bam aquino on martial law extension in mindanao

Sen. Bam Aquino votes to reject Martial Law extension

Senator Bam Aquino voted to reject the government’s call to extend Martial Law in Mindanao because of the absence of actual rebellion now that firefighting in Marawi City has ceased.
 
Sen. Bam mentioned that in the deliberations of the 1987 Constitution, the framers used the word actual instead of imminent so as not to create confusion and not to give the President a wide latitude of discretion which may be abused.
 
Also, Sen. Bam believes that the one-year extension is too long, which could abrogate the Congress’ duty on check and balances, which is provided by the Constitution among the branches of government.
 
“One year seems unreasonable. It is akin to being indefinite as there are no clear milestones to reach and no distinct reasons for needing an entire year,” said Sen. Bam.
 
“The period of the original declaration is 60 days. Any extension should be reckoned in this light, so 1 whole year really seems grossly unreasonable,” said Sen. Bam.
 
Sen. Bam stressed that Martial Law is an extraordinary measure and that the military should not need Martial Law in order to function well and keep Mindanao secure.
 
“The reasons given by the Executive are persistent all over the country, not just in Mindanao. The logic used in the request for extension can easily be used to declare nationwide Martial Law,” warned Sen. Bam.

Bam on voting NO to 150-day ML extension

Humindi po ako sa extension na 150 days dahil sa tingin ko po, ang nararapat na extension ay 60 days lamang.

Tatlong tanong po ang naging paggabay sa akin upang makaabot sa desisyong ito. Unang una, makakaantala ba ang paglimita sa 60 days sa operations ng AFP at sa ating mga sundalo. Clearly Mr. President, hindi naman ito makakaantala sa kanila at buo naman ang suporta natin sa AFP from the beginning.

 Hindi lang po sa moral, hindi lang po sa budget kundi pati sa mga batas na kailangang amyendahan para matulungan po sila.

 Pangalawang tanong, ano ang nais ng 500,000 internally displaced Filipinos na nasa ibang siyudad at sa mga evacuation centers. Sa aking pagkaalam, gusto na nilang bumalik sa kanilang bahay.

 Ang tingin ko po, ang rehabilitation ay mas mainam na gawin sa ilalim ng civilian authority at hindi po sa ilalim ng Martial Law.

 Pangatlo, at siguro po pinakamahalaga sa ating desisyon ngayong hapong ito. Ang 60-day limitation ba ay makatutulong sa pagtaguyod ng demokrasya sa ating bansa? Ang sagot ko po diyan oo.

Unang-una, itinataguyod ang nararapat na check and balance ng co-equal branches of government na executive and legislative branch. Pangalawa, Congress will be able to fulfil its mandate and responsibility given to it in the Constitution in shorter intervals.

Mr. President, the presence of Martial Law in our country today puts our democracy in an unusual and unstable situation. Ngayon po na mayroon tayong Martial Law, hindi po ganoon katibay ang kinatatayuan ng ating demokrasya. Kaya po, ang pagpapasyang kailangang gawin natin, tayo ba ay magpapalakas sa ating demokrasya o tayo po ba ay gagawa ng mga desisyon na posibleng makapaghina dito. Siyempre po boboto tayo sa pagpapalakas at pagpapatibay ng ating demokrasya dahil mahirap na pong masanay.

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