Hindi gaya ni Emperor Nero si Pangulong Duterte na papayagang basta na lamang gumuho ang Roma. Sa ganitong pagkukumpara ipinagtangggol kahapon ni Solicitor General Jose Calida ang kapangyarihan ng Presidente na magdeklara ng martial law kahit pa hindi ito alinsunod sa mga panuntunan ng Konstitusyon.
Si Duterte “cares so much” sa bansa at magdedesisyon siya para sa kapakanan ng mga Pilipino kung mayroong “clear and present danger”, gaya ng paglala ng krimen at pagsiklab ng kaguluhan, ayon kay Calida.
“When it is already the life of the country that is at stake, the lives of citizens of this country, the President will not stand by just like Nero and let Rome burn,” sinabi ni Calida sa press conference sa Malacañang kahapon. “If it is really necessary, the fate of our country hangs on the balance and nobody moves, under the Constitution, the President is the one who executes the law.”
Binanggit ni Calida na maaaring magdeklara ng batas military ang Pangulo kahit pa tutol dito ang Korte Suprema, kung nakataya na ang kapakanan ng mamamayan.
Archdiocese of Manila, hindi mag-eendorso ng kandidato sa eleksyon
“When there is really a clear and present danger to our country and nobody will help the President do his job as the father of the nation, then he will not allow his family so to speak, us Filipinos, to suffer because of the inability or unwillingness of certain functionaries to do what is right for the country,” paliwanag ni Calida.
Binigyang-diin ng SolGen: “The welfare of the people is the supreme law.”
“In fact, during the 1986 EDSA Revolution, if you notice, there was no martial law declared but there was a change in government. It was an extra-Constitutional movement that changed the government. Why? Because probably during that time, there was really a need to do so,” dagdag pa niya. (Genalyn D. Kabiling)
