“Spelling nga, magkaiba na, meaning pa kaya?”
The quote above was quite ‘gasgas’, used by those who compose romance-comedy lit or hugot memes. But let me apply it to something political. President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration of state of national emergency (SNE) is making a lot of buzz, especially among civilians. He imposed this after the tragic bombing at the Roxas night market in Davao City, Friday September 2. Half of the people are panicking because they believe it’s similar to martial law, the other half doesn’t. To clear all doubts and confusion, this article will point out the basic definition and the differences of the two– and when does each of these measures should be proclaimed.
Law experts define state of national emergency simply as “the authority of the President limited only to summoning of the armed forces to assist in the suppression of lawless violence, invasion or rebellion through ordinary police action. Anything beyond of this is considered illegal.” In short, it is declared just to wipe out lawless elements (ex. terrorism, bombing) and to stop it from spreading all over the country. What’s wrong with that?
On the other hand, martial law is “declared either when there is near-violent civil unrest or in cases of major natural disasters. The imposition of martial law accompanies curfews, the suspension of civil law, civil rights, habeas corpus, and the application or extension of military law or military justice to civilians.”
Unlike martial law, state of national emergency doesn’t suspend any rights nor the writ of habeas corpus. In the case of military, they would only take full control during martial law, but not in SNE.
There are no “communist threats” or “coup” ongoing to declare martial law. The spate of killings in the past two months, rampant criminality, terrorism and the problem with the Abu Sayyaf– these are the grounds used by President Duterte for declaring SNE. It is simply a measure that beefs up the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) and PNP (Philippine National Police)in their operations. No abductions or tortures mentioned.
Instead of panicking and worrying, we should be thankful that we have an administration who knows the actual condition of our country– and knows both prevention and cure. Unlike those monkeys in the past who just sat in the throne and pretended not to see the tragedies of the ones they called “mga boss”.
If we really want ‘change’, we should cooperate with our government. Do not let that always-against-those-above attitude reign. Revolts had stricken our country for centuries, and yet there’s still no peace nor progress achieved. Why don’t we just give obedience a chance?
Remember, kings are made by people.
(written by Rex Felix C. Salvador, edited by Jay Paul Carlos, additional research by Vince Alvin Villarin)