It is dangerous to proceed in amending the Constitution either by constituent assembly or constitutional convention when we have a President who wants the legitimation of dictatorial powers.

All initiatives to amend the Constitution must be consigned to the backburner to assure that the dismantling of congressional and judicial safeguards on the presidential declaration of martial law will not be realized.

President Duterte’s unequivocal pronouncement for a return to a president’s absolute and sole authority to declare martial law and suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus betrays his authoritarian designs which must never be constitutionalized.

The power of Congress to revoke a presidential declaration of martial law and the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus as well as the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to review the factual basis of such declarations were mandated in the 1987 Constitution to preclude abuses curtailing civil and political rights like the unrestrained imposition of martial law without time limit.

EDCEL C. LAGMAN