REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES SENATE Pasay City Atty. Emma Lirio Reyes Senate Secretary For : HONORABLE SENATORS Date : December 8, 2009 Subject Letter of Executive Secretary Eduardo R. Ermita Re : President’s Report on Proclamation No. 1959 Per instruction of the Senate President, may we furnish the Honorable Senators a copy of the letter of Executive Secretary Eduardo R. Ermita dated 8 December 2009. The Executive Secretary seeks leave to substitute page 11 of the President’s Report on Proclamation No. 1959 with the attached document that reflects the corrections made on said page obtageOffice of the Executive Secretary 8 December 2009 ‘THE SENATE OF THE PHILIPPINES GSIS Bidg,, Financial Center, Roxas Blvd., Pasay City Attention: HON. JUAN PONCE ENRILE Senate President -and- HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Constitution Hills, Quezon City, Philippines 1126 Attention: HON. PROSPERO C. NOGRALES Speaker of the House Your Honors: In relation to the President's Report on Proclamation No. 1959 “Proclaiming a State of Martial Law and Suspending the Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus in the Province of Maguindanao, except for Certain Areas” pursuant to the provision of Section 18, Anticle VII of the 1987 Constitution, dated 06 December 2009, please be advised of the following clarification with respect to the word “separatist” as appearing in Page 11, 2" paragraph, viz:“More importantly, a separatist group based in ‘Maguindanao has joined forces with the Amparuans for this purpose.” The word “separatist” must be taken within the context of the entire Report vis-i-vis the on-going rebellion, that is “-- “separatist” refers to the group that has for its purpose the removal from the allegiance to the Government o its Jaws, the territory of the Republic of the Philippines or any part thereof, of any body of land, naval or other armed forces, or depriving the Chief Executive, wholly ot pattially, of any of her powers or prerogatives. In any case, in the interest of accuracy and to prevent any misunderstanding of the word “xparatist”, may we move to delete the entire sentence from the report and accordingly seck leave to substitute page 11 of the report with the attached document reflecting the cozrections made therein, ‘Thank you By Order of the President EDUARDO R. ERMITA Executive Secretaryexpeditious investigation, apprehension and prosecution of the lawless elements involved in the gruesome massacre. A day after the Proclamation, several witnesses surfaced and each positively identified Mayor Andal Ampatuan, Jr: as leader of the one hundred (100) armed men who carried out the ruthless carnage. ‘Thus, without any further delay, the government authorities held Mayor Andal Ampatuan, in their custody on November 26, 2009, and ctiminal charges for multiple murder were eventually filed against him by the Department of Justice ‘The capture of identified leader Mayor Andal Ampatuan, Jt. would have tesulted in the expeditious apprehension and prosecution of all others involved in the gruesome massacte, but situation proved the contrary. ‘The Ampatuan group, backed by a formidable group of armed followers, have since used their strength and political position to deprive the Chief Executive of het powet t0 enforce the law and to maintain public order and safety. ‘These are the facts: i, Local government offices in the province of Maguindanao were closed and ranking local government officials refused to discharge their functions, which hindered the