GMA crossed the line, says Joker

With the issuance of Proclamation 1017 and the midnight raid on The Daily Tribune, President Arroyo has crossed the constitutional limits of what a president can do, Sen. Joker Arroyo said yesterday.

"Leaders fall when they tinker with the civil liberties of the people," Senator Arroyo said in a statement.

The government’s action in taking control of the Tribune amounts to "abridging the freedom of the press," he said, pointing out that the government has no power to approve or deny the publication of an existing newspaper or magazine, nor to close or watch over its operations.

"What if The Tribune writes seditious articles? The government can criminally charge the editors and writers with sedition. Or if The Tribune libels anyone, the aggrieved party can sue for libel the editor or writer. But the government cannot shut down or oversee the publication because it believes that the paper is committing acts of sedition or libel," Arroyo said.

He called on Mrs. Arroyo to order the Philippine National Police to withdraw from The Tribune, citing a provision in the Constitution that states that "no law shall be passed abridging the freedom of the press."

"Negatively phrased, it means that no law or action can be undertaken by the government that would amount to curtailment of the freedom of the press," Arroyo said.

He said the Philippines, for over a hundred years — except during the Japanese occupation and the martial law years — did not have press licensing nor prior censorship laws.

A would-be publisher simply registers his trade name and then proceed with publishing his newspaper or magazine, Arroyo said.

He warned Mrs. Arroyo that if she is pushing the limits of her powers, "she would be well advised not to trifle with the Bill of Rights," which remains in force since the Constitution provides that "a state of martial law does not suspend the operation of the Constitution."

"It follows that in the lesser case of a ‘state of emergency,’ the Bill of Rights is in full force," Arroyo said.

Arroyo was the lawyer of the National Press Club, Manila Overseas Press Club, and the Philippine Press Institute when martial law was imposed in 1972. He filed the first challenge to martial law on behalf of then detained journalists Joaquin "Chino" Roces, Teodoro Locsin Sr., Amando Doronila, Max V. Soliven, Johnny Mercado, Louie Beltran, Manuel Almario, Nap Rama, among other media people.