Congress debate on martial law moved to Wednesday

The expected showdown of Arroyo allies and critics over the martial declaration in Maguindanao province has been moved from Tuesday to Wednesday. This was agreed upon by leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives after a three-hour meeting late Monday night at the EDSA Shangrila Hotel in Mandaluyong City. Congress leaders who attended the meeting said this is to give more time for the formulation of rules that will govern the joint session in tackling Proclamation 1959 - the first martial law declaration after the late President Ferdinand Marcos imposed the same thing on a nationwide scale more than 30 years ago. Technical working groups from the two chambers have until Tuesday afternoon to draft the rules for a joint session, which will then be adopted when the two parties convene on Wednesday afternoon at the Batasang Pambansa Complex in Quezon City. "We are very careful on how we will proceed," said Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, noting that the rules will set a precedent for the future if a chief executive imposes martial law again. Invited to attend the joint session are Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera, Armed Forces chief Gen. Victor Ibrado, Interior and Local Secretary Ronaldo Puno, and National Police chief Director General Jesus Verzosa. "Somebody has to present the report," said House Majority Leader Arthur Defensor Sr., referring to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's report on Proclamation 1959, which was co-signed by Ermita and delivered to the two chambers late Sunday night.

10 hours to interpellate During the meeting, the two parties agreed to have a panel of interpellators each in the joint session, the number and composition of which will depend on each chamber. Each chamber will be given 10 hours to interpellate without extension. "We will not be allowing unlimited debates," Defensor said. After the period of interpellation, there will be a motion for revocation of the controversial proclamation. Defensor said they expect to come up with a decision by Monday next week at the earliest. "This could take a few days. Hindi naman ito kaagad matatapos ng isang araw (We cannot finish this in just one day)," he said. He, however, assured that a decision would be out before Congress goes on recess on December 18 for its Christmas break. At least 18 senators, including Arroyo ally Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, have already signified their intention to vote against Proclamation 1959. At the House two resolutions revoking Proclamation 1959 have been filed: House Resolution 1528 by Akbayan Representatives Risa Hontiveros Baraquel and Walden Bello, and Joint Resolution 52 by the progressive party-list bloc. This page requires a higher version browser
Numbers game Despite this, allies of President Arroyo at the House are expected to outnumber those who are against the martial law proclamation even with the inclusion of senators. The 1987 Constitution grants Congress the power to revoke a martial law proclamation by majority vote, or 147 votes to be exact. At present, the House has 268 members, most of whom are allies of the administration, while the Senate has 23. House Speaker Prospero Nograles, a lawyer from Mindanao, has sided with the Proclamation 1959 since day one. "With those evidence leading toward lawlessness and stoppage of the function of the government, you mean to say the government would just sit and wait?" he said. Bayan Muna Rep. Teodoro Casiño, meanwhile, saw the outcome of Monday's meeting as a delaying tactic. "Nograles should have tasked people to draft rules as soon as martial law was declared [last Friday]," he said. Bayan Muna was included in the party-list bloc that filed a resolution against Proclamation 1959. - KBK, GMANews.TV