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MANILA ? Militant lawmakers will try to shoot down Proclamation 1959 in Congress today, even though they lack the numbers.
The bloc led by Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo said that should Congress and the Supreme Court conspire with the executive in supporting a ?patently?' unconstitutional order, ?we will have no choice but to appeal to the people to go to the streets not only to call for the revocation of martial law but to push for the immediate ouster of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.?
Ocampo and seven other lawmakers ? Teodoro Casiño and Neri Colmenares of Bayan Muna, Liza Maza and Luzviminda Ilagan of Gabriela, Rafael Mariano and Joel Maglunsod of Anakpawis and Raymond Palatino of Kabataan ? tore up and trashed a copy of the proclamation at a press conference in Quezon City.
The minority bloc counts no more than 40 members in the 268-strong House of Representatives (at least 146 votes or majority of the combined members of the House and Senate are needed to uphold the President's proclamation), the group pointed out.
But even if the Liberal Party, Nationalist People's Coalition and the Nacionalista Party as well as the entire 23-member Senate (Congress will vote jointly and separately on martial law) vote against the proclamation, they would not even reach the century mark.
?The President clearly has all the chips in her control, even the Supreme Court where at least eight members consistently vote for decisions that favor her administration,? said Colmenares in an interview after the press conference.
Ocampo said the President has been rewriting the rules to favor her extended stay in power. ?It will be a sad day for democracy if Congress conspires with this administration to trample on the Constitution,? he said.
He noted that President Marcos had to padlock Congress in 1972 just to railroad martial law. But now, the House leadership is a willing accomplice, according to Ocampo.
Ilagan said the President had two objectives in issuing the proclamation: to weaken the case against the Ampatuans in Mindanao from murder to rebellion, which would be eligible for bail and lay the groundwork for a declaration of martial law all over the country on a spurious basis.
Maza said the Ampatuans should be treated as suspects in a criminal case and not rebels. She said the declaration of martial law was timed with the Department of Justice's move to file charges of rebellion against the clan.
Colmenares said that the declaration of martial law was clearly a prelude to a no-election scenario in 2010. ?If the presence of armed men is the basis, then the government can claim that the presence of the NPA and MILF and MNLF in other areas would justify the declaration of martial law all over the country,? he said.
He cited a provision in the Omnibus Election Code, stating that the election shall be postponed if its conduct was not possible due to violence and terrorism. ?We are treading on very fertile ground for the declaration of martial law nationwide,? said Colmenares.
Maza said that the delay by Congress in convening a session ?smelled of a sinister plot? other than to keep the peace in Maguindanao.
?Congress must exert its check and balance power immediately, Speaker Prospero Nograles must stop making excuses,? said Maza who noted that the 48-hour countdown for the President to give its report to Congress should have started at 9 p.m. on Friday when it was signed and not on the first day of session on Monday.
The House and Senate are expected to hold a joint session on Tuesday and this early, Nograles said the majority of House members would support the President.
Ocampo said Nograles wanted to have at least one day to meet the President's allies in the House and come up with a consensus before the meeting on Tuesday.
The House has yet to receive a copy of the report of the President declaring martial law in Maguindanao.
?No written report yet. Maybe Monday (today) by lunch time,? Speaker Prospero Nograles said. /INQUIRER
