "rebel groups" in the province, but they have "no reports" of actual rebellion.

Acting Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera argued that violent clashes are not needed to prove rebellion.

"When it comes to rebellion, we had a situation, based on the reports, that the armed groups were already, in effect, depriving the chief executive of its powers to enforce the law. They were already having their own organization, they were already having their own government. It is not something that is looming. It is something that is already happening," she said.

Senate outnumbered

Santiago and Locsin posed no questions to the resource speakers from the executive branch. They merely read speeches supporting their positions.

Speaking to reporters after her speech, Santiago said Locsin is “wrong” in saying that ideology has been removed as an element of rebellion with the scrapping of the anti-subversion law.

Santiago said it is futile to debate in the joint session. “We (Senate) expect to lose. We are going to the valley of death,” she said.

The two lawmakers, known for their sharp tongues, may as well have represented their respective chambers.

Seventeen senators, including Santiago, have signed a resolution opposing martial law in Maguindanao.

While the House of Representatives deferred plans to conduct informal voting among its members, House Speaker Prospero Nograles remains confident majority of congressmen are in favor of the proclamation.

So far, only 34 congressmen have signed various anti-martial law resolutions. Together with the 17 senators, only 51 lawmakers may be expected to vote against martial law.

At least 147 votes are needed to revoke martial law. The senators have conceded that the decision to revoke the proclamation depends on the congressmen, most of whom are allies of Malacañang. There are 268 congressmen and 23 senators.

Speaking to reporters, Nograles said he expects the joint session to vote on December 15 on the revocation of Proclamation No. 1959.

Nevertheless, Santiago said she is counting on the Supreme Court to immediately act favorably on petitions seeking to declare Proclamation 1959 unconstitutional.

Biazon hits Devanadera

Senator Rodolfo Biazon ended an otherwise diplomatic second day of Congress' joint session by accusing acting Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera of wasting their time.

“Pinapaikot. Tsinutsubibo mo kami!,” Biazon said, prompting the suspension of the joint session until 4 p.m. on Monday, December 14.

Biazon was asking Devanadera to explain an earlier statement on the supposed “legal impediments by the usual requirements of the law” that justified the declaration of Martial Law.

Agnes replied: “The existence of rebellion....”

An angry Biazon cut her and shouted: “Answer my question! You are not answering my question. What were the impediments required or put on by the usual requirements of the law that is the reason why martial law was declared."

“Pinapaikot mo kami. My question is very clear. What are these impediments intended to be removed by the declaration of martial law?”

In another attempt to answer, Devanadera said: “May I just probably reconstruct the sentence. At the time the martial law was declared, what are being quelled are the rebellious acts we can regard as the impediments.”

That's when Biazon gave up pursuing his question. “Oh my God. That, to me, is not an answer....It is very clear that Secretary Devanadera, who issued that statement, did not present to us the impediments by the usual requirements of the law designed to be removed by the declaration of martial law.”

Biazon was following up questions on the presence of actual rebellion to justify the proclamation.

Critics argued that the earlier declaration of a state of emergency was sufficient in enforcing the law in Maguindanao.

Sen. Francisco Pangilinan said the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police have swiftly apprehended the suspects and relieved their own members alleged to be part of Ampatuans’ private armies.

“It did not appear that they were having a difficult time doing their work,” he said, adding that if there was indeed a rebellion, it should have already been crippled by security forces.

Stuck on an issue

After 12 hours of deliberations since Wednesday, Congress' joint session failed to move on from debating the presence of “actual rebellion” to justify Proclamation No. 1959 as required by the 1987 Constitution.

One after another, critics of the proclamation pressed the representatives of the executive department to show proof of violent clashes between the so-called rebels and the government troops.

"In my heart, gusto ko ng martial law. But in my legal mind, there is no factual basis," said Senator Richard Gordon.

"If there is such a rebellion, why have we never seen any such footage in the TV newscasts or on the Internet? Are we now adopting the new concept of a secret rebellion?," Santiago said.

Acting Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera repeatedly argued that violent clashes are not needed to prove rebellion.

"When it comes to rebellion, we had a situation based on the reports that the armed groups were already in effect depriving the chief executive of its powers to enforce the law. They were already having their own organization, they were already having their own government. It is not something that is looming. It is something that is already happening," she said.

Unconvinced, the questions continued.

Pursue murder case

Senators Francis Pangilinan, Alan Peter Cayetano, and Gordon expressed concern that the declaration of martial law could weaken the case against the Ampatuans.

While the crimes of rebellion and murder are both meted the maximum penalty of reclusion perpetua or a possible imprisonment of 40 years, charges of multiple counts of murder merit a harsher sentence.

Since 57 people were killed in the Maguindanao massacre on November 23, Pangilinan said that the perpetrators could actually be slapped with over 2000 years of imprisonment (40 years x 57).

Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. currently faces 40 counts of murder. If found guilty, he could be jailed for 1, 600 years.

However, if the rest of the Ampatuans and other respondents were only charged with rebellion, they could be put behind bars for only 40 years at most.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently charged Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr., Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan, five other Ampatuans plus 17 others with rebellion.

Devanadera said during the interpellations, however, that after martial law was proclaimed in Maguindanao, charges of multiple murder have been filed in the court against Andal Ampatuan Jr., while complaints against 82 others are being evaluated by the DOJ.

The DOJ has insisted that even with the filing of rebellion charges, the government will still pursue separate murder raps against the suspects, if evidence so warrants.

Meanwhile, Cayetano warned that the cases built against the Ampatuans and the others could be rendered useless in the face of a possible Supreme Court ruling striking down Proclamation 1959 as unconstitutional. -- with reports from Purple S. Romero, abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak