Draft declaration of state of nat'l emergency ready

[explorer]

Draft declaration of state of nat'l emergency ready (a modest word for martial law?)

Oct 10, 2005
Updated 05:18pm (Mla time)
Tetch Torres
INQ7.net

THE ARROYO administration is poised to declare a state of national emergency.

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said he already has a five-page draft of the declaration which will be submitted to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

But the justice chief clarified that the declaration has no connection to the rumored declaration of martial law, which requires approval of Congress.

In his draft, Gonzalez said that government, under emergency rule, will take over vital industries while the country's situation is still uncertain.

Gonzalez said the take over of operation of vital industries is justified under Article 12 Section 17 which states that: "In times of national emergency, when the public interest so requires, the State may, during the emergency and under reasonable terms prescribed by it, temporarily take over or direct the operation of any privately-owned public utility or business affected with public interest."

The draft declaration is a product of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) research on the economic stability of the country.

Gonzalez maintained that the planned declaration is legal. "I don't think the Supreme Court will meddle with Article 12."

[mazdamazda]

I am sure that the media and most people will jump on this one.

According to our Justice Secretary - our current situation does not still warrant the use of the SNE. The only time that this would be used is IF a REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENT is formed to replace or in parallel to the current one. He is just readying it IN CASE it would be needed.

[Altis6453]

I am sure that the media and most people will jump on this one.

According to our Justice Secretary - our current situation does not still warrant the use of the SNE. The only time that this would be used is IF a REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENT is formed to replace or in parallel to the current one. He is just readying it IN CASE it would be needed.

No offense to those related to him, but I think Gonzales is an embarassment to the legal profession. What else can you say about a Secretary of Justice who candidly admits to having been appointed as a "reward" for his "loyalty" to the President during the canvassing of GMA's votes.

Mr. Gonzales, you'd better pray that you saved enough money to get you out of the country after your stint in government considering the number of people who will wait with glee for your eventual exit.

[zeagle]

No offense to those related to him, but I think Gonzales is an embarassment to the legal profession. What else can you say about a Secretary of Justice who candidly admits to having been appointed as a "reward" for his "loyalty" to the President during the canvassing of GMA's votes.

Mr. Gonzales, you'd better pray that you saved enough money to get you out of the country after your stint in government considering the number of people who will wait with glee for your eventual exit.

Mismo! Kulang na lang sabihin ni GMA na "sit" and "rollover"! Sirang sira na yan si Gonzales.

[oldblue]

why what's the emergency? kapag sinabi ba private utilities affected with public interests - kasama Globe, Smart, PLDT, Bayantel, Meralco, Sun Cellular, Digitel, Caltex, Shell, Maynilad, PAL. tsk tsk this is bad, kung anu pa yun money-makers kapag hard times. Para tuloy nakakaduda kung ano ba talaga motibo dito.

how about banks? can this be considered a private financial utility that can affect public interest?

[mantoy]

i think tatamaan Meralco, telcos, Maynilad & Manila Water, gas companies. mukhang kabadung-kabado at praning na praning na tong administrasyon na to. nananakot na ng mga ganitong declaration just to send the message out na meron pa silang alas in the event na may gustong mag-overthrow sa kanila. haaay....makapagbasa na nga lang ng showbiz tsismis thread.

[oldblue]

yan nga ang mahirap dyan, tagal paghihirapan ng mga private utility companies para maging globally competitive as private business enterprises, from manpower training here & abroad to efficient distribution of services to marketing, tapos some govt. groups will just hide in an article "something" to justify their take-over.

[explorer]

i think tatamaan Meralco, telcos, Maynilad & Manila Water, gas companies. mukhang kabadung-kabado at praning na praning na tong administrasyon na to. nananakot na ng mga ganitong declaration just to send the message out na meron pa silang alas in the event na may gustong mag-overthrow sa kanila. haaay....makapagbasa na nga lang ng showbiz tsismis thread.

tingin ko takot si GMA sa mga elite families just like marcos. marcos knew that if MOST of the elite families would turn against him like the lopezes he could be easily removed with the military also against him. but marcos was able to hold the military and most of the elite family, not like GMA. kaya yung mga ayalas at aranetas noon di nalang umigay para di makuha yung mga yaman nila like what marcos did to the lopez family. the yalas and aranetas gain more wealth during martial law while the lopezes almost lost all their businesses. so this emergency power is GMA's statement to the elite families that they have to consider the consequences of their actions. remeber that noli de castro is a lopez man. what if the noli would support the ouster of GMA (as what the US intelligence had gathered)? with this emergency rule, the lopezes would think twice to supoort noli de castro. they can't afford to lose again their business empire (specially that their business is now in red) just to bring their man to malacanang.

[creepy]

No offense to those related to him, but I think Gonzales is an embarassment to the legal profession.

He is an embarassment to the Filipino people

[raine]

Wala nang maniniwala sa hinayupak na gonzales na yan, dapat kasi sa mga gov official nagseserve sila for the interest ng country. hindi sa kung sino ang nagappoint sa kanila like the president. kapal mukha

[chua_riwap]

[QUOTE=Altis6453]No offense to those related to him, but I think Gonzales is an embarassment to the legal profession. What else can you say about a Secretary of Justice who candidly admits to having been appointed as a "reward" for his "loyalty" to the President during the canvassing of GMA's votes. [QUOTE]


Tawag diyan, TUTA! Tuta ni Shortie.

[zeagle]

It seems that this administration is contradicting what they say. Sabi nila na let us move on and build the country instead of politicking. E bakit everytime na interview sila ng media, panay ang kanilang pasaring sa opposition? Si PGMA, palaging may patama sa speech niya. Si Atty Acebede ng PCGG, pilit isisingit ang galit nya sa opposition instead of doing his job. Si Sec. Gonzales, panay ang draft and study ng mga emergency powers, criminal prosecution of opposition etc. Si Bunye panay ang banggit ng "congressional inquiry for destabilization". At madami pang ibang government official. If they really want to move on, they should just do their job instead of acting as PR person for PGMA.

[oldblue]

even the foreign consultant on corruption is planning to resign accdg. to the news. taga-Hongkong sya and dubbed as kinakatakutan ng mga corrupt sa Hongkong. Pero la eh d nya nakayanan ang Pinoy hehehe ...

[explorer]

'Emergency' jitters linger
DoJ admits drafting takeover document

First posted 00:50am (Mla time) Oct 12, 2005
By Michael Lim Ubac, Juliet Labog-Javellana
Inquirer News Service

Editor's Note: Published on page A1 of the Oct. 12, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

MALACAÑANG denials that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will issue a proclamation of emergency rule vesting her with powers tantamount to martial law have failed to calm the fears of key sectors, including some of her allies.

The fears were heightened by the reported signing by Ms Arroyo of Executive Order No. 467 which supposedly embodied the emergency proclamation and allowed her to arrest political dissenters without warrants.

The Inquirer obtained a copy of the "feared" EO 467. As released by the Palace, the order -- signed by Ms Arroyo and dated Oct. 5 -- seemed like a politically innocuous document dealing with land administration as a tool for reducing poverty.

Fears of emergency rule were first raised by two opposition figures late last month when they told the Inquirer that the Department of Justice (DoJ) had drafted a proclamation that would equip Ms Arroyo with powers just short of martial law.

Palace officials quickly denied the President planned to declare martial law, which the late Ferdinand Marcos imposed in 1972 to keep himself in power in the face of growing opposition to his rule.

The Palace appeared to make no distinction between the terms emergency rule and martial law, adding to the confusion.

On Monday, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez fed the rumors when he said he had drafted a proclamation for a "state of national emergency" that would authorize Ms Arroyo to take over key industries. But Gonzalez also said the conditions that would justify such a move had not arisen.

Deputy Majority Leader Antonio Cerilles called on the Palace to clarify the controversy and stressed that Congress should not be bypassed.

Some leading members of the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy also expressed concern.

Concerned about what EO 467 actually provides for, Cerilles (Zamboanga del Sur) and another administration lawmaker, Federico Sandoval II (Malabon), joined the opposition in challenging Malacañang to produce a copy of the presidential directive.

"The Palace should present a copy of the alleged EO 467 to let the public know its full contents. Without a copy of the draft, the 'no martial law' assurances of Secretary Gonzalez and the Palace will not be enough to douse fears that we could return to the darkest years of history," said Sandoval, vice chair of the House committee on transportation.

House Minority Leader Francis Escudero said Malacañang had a duty to be transparent at all times and added: "Show us a copy of the EO to allay people's fears."

Who knows President's mind?

A staunch presidential ally, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, said she would not be surprised if Ms Arroyo was contemplating taking extraordinary powers in the face of coup plots and street protests.

"We do not really know what is going through the President's mind. We cannot access the full range of the information she receives from day to day not only from intelligence sources but also from conversations with other world leaders, particularly in Southeast Asia," Santiago said.

"But I must hazard the guess that surely this has occupied some time in the President's mind, particularly since there has been so much loose talk about a coup, or marching in the streets and taking over or about forcing her to resign."

Right of self-defense

Santiago added: "If the President's perceived enemies are taking extra-constitutional measures, it's perfectly natural to expect that she will start contemplating extra-constitutional measures for self-defense.

She said any administration had built-in self-defense measures. "If she is attacked by force, the state is allowed to defend itself by force."

But other senators scoffed at Malacañang's emphatic denial that Ms Arroyo planned to assume emergency powers.

"Tell that to the Marines," opposition Senator Panfilo Lacson said, adding that the Arroyo administration had perfected the art of "covering lies with more lies."

Slow descent to martial rule

"When Justice Secretary Gonzalez so clumsily bared on his desk an unnumbered proclamation regarding declaration of a state of emergency, that should tell us a lot," Lacson said, referring to an occasion at the justice department when reporters glimpsed a copy of the draft proclamation on Gonzalez's desk.

Some progressive groups warned the takeover of vital industries, including the media, was the only missing component in the nation's slow descent to martial rule.

Anakpawis party-list Representative Rafael Mariano said Ms Arroyo's order barring her subordinates from testifying at congressional inquiries, the breaking of demonstrations and political killings "are all major recipes of martial law."

Not buying the story

In a privilege speech, Akbayan party-list Representative Riza Hontiveros-Baraquel asked Congress to promptly conduct an inquiry into Malacañang's "national emergency plot."

"Is the President planning to declare a national emergency on her own? We in Akbayan dare the government to give an explicit answer to this question," she said.

Fr. Ben Moraleda, convenor of a new ecumenical alliance calling on Ms Arroyo to step down, said his group was not buying Gonzalez's claim that he had drafted the emergency proclamation on his own initiative.

"It's stupid," he told the Inquirer.

Moraleda, a Redemptorist missionary, said his group "Sinag" was convinced Ms Arroyo had directed Gonzalez to prepare the draft to quash the persistent opposition to her administration.

Sinag is composed of around 20 organizations of Catholic priests, nuns and lay workers demanding Ms Arroyo's ouster. With a report from Christian V. Esguerra

[russpogi]

yari na naman tayo nyan!