Political Law; Constitutional Law; Executive Department; Powers; Military Powers

The President shall be the Commander-in-Chief of all armed forces of the Philippines and whenever it
becomes necessary, he may call out such armed forces to prevent or suppress lawless violence,
invasion or rebellion. In case of invasion or rebellion, when the public safety requires it, he may, for a
period not exceeding sixty days, suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus or place the
Philippines or any part thereof under martial law. Within forty-eight hours from the proclamation of martial
law or the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, the President shall submit a report in
person or in writing to the Congress. The Congress, voting jointly, by a vote of at least a majority of all its
Members in regular or special session, may revoke such proclamation or suspension, which revocation
shall not be set aside by the President. Upon the initiative of the President, the Congress may, in the
same manner, extend such proclamation or suspension for a period to be determined by the Congress, if
the invasion or rebellion shall persist and public safety requires it.

The Congress, if not in session, shall, within twenty-four hours following such proclamation or
suspension, convene in accordance with its rules without need of a call.

The Supreme Court may review, in an appropriate proceeding filed by any citizen, the sufficiency of the
factual basis of the proclamation of martial law or the suspension of the privilege of the writ or the
extension thereof, and must promulgate its decision thereon within thirty days from its filing.

A state of martial law does not suspend the operation of the Constitution, nor supplant the functioning of
the civil courts or legislative assemblies, nor authorize the conferment of jurisdiction on military courts
and agencies over civilians where civil courts are able to function, nor automatically suspend the
privilege of the writ.

The suspension of the privilege of the writ shall apply only to persons judicially charged for rebellion or
offenses inherent in or directly connected with invasion.

During the suspension of the privilege of the writ, any person thus arrested or detained shall be judicially
charged within three days, otherwise he shall be released. [Sec. 18, Art. VII, 1987 Constitution]

The commander-in-chief provision in the Constitution is denominated as Section 18, Article VII, which
begins with the simple declaration that “[t]he President shall be the Commander-in-Chief of all armed
forces of the Philippines x x x” Outside explicit constitutional limitations, such as those found in Section 5,
Article XVI, the commander-in-chief clause vests on the President, as commander-in-chief, absolute
authority over the persons and actions of the members of the armed forces. Such authority includes the
ability of the President to restrict the travel, movement and speech of military officers, activities which
may otherwise be sanctioned under civilian law. [Gudani v. Senga, G.R. No. 170165, August 15, 2006]
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The reason for this rule was best explained by the Court in another case, there it held that, “[I]t cannot be
gainsaid that certain liberties of persons in the military service, including the freedom of speech, may be
circumscribed by rules of military discipline. Thus, to a certain degree, individual rights may be curtailed,
because the effectiveness of the military in fulfilling its duties under the law depends to a large extent on
the maintenance of discipline within its ranks.” [Kapunan v. Villa, G.R. No. 83177, December 6, 1988]

The President also has the power of calling-out the military. In one case, President Arroyo issued
Presidential Proclamation No. 1017 proclaiming a state of national emergency, this was supported by the
Solicitor General’s comment and Memorandum showing a detailed narration of the events leading to the
declaration. The Court held that absent any contrary allegations, the Court is convinced that the
President was justified in issuing the proclamation, calling for military aid. Indeed, judging from the
seriousness of the incidents, President Arroyo was not expected to simply fold her arms and do nothing
to prevent or suppress what she believed was lawless violence, invasion or rebellion. However,
Presidential Proclamatton1017 as declared unconstitutional insofar as it grants the President the
authority to promulgate decrees, because legislative power is peculiarly within the province of Congress.
[David v. Macapagal-Arroyo, G.R. No. 171396, May 3, 2006]

When the President calls out the armed forces to suppress lawless violence, rebellion or invasion, he
necessarily exercises a discretionary power solely vested in his wisdom. The Court cannot overrule the
President’s discretion or substitute its own. The only criterion is that, “whenever it becomes necessary”,
the President may call out the armed forces. [Integrated Bar of the Philippines v. Zamora, G.R. No.
141284, August 15, 2000] In essence, the President has discretionary authority to declare a state of
rebellion. The Court may only look into the suffieciency of the factual basis for the exercise of the power.
However, mere declaration of a state of rebellion cannot diminish or violate constitutionally protected
rights. [Sanlakas v. Reyes, G.R. No. 159085, February 3, 2004]

The President also has the power to organize courts martial for the discipline of the members of the
armed forces, create military commissions for the punishment of war criminals. [Ruffy v. Chief of Staff,
G.R. No. L-533, August 20, 1946] But military tribunals cannot try civilians when civil courts are open
and functioning. [Olaguer v. Military Commision No. 34, G.R. No. L-54558, May 22, 1987]

[see Lagman vs. Medialdea, G.R. No. 231658 and G.R.No. 231771 and G.R. No. 231774, July 4,
2017]

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