The Supreme Court, voting 11-3-1, has declared President Rodrigo Duterte’s Proclamation No. 216 or “Declaring a state of martial law and suspending the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in the whole of Mindanao” constitutional. There was no grave abuse on the part of Duterte when he declared martial law and there was sufficient factual basis for Proclamation No. Only Justice Marvic Leonen presented a dissenting opinion and favored the petitions to junk martial law. On the other hand, Chief Maria Lourdes Aranal-Sereno, Justices Antonio Carpio, and Benjamin Caguioa, ruled to partly grant the petitions and limit the territorial coverage of martial law to certain geographical areas only and not the entire Mindanao.

Source: Manila Times July 04, 2017 05:03 UTC