EDITORIAL - Rule on it

Faced with criticism even from some of her Senate allies, President Arroyo lifted martial law the other day in Maguindanao. Her move saves her rubberstamp, the House of Representatives, from deciding if Proclamation 1959 should be revoked or extended amid a resolution passed by the majority of senators who considered the presidential order unconstitutional. Everyone expected the President’s House allies anyway to give Proclamation 1959 a standing ovation and perhaps even demand its extension until June 30, 2010.

Unlike congressmen, there’s another branch of government that can prove itself useful in promoting constitutional governance. The Supreme Court has been asked by several petitioners to declare the martial law proclamation unconstitutional. The government is expected to argue that with the lifting of Proclamation 1959, the petitions have been rendered moot and academic. Unlike Congress, the SC should not shirk its duty; it should rule on the petitions.

It won’t be the first time for the court. In 2006, the President also declared a “state of national emergency” amid continuing calls for her ouster. As criticism of the move mounted, Presidential Proclamation 1017 was lifted, and government lawyers asked the Supreme Court to dismiss petitions against the order. But the SC decided to rule on the petitions against the proclamation, noting that something “capable of repetition” should not evade the court’s review. “There is no guarantee that PP 1017, or one similar to it, may not again be issued,” the SC ruled. The court said 1017 had to be struck down “to prevent future constitutional aberrations.”

Last year, the SC also restrained the government from signing a memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Even after the government scrapped the MOA-AD, the SC still ruled that the deal was unconstitutional.

Now the SC is again faced with a challenge to define the boundaries of executive power. The court should rise to the occasion and uphold constitutional governance.