Don't Fear Martial Law, Only Fear It Can Be Misused and Abused

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Today is September 21 and it's often remembered as the dark era of history. It's because the late Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. declared martial law. Some people demonize martial law without knowing what it means. Even worse, some people who demonize martial law also say that the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines is "the best in the world". What they don't realize is that martial law can be done, when required, such as when former Philippine president, Atty. Rodrigo R. Duterte declared it during the Marawi siege. Also, martial law is part of the provisions of the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines:

Section 18. The President shall be the Commander-in-Chief of all armed forces of the Philippines and whenever it becomes necessary, he may call out such armed forces to prevent or suppress lawless violence, invasion or rebellion. In case of invasion or rebellion, when the public safety requires it, he may, for a period not exceeding sixty days, suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus or place the Philippines or any part thereof under martial law. Within forty-eight hours from the proclamation of martial law or the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, the President shall submit a report in person or in writing to the Congress. The Congress, voting jointly, by a vote of at least a majority of all its Members in regular or special session, may revoke such proclamation or suspension, which revocation shall not be set aside by the President. Upon the initiative of the President, the Congress may, in the same manner, extend such proclamation or suspension for a period to be determined by the Congress, if the invasion or rebellion shall persist and public safety requires it.

The Congress, if not in session, shall, within twenty-four hours following such proclamation or suspension, convene in accordance with its rules without need of a call.

The Supreme Court may review, in an appropriate proceeding filed by any citizen, the sufficiency of the factual basis of the proclamation of martial law or the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus or the extension thereof, and must promulgate its decision thereon within thirty days from its filing.

A state of martial law does not suspend the operation of the Constitution, nor supplant the functioning of the civil courts or legislative assemblies, nor authorize the conferment of jurisdiction on military courts and agencies over civilians where civil courts are able to function, nor automatically suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus.

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.

During the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, any person thus arrested or detained shall be judicially charged within three days, otherwise he shall be released.

The big problem with Marcos Sr.'s martial law regime was the abuses of the provision, not the declaration of martial law itself. I heard Beningo Aquino Jr. aka Ninoy was for the declaration of martial law because of an insurgency. However, martial law was soon misused and abused at the hands of the first Marcos Regime. 

Under the new constitution, martial law is allowed if there's a procedure. The president can't declare martial law on a whim. It must be passed through Congress. Even extensions for martial law need to be approved by the legislative. There was even gossip among people on Facebook that elections may not take place when martial law was declared in Marawi. Guess what? The 2019 elections and the 2022 elections eventually followed. 

The big issue during the first Marcos Regime was the misuse of martial law. The 1987 Constitution may need to be updated. However, martial law couldn't be easily declared and its powers were limited by it. Thankfully, no president right now can declare martial law at a whim. This doesn't mean though that I'm still sticking to presidentialism because there could be more loopholes than the parliamentary system. 

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