LAW EXPERTS on Saturday said the peoples rights should not be affected by President Dutertes declaration of a state of lawlessness, as it is

limited to calling out the military to help the police suppress violence.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II stressed the constitutionality of the declaration, which came hours after an explosion killed 14 people and
wounded 68 others at a night market in Mr. Dutertes hometown, Davao City.

Mr. Dutertes authority under the declaration is limited to summoning armed forces to suppress violence through ordinary police action,
according to Integrated Bar of the Philippines president Rosario Setias-Reyes.

Aguirre said the declaration did not amount to an imposition of martial law. Instead, it was a precautionary measure that had factual basis in the
explosion.

As Commander in Chief, [he is mandated] to protect the people. The [Armed Forces of the Philippines] is constitutionally mandated to protect
the people from lawlessness, Aguirre said in a text message.

Rule of law

Asked about its effect on peoples rights, Public Attorneys Office chief Persida Rueda-Acosta said legal and substantive rights are protected
because this [is] part of the rule of law.

Acosta said the President had the power to call out the armed forces to maintain the rule of law and prevent any lawless violence under Article
VII, Section 18, of the 1987 Constitution.

She also stressed that police power is one of the inherent powers of the state, alongside eminent domain and taxation.

The only aim of the declaration is to suppress and prevent lawlessness and violence, Acosta said.

Reyes, in a text message to the Inquirer, cited two Supreme Court decisions that defined the limits of the Presidents power under Article VII,
Section 18, of the Constitution.

She said that under the Presidents exercise of the calling-out power, the authority of the President appears to be limited only to the
summoning of the armed forces to assist in the suppression of lawless violence, invasion or rebellion through ordinary police action.

Any act beyond it shall be considered illegal, Reyes said.

She recalled the 2006 Supreme Court ruling in David v. Arroyo, which found unconstitutional several acts during the state of national
emergency declared in the aftermath of a supposedly foiled coup attempt.

The ruling hit the warrantless arrests of Prof. Randolf S. David and Ronald Llamas, the dispersal of the rallies and the warrantless arrest of
Kilusang Mayo Uno members, the imposition of standards on the press, and the warrantless search of the Daily Tribune offices.

Reyes also noted the 2000 Supreme Court ruling in IBP

v. Zamora, which provided the only criterion for exercising the calling-out power of the President.

The criterion, she said, is whenever it becomes necessary to prevent or suppress lawless violence or rebellion.

Owing to the vast intelligence network of the Office of the President, [the President] is in the best position to determine the actual condition of
the country, Reyes said.

Ateneo School of Government Dean Antonio La Via said the declaration provided extraordinary powers to allow Duterte to wage a most
efficacious defense of the nation in times of crisis, without being unduly straitjacketed by structural and bureaucratic restraints.

Most benign

La Via explained in a Facebook post that summoning armed forces to combat lawless violence under the declaration is the most benign of the
powers allowed under Article VII, Section 18.

Martial law is the power that is most serious and carries the most impact on the social and political life of the nations, he said.

But La Via noted that the level of conflict warranting such extraordinary powers tends to depend on this wide presidential discretion.

He cited the Supreme Courts ruling in David v. Arroyo that said the power is by and large a discretionary power solely vested on the
Presidents wisdom.

For which reason, emergency rule becomes fraught with opportunities for abuse; a gateway to constitutional shortcuts. Once emergency rule is
declared, the constitutional bonds are loosened that could create a window of opportunity for unrestricted power, he said.
La Via said the 1987 Constitution was designed with a pervading theme to do away with all possibilities of strongman rule, no doubt a painful
lesson of the Marcos dictatorship.

A Philippine soldier keeps watch at a blast site at a night market that has left several people dead and wounded others in southern Davao city,
Philippines late Friday Sept. 2, 2016. The powerful explosion in Philippine President Rodrigo Dutertes hometown in the southern Philippines
took place amid a security alert due to a major offensive against Abu Sayyaf militants in the region, officials said. (AP Photo/Manman Dejeto)

This design meant the creation of an intricate system of checks and balances that calls for Congress participation when the President can invoke
more serious powers such as emergency powers, the declaration of a state of war, or the imposition of martial law.

Not legally insignificant

Fr. Ranhilio Aquino, dean of San Beda College Graduate School of Law, said that while the declaration was nothing alarming neither is it
legally insignificant.

In a Facebook post, Aquino said it was a signal to the legislature that Mr. Duterte may ask for emergency powers.

Aquino said that while checkpoints have always been allowed in normal circumstances, the declaration means only that their usefulness
becomes more urgent now.

Does that allow police officers to search so thoroughly that they can forcibly open gloves and baggage compartment? No, but they can request
you to open these and it would be wise for one to cooperate, he said.

National Union of Peoples Lawyers secretary general Edre Olalia said that calling out the military to suppress lawless violence does not mean
the power to suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus or place the Philippines or any part [of it] under martial law.

La Via said the extraordinary powers of the President could be considered, at best, a necessary evil.

But he cautioned that extraordinary powers should only be invoked as a last resort.

It should never be considered normal, must never be lightly granted by Congress, and if the right case or controversy comes, the Supreme Court
have to scrutinize this carefully, he said.

While there exists the ever-present possibility of the slippery slope of frequently invoking emergency rule, La Via said: For now, [Mr.]
Dutertes declaration does not appear to lead us to that slope, but we must be vigilant.

This is not the first time a part of the Philippines has been placed under the state of lawless violence.

A state of emergency was mostly recently declared on April 2, 2003, by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, after two explosions rocked the
old Davao International Airport and the Sasa Wharf, killing 38 people and wounded a hundred others.

But, the 2003 declaration was limited to Davao City, unlike Saturdays declaration by Mr. Duterte, which covers the entire Philippines.
0

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) President Rodrigo Duterte's declaration of a state of lawless violence or lawlessness is the first in recent
Philippine history given its coverage.

A state of lawless violence was once declared in 2003 by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, but this was limited to Davao City.

President Duterte on early Saturday, September 3, said it was a nationwide declaration. He did not indicate if it's for a limited period of time only.

His presidential spokesman said the limit is such that "he can only call out the armed forces to suppress the lawless violence."

"It is a different case from the existence of invasion or rebellion," explained Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella in a statement. "Only if
there is invasion or rebellion, and when public safety requires it, can he (Duterte) suspend the writ of habeas corpus or declare martial law."

Hours after Duterte's statement, Malacaang officials clarified that the declaration only covered Mindanao. Yet, they changed their minds again
shortly past 10 am Saturday to stress that it's nationwide.

The Executive Secretary will be issuing a "definitive statement" on the matter on Saturday, they said.

An explosion hit the Roxas night market in Davao City Friday night, killing at least 14. (READ: Davao bombing: Man leaves backpack after
massage)

This prompted the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the military to declare a red alert nationwide.
Duterte assured the public that what he declared is not martial law and that there would be no suspension of the writ of habeas corpus.

What it simply means, he said, is that more soldiers and policemen will now be deployed, government will set up more checkpoints, and impose,
if needed, curfews in certain areas.

The 1987 Constitution allows the President to call on the armed forces "to prevent or suppress lawless violence."

Section 18, Article VII of the Philippine Constitution states: "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."

Duterte's declaration is similar to previous presidential declarations of state of emergency, lawyers told Rappler. (READ: Making sense of
Duterte's declaration of state of lawlessness)

Mildest form

It is the "mildest" of the 3 commander-in-chief powers of the President granted by the Constitution, they said.

The second and stronger power is the power to suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, which allows the state to arrest and jail anyone
without trial.

The 3rd and strongest power is to declare martial law.

Lawyers said that Duterte should be specific and formalize his declaration so that law enforcers are given strict parameters for its implementation.

"It is not the label of proclamation but the modalities of execution that characterizes the declaration," said a judge who spoke on condition of
anonymity.

Military, police visibility

Persida Acosta, chief of the Public Attorney's Office, told radio dzMM that more cops and soldiers will now be deployed in "vital posts, vital
areas," such as telecommunication towers.

"Makikita mo na hindi nasa barracks lang ang ating mga pulis at military," Acosta said. (You will see them operating outside the barracks.)

Curfews will be imposed when and where necessary, Acosta said.

Duterte himself already announced a lockdown in Davao City, allowing soldiers to search vehicles and people as government pursues the
perpetrators of the explosion.

PNP chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa said he took the order to mean that the police should help in "suppressing any form of lawlessness
such as terror attacks."

The PNP has ordered all units to be "on full alert," he told reporters in La Union on Saturday. He also stressed that authorities cannot simply
arrest anyone. "This is not martial law."

The PNP is already on full alert nationwide. "All RDs are directed to strengthen and fortify all police stations, detachments and camps to be
double alert. Likewise, coordinate with all intel and friendly units in your areas and exercise extreme caution in conducting checkpoints," Chief
Superintendent Camilo Pancratius Cascolan said in a memorandum to the PNP's regional directors.

Policemen in the mega capital were ordered to "set up checkpoints where deemed necessary and maximize security and presence in all vital
installations, malls, churches, MRT and LRT stations, and all places of convergence," according to PNP Metro Manila chief Chief Superintendent
Oscar Albayalde.

In a statement Saturday, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said they were ready to implement the Presidents declaration. The AFP is likewise
on full alert, especially in Metro Manila. (READ: AFP on heightened alert in Metro Manila)

"The continuing directive by the AFP chief of staff General Ricardo Visaya has been for our personnel to be vigilant and ready for any
eventuality," the statement added.

But Dela Rosa and Visaya also appealed for calm.

Arroyo's state of lawlessness in Davao City

The last time a Philippine president declared a state of lawless violence was in 2003, ironically in Davao City, a response of then President
Arroyo to bombings outside 3 mosques that had occurred hours before she was set to visit the city.
Arroyo's declaration, however, was limited to the city.

Arroyo also declared a nationwide state of emergency 3 years later, in February 2006 for a limited period of 7 days. Arroyo lifted it on March 3,
2006.

This was an offshoot of a failed coup attempt against her. The state of emergency had led, among others, to the revocation of all permits to hold
demonstrations and protests.

Earlier in May 2001, Arroyo declared a "state of rebellion" in Metro Manila following the attack of supporters of former president Joseph
Estrada, who was recently ousted at the time, on Malacaang, according to a Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism report.

After the December 1989 coup that came close to toppling her, the late president Corazon Aquino also declared a national emergency, the PCIJ
added.

The September 2, 2016 explosion at the Roxas night market in Davao City followed a series of gun battles in Sulu that have claimed the lives of
15 Army troops.

The President has pledged to wipe out the Abu Sayyaf, which is behind the spate of kidnappings in Western Mindanao and which has claimed
responsibility for the Davao explosion.

The military has already deployed about 8,000 troops in Sulu alone, the biggest provincial armed deployment by the state in years.
Rappler.com