STATEMENT OF SEN. PANGILINAN ON PRES. DUTERTE'S
MARTIAL LAW COMMENT

The President may be joking because an order to disobey a legal order or a decision of the Supreme Court is against the Constitution.

Let us work together. In light of the latest exchange of words between President Rodrigo Duterte and Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno, we reiterate our call to convene the Joint Judicial, Executive, and Legislative Advisory and Consultative Council (JJELACC).

Instead of this word war between the two branches of government and in response to the spate of extrajudicial killings, we should focus on working together to coordinate efforts at modernizing our judiciary and system of justice.

The Philippine justice system is antiquated and crying out for reforms. The current situation of extrajudicial killings is really an indictment of the justice system of our country -- slow and unresponsive up to a certain degree. That's why we reiterate our call for the creation of JJELACC.

Let all three branches of government come together to address issues and challenges to the rule of law.

Word war is not good for our constitutional democracy.