And of course that is the wrong answer because you do not use martial law to crack down on crack and other pernicious substances! Or perhaps, it was the truthful answer, and the wrong reason for asking for an extension of martial law. That was raising the fundamental question of constitutional law and political theory: Exactly what, under the 1987 Constitution, is the legal effect of martial law? That cannot be a plausible reading because there is no way of predicting that the emergency that requires martial law will be resolved within 60 days. Then, the issue was whether or not there were indeed factual bases for the exercise of the twin emergency powers—declaring martial law and suspending the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus.

Source: The Standard July 23, 2017 16:06 UTC