Dangerous argument
EDITORIAL |
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In the matter of the amnesty grant, neophyte senator, TG Guingona, was quoted as saying that while the military rebels violated the law, in the view of many, they were following the law.
He explains that the Constitution provides that the President of the Philippines shall be elected by the people. Gloria Arroyo, now a representative in Congress, was not elected. “She cheated her way to the elections, therefore she had no legitimate claim to the Office of the President...therefore it was incumbent upon the officers of the Armed Forces to remove the usurper who has no legitimate claim on the office of the presidency. They (the mutineers) were acting in compliance, and not in defiance of the Constitution.”
That’s a pretty dangerous line of thought embraced by a senator of the republic, as it virtually gives the AFP officers and men carte blanche to rebel against a Malacañang tenant and his government anytime they are of the belief that the sitting president is a usurper and has not been elected by the people.
Stated differently, staging a coup or a mutiny is no longer a crime but a constitutional act, following Guingona’s argument..... MORE
Source: The Daily Tribune
URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20101020com1.html