Supreme Court bind over Arroyo powers

Detained indefinitely, opposition leaders Maceda and Enrile ask the Supreme Court to bring them to trial

By CNN's Rufi Vigilar

MANILA, Philippines -- The Supreme Court of the Philippines is in a bind over the "state of rebellion" declared by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to justify the arrest of opposition leaders suspected of plotting to unseat her.

Philippine lawyers agree that Arroyo committed a legal blunder -- declaring a state of rebellion is not among three extraordinary powers granted by the Constitution to justify arrests without warrants.

The high tribunal received Thursday the cases of Senator Juan Ponce Enrile and former ambassador to Washington, Ernesto Maceda, who have been jailed indefinitely under the declaration.

Both oppositon leaders, suspected of provoking Estrada supporters into a violent clash with the police at the presidential palace Tuesday, are demanding to be brought to trial.

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, once a trial court judge, made a bid to resist arrest by filing before the high court a petition questioning Arroyo's declaration.

Embarrassment

The Supreme Court is in a dilemma over how to uphold constitutional law "without causing too much embarrassment for the president," said University of the Philippines law professor Harry Roque.

Santiago, once a trial court judge, said she'd rather die than be arrested

The court had sworn her in as president in January amid so-called "people power" protests that forced her predecessor, Joseph Estrada, to step down.

The court also ruled unanimously on her legitimacy as president in March, but Estrada continues to question this while languishing in jail since last week on a plunder charge.

Roque predicts a "likely scenario" wherein the Supreme Court would declare that the detention of two opposition leaders resulted from "wrongful arrest", but would remand the cases to a lower court for investigation.

Under the Constitution, the presidency has three extraordinary powers under which warrantless arrests are sanctioned: suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, declaration of martial law, and declaration of a state of emergency.

At best, Arroyo's declaration is "just a factual statement which would prove lawlessness and entitle Arroyo to call in the military, but not order warrantless arrests," Roque said.

National Security Adviser Roilo Golez agreed with Roque's assessment but added that lawyers tend to quibble on "semantics."

He stressed that the Department of Justice has issued its position that there was indeed a rebellion because of the "attack on Malacanang."

Rebellion defined

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), the largest national association of lawyers, condemned Arroyo's declaration in a position paper issued Wednesday, defining rebellion as such:

"A public uprising and the taking up of arms against the government for the purpose of removing from the allegiance to said government or its laws, the Philippine territory or any part thereof, or any body of land, naval, or other armed forces, or to deprive the Chief Executive of Congress, wholly or partially, of any of their powers or prerogative."

The opposition contends that pro-Estrada demonstrators who marched on the palace Tuesday were armed only with rocks.

The government says that knives and "sumpak" -- homemade guns -- were found in their possession.

The IBP also warned that Arroyo's declaration "is obviously a prelude to, and justification for, a declaration of martial law or a suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus" -- which keeps those arrested in jail without a trial.

The lawyers' group believes the Arroyo government could have maintained law and order without resorting to warrantless arrests.

"The Constitution and the rule of law cannot be twisted or manipulated to serve partisan ends," the IBP statement said.

Political, legal tussles

If the Supreme Court rules that the Arroyo government made wrongful arrests, it would pave the way for victims to file cases against President Arroyo when her term is over.

Arroyo is taking over the remainder of Estrada's term until 2004, but is widely perceived to run for a fresh six-year presidential term before then.

"She has opened herself to suit," said Roque. "There are civil and criminal sanctions for violations of human rights."

A ruling against Arroyo may also undermine the ruling party's chances in national and local elections on May 14.

Tuesday's violent dispersal is sure to further inflame supporters of Estrada, who ascended to the presidency in 1998 with the largest majority vote in election history.

Most of the supporters who marched on Malacanang belonged to powerful religious voting blocs, the Iglesia ni Cristo and El Shaddai, which had supported Estrada's presidential campaign.

If candidates of Estrada's political party maintain the majority of seats in the Senate and the House of Representatives in the coming polls, the Arroyo government would be standing on shaky ground.

The people suspected of orchestrating an attempt to storm the Philippines' presidential palace planned to kill President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her jailed predecessor, Joseph Estrada, the justice secretary said Thursday.

Hernando Perez said that would have allowed them to take over the country.

Perez warned that the worst may not be over and the current calm may only be the eye of the storm.

Afterwards, Arroyo declared a "state of rebellion" and ordered 11 opposition leaders arrested for allegedly orchestrating the unrest.

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