Monday, December 7, 2009
President Arroyo Reports To Congress On Martial Law
As required by the 1987 Constitution, whenever the Martial Law Power is exercised, President Arroyo has submitted a written Report to Congress on the FACTUAL BASES for the Proclamation No. 1959 (Martial law in Maguindanao Province) which was signed by the president at 9pm Friday December 4, 2009. The Report essentially asserts that the Amapatuan Clan of that province are not just MASS MURDERERS, but somehow also rebels trying to overthrow the duly constituted government by depriving it of certain powers and prerogatives! It will be debated by both House and Senate of the Congress meeting in an historic Joint Session on Tuesday, December 8.
Why is the Senate agreeing to joint voting? According to the the Daily Tribune, the Senate can opt to vote separately:
ReplyDeleteThere is no reason for a joint session to result in a joint congressional vote, meaning that the vote of the House members will drown out the vote of the Senate, having some 23 votes only, to some 250 votes in the House, with a the majority of congressional members upholding Proclamation 1959.
There have been instances in the past where even in a joint session, the Senate vote was separate and distinct from the House vote.
To wit: During the 2004 post-election period while drafting the rules for the national canvassing, there was held a joint session, but voting on the rules was done separately. If it could be done then, why not now, especially as this would set a precedent from which the Senate will not be able to extricate itself, and which the administration will be utilizing to its advantage in the near future?
the section demands that it be joint voting...
ReplyDeletethe constitution says so.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the inputs, GabbyD and bluelabel.
ReplyDeleteI'm actually not looking into this issue further--just happened that the Daily Tribune discussed it. I say the ML in Maguindanao is another of the countless moro-moro acts under the Illegitimate.
For all we know, Gloria already told/relayed to the Ampatuans that she's just dancing to the music of the moment but ultimately, she'll see to it that they get acquitted or something.