The Philippine Supreme Court yesterday threw out as unconstitutional a government order that allows the police force to break up nonviolent opposition rallies, in an apparent blow to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's administration.
The justices voted 13-0 to declare the "calibrated pre-emptive response" unconstitutional, saying it violates the freedom of assembly.
The order was imposed last September as Arroyo faced mounting opposition rallies after she escaped an impeachment bid on vote-rigging and corruption allegations.
"The so-called calibrated pre-emptive response policy has no place in our legal firmament and must be struck down as a darkness that shrouds freedom. It merely confuses our people and is used by some police agents to justify abuses," the court said.
The court upheld a 21-year-old law on public assemblies, which requires organizers to secure a permit for rallies in public places. But it also gave local governments 30 days to designate "freedom parks" where demonstrations can be held without a permit under the same 1985 law.
Arroyo's chief of staff, Michael Defensor, said the administration respects the ruling, but that the solicitor general would study a possible appeal. He said it was in line with the government position that there should be clear guidelines during protests to protect demonstrators and those who will be inconvenienced.
"What we are guarding against is the presence of possible saboteurs who might infiltrate the ranks of demonstrators and create trouble which later may be blamed on the government," metropolitan Manila police chief Vidal Querol told reporters.
Police have banned and violently dispersed virtually all public assemblies without a permit since September.
The opposition has been mobilizing thousands of supporters in a bid to force Arroyo to resign, but the crowds haven't matched the hundreds of thousands who took part in "people power" revolts that ousted two presidents in the last two decades.
Arroyo has denied any wrongdoing.
One of those questioning the legality of the government's order, the left-wing group Bayan, hailed the ruling as a partial victory.
"This ruling may be lacking to stop the abuses by the Philippine National Police. It might not stop violent dispersal," Bayan said in a statement. "Just the same, we scored a victory against Arroyo."
Last week, the Supreme Court struck down portions of Arroyo's order that banned officials from testifying in Congress without her approval.
The order angered the opposition and Arroyo's critics who accused her of trying to cover up her wrongdoing. The order also banned bureaucrats, police and military officers from appearing for congressional investigations without Arroyo's written consent.
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