Makabayan bloc fights 3rd Mindanao martial law extension at SC

The House of Representatives' progressive Makabayan bloc has asked the Supreme Court (SC) to nullify Congress' approval of the third extension of martial law in Mindanao.

In a petition filed Wednesday, the second official challenge to the extension, the opposition lawmakers asked the High Court to declare Congress' resolution extending military rule in Mindanao until December 31, 2019 unconstitutional.

They alleged there is "no sufficient factual basis" for the extension, which stemmed from a request by President Rodrigo Duterte that was favored by Congress in a majority vote last month.

The SC has already scheduled oral arguments for a similar petition by the Makabayan bloc's fellow opposition legislators from the "Magnificent 7" group on January 22 and 23. 

The SC upheld the first two extensions of martial law in the region, which was first declared when the Marawi siege broke out in May 2017 and subsequently prolonged on the basis of government claims that rebellion persists in the area.

Insisting on challenging the administration's move, however, the Makabayan bloc said the alleged rebellion by different terrorist and rebel groups in Mindanao does not endanger public safety in the way contemplated by the 1987 Constitution to justify martial law.

The group also argued that government claims of "reducing" or "weakening" rebels "negate any claim that public safety requires the continued implementation" of martial law in the region.

Instead of addressing rebellion, martial law is used by the government as a "tool for 'psywar,' to subject or supplant civilian authorities, to sustain economic gains, or to solve a long-running and complex socio-economic problem using a purely military solution," the group said, citing statements supposedly from the administration itself.

They also alleged that Congress failed to check the martial law powers of the president, and urged the SC to consider the impact on human rights in deciding whether or not to uphold the third extension of martial law in Mindanao.

The Makabayan bloc is composed of Bayan Muna Party-list Representative Carlos Zarate, Gabriela Women's Party Representatives Emmi De Jesus and Arlene Brosas, Anakpawis Representative Ariel Casilao, ACT Teachers Representatives Antonio Tinio and France Castro, and Kabataan Party-list Representative Sarah Jane Elago. — BM, GMA News