The undue delay in the preparation and enrollment of the joint resolution extending martial law in Mindanao could be deliberate and premeditated.

Why approve with inordinate haste the extension just to foot-drag the preparation for enrollment of the requisite joint resolution?

As admitted by Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas “since the resolution will take effect on Jan. 1 there is no need to rush it”. In fact, Senate sources revealed that as of December 21, 2017 the resolution was “still with the Office of Majority Leader Fariñas.”

The patent design is to deprive challengers of the extension from attaching in their petitions before the Supreme Court the required certified true copy of the enrolled joint resolution.

As the delay progresses, aggravated by the ensuing holidays, the effectivity of the extension on January 1, 2018 will soon set in.

Once the extension becomes effective, any petition or prayer for the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) or a writ of preliminary injunction may be mooted.

EDCEL C. LAGMAN