Presidential Chief Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile on Wednesday said the 1987 Constitution removed a key provision in two previous constitutions concerning when martial law can be declared.

Enrile, defense secretary under the late President Ferdinand Marcos, Sr., told the Senate constitutional amendments panel that the 1987 Constitution which omits the phrase “imminent danger thereof”, found in the 1935 and 1973 Constitutions, has ruined the martial law provision.

“Until now, the 1987 Constitution is making our country suffer,” Enrile said, referring to the Constitution under the late President Cory Aquino.

Enrile said: “Cory said that the only time you can declare martial law was when there’s war and the soldiers and the police are already getting shot. That can’t be.”

“What the 1935 and the 1973 Constitution state is that if you see and you are sure and have decided that your country is in peril, or if it will be invaded or destroyed by an insurrection or rebellion, you have to make a move. Use an iron fist to eliminate that problem so that there will be no deaths because of your fear of making a decision,” he added.

Wednesday marked the 50th anniversary of the declaration of martial law.

Enrile said martial law was the “government’s instrument for peace, security, and tranquility”.

He urged the panel to go back to the 1935 Constitution which he deemed the best because it was “concise, brief and easy to understand.”

“Go back. That is my preference. I am not binding anybody. Go back to the 1935 Constitution. Or at the very least, if we want to change it immediately, go to the 1973 Constitution,” Enrile said.

Marcos Sr. declared on television that he was placing the whole country under martial law to address the “communist threat” posed by the Communist Party of the Philippines (CCP) and the Mindanao Independence Movement (MIM). Jaspearl Tan/DMS