IT EVOKED shades of Ferdinand Marcos' martial law edict.
The Supreme Court yesterday declared unconstitutional the arrests of protesters, the forcible breakup of rallies, and the raid on a newspaper office that were carried out by security forces in accordance with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's proclamation declaring a state of emergency in February.
Voting 11-3, the court upheld the power of Ms Arroyo to declare a state of emergency and call on the Armed Forces to suppress lawless violence under Presidential Proclamation No. 1017. At the same time, however, the tribunal ruled as illegal a clause in PP 1017 giving herself authority to issue decrees.
This is the third time in three weeks that the high court found GMA and her minions violating the people's most basic rights, enshrined in the Constitution that she desperately wants to change (Gee, I wonder why). At least, this time, she can sleep knowing that the voting was not unanimous unlike the previous two (14-0 and 13-0). Nevermind hara-kiri, if this was Baseball, she would have already struck out. Swinging.
