QUEZON City, Philippines (Eagle News) — Opposition senators declared their support for a petition filed before the Supreme Court that sought for a joint session of Congress to review the martial declaration made by President Rodrigo Duterte for the whole of Mindanao.
Senator Francisco Pangilinan said that the factual basis for the declaration of martial law in Mindanao should be clear.
Pangilinan added that the opposition bloc did not file their own petition to avoid accusations of politicking, and to respect the voting in the Senate where they lost.
“While we chose not to file a petition after we failed to get the Senate to agree to a joint session, we support the effort to get a factual determination as to the grounds of the declaration,” Pangilinan said.
“It serves the highest public interest to have a matter as extraordinary as a martial law declaration to be thoroughly deliberated upon and decided by the Supreme Court,” he added.