These fears have intensified recently as the Philippines is on the brink of buying $2 billion worth of attack helicopters and munitions from the United States, drawing criticism from rights groups worried the military intends to use the weapons against political critics. Duterte also attacked his critics, vowing to “identify Filipinos who have done nothing criticize and find fault because they want to be heard by the public.”ĭuterte’s broadsides against critics – especially those he alleges to be communists – have since escalated, leading observes to accuse him of setting the stage for a declaration of martial law. Days before that, the president had warned of martial law-style enforcement if people were not compliant with social distancing and curfew orders. In April, he threatened military rule after accusing New People’s Army (NPA) communist rebels of disrupting government aid. Harry Roque, Duterte’s current spokesperson, said the comments were merely Panelo’s personal opinion, while Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., who had flirted with the idea on Twitter, said he had merely “had fun taking the idea of infection as invasion as far as I could take it.” Eduardo Año, the interior secretary and a former military chief of staff, also agreed with the justice department, saying Panelo’s theory was “just a joke.”īut it was not the first time Duterte administration officials had toyed with the idea of declaring martial law during a COVID-19 response the United Nations has criticized as “highly militarized.” Duterte himself has done it several times. The country’s justice department rejected Panelo’s theory the next day, saying COVID-19 does not fit the constitutional provision allowing the president to declare martial law in the event of an “invasion” – by foreign armed forces – or “rebellion” – a domestic armed uprising. Salvador Panelo, the former Philippine presidential spokesperson, went beyond mere metaphors earlier this month and advanced an extraordinary theory: The coronavirus, he said, constitutes an “invasion,” giving President Rodrigo Duterte the legal standing to declare martial law. As the world has responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, many leaders have used the language of “war” to define the enormity of our new reality and set the stage for a heroic response.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |