LAWMAKERS on Sunday reacted with alarm to the threat of President Rodrigo Duterte that he may suspend the writ of habeas corpus not only to stop rebellion in Mindanao, but also to strengthen the government’s campaign against illegal drugs. In a speech in Davao City on Friday night, Duterte said he was considering suspending the writ as it is among the constitutional provisions “intended to protect the Republic of the Philippines.”

“If lawlessness spreads, I might be forced to — I don’t want, it’s a warning but I don’t want to do it because it doesn’t look good – but if you force my hand into it, I will declare the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus,” he said at the launching of Pilipinong May Puso Foundation Inc. Sen. Panfilo Lacson, meanwhile, wanted to know if the declaration of a “State of Emergency on Account of Lawless Violence in Mindanao” in September was a prelude to the President’s plan to suspend the writ of habeas corpus. “Besides, the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus will only be a farce because the carcass of victims of extrajudicial killings may not be brought anyway before the courts even without the suspension since the privilege of the writ demands the judicial presentation of the live bodies,” he added. The President said he had “no remedy” to the drug and terrorism problems, citing the attacks waged in Mindanao by the Maute terror group, which was tagged in the September 2 Davao City blast. “I will bring them to Samal, and put a hole in the middle so that it would sink and take them with it. They should choose,” he warned. Palace Communications chief Martin Andanar echoed Panelo’s claims, arguing that the President’s warning was prompted by his concern over the unabated drug problem. ADVERTISEMENT

According to Mr. Duterte, he would declare the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus “if you don’t give me a choice and you box me in a corner and I find myself helpless.”

He stressed that the suspension of the writ was in the Constitution to protect the Republic of the Philippines. “Those are really provisions intended to protect the Republic of the Philippines. I can be ordered by the Supreme Court to stop it but there are things that they cannot, and maybe, I will not, stop,” Duterte said. Whatever, I will tell them I will finish this first, then I can go to jail,” he added. “The President has spent a lot of time talking about his sheer determination to stop illegal drugs in the country for the rest of his term. The writ of habeas corpus refers to the power of the courts to require the state to produce a person in custody. Under the Constitution, the suspension of the privilege of the writ is only allowed with respect to “persons judicially charged for rebellion or offenses inherent in or directly connected with invasion.”

Once suspended, authorities will have the power to arrest anyone without a warrant.
Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte threatens to suspend the country's habeas corpus "if forced to" by what he says the worsening lawlessness in the country. He mentioned in the same speech, the alleged widespread illegal drug trade in the country, the rebellion in Mindanao, and the worsening campaign against the militant Maute group.