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Arroyo opponents quiz legitimacy of emergency order

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's declaration of a state of emergency may have quashed the latest alleged coup plan, but the flak it has drawn may resonate long after the current crisis has cleared.

Critics and allies alike have slammed Proclamation 1017 as unconstitutional and a declaration of de facto martial law without safeguards as provided by the constitution, including obtaining congressional approval within 48 hours.

"She has purposely avoided the term martial law, but the powers that she is now using are those of martial law," Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel said.

There also are concerns that a string of warrantless arrests, a ban on rallies, a raid on a critical newspaper and police threats of issuing guidelines for media reporting are jeopardizing political freedoms, muzzling the press and fanning unrest.

But presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye countered, "This is a crackdown on anarchy and disorder, not on freedoms."

Arroyo promised on Wednesday to lift the state of emergency once Cabinet officials assure her that the government is fully in control of the situation. That failed to mollify critics.

"It should have been lifted yesterday, not in the next 48 or 72 hours. It should not have been declared at all," House Minority Leader Francis Escudero said.

"[Arroyo] should still show proof and explain to the people why she ordered it in the first place," opposition Representative Joel Villanueva added.

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments next week on four challenges to Arroyo's decree, which she said was meant to thwart a coup plot by the opposition, communist rebels and military adventurists.

Resolutions were also filed in Congress condemning and seeking to revoke the declaration.

"This proclamation is no different from the proclamations issued by President Ferdinand Marcos during martial law in his attempt to stay in power," said a statement by the Counsels for the Defense of Liberties, a lawyers group.

It said "a state of emergency" isn't listed in the section of the constitution that Arroyo invoked, and nothing says a "state of emergency" grants her additional powers.

Even her armed forces chief of staff was a bit confused. In media statements the day after Arroyo's proclamation, General Generoso Senga referred to it several times as Proclamation 1081 -- Marcos' martial law declaration.

Marcos ruled for 20 years, 14 under martial law. Arroyo's declaration fell on Feb. 25, the 20th anniversary of the day that Marcos left for exile amid a "people power" revolt.

Left-wing Representative Crispin Beltran, a union leader who led anti-Marcos protests, was arrested on Saturday for rebellion based on an arrest warrant issued by the Marcos regime in 1985 in a case dismissed more than a decade ago, his lawyer said.

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales admits the government never entertained declaring martial law because it was convinced such a measure "would not pass a hostile Senate."

Arroyo based her proclamation on a section of the constitution that says the president, as the commander in chief of the armed forces, "may call out such armed forces to prevent or suppress lawless violence, invasion or rebellion."

She also cited a section that says: "In times of national emergency ... the state may ... temporarily take over or direct the operation of any privately owned public utility or business affected with public interest."
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