By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Bishop of Bacolod Patricio Buzon yesterday slammed President Rodrigo R. Duterte for saying he will not honor whatever decisions made by the Supreme Court or Congress on the state of Martial Law he recently declared over the island of Mindanao.
“I think he is in trouble if he talks like that. He is not above the law. He’s not the Messiah,” said Buzon in a scathing rebuke of the language employed by the President.
Buzon added the Diocese of Bacolod is strongly against the imposition of martial law in Mindanao, adding they will see if President Rodrigo Duterte will stick to the 60-day limit, as prescribed by the Constitution.
The Bishop hopes Duterte will not use the incident in Mindanao or his war on illegal drugs as a reason to extend martial rule to the rest of the country.
Buzon also appealed for help for the families affected by violence in Marawi City by dropping off relief aid to the diocesan social action center.
Likewise, Wennie Sancho, secretary general of General Alliance of Workers Association (GAWA), said Martial Law is being questioned amid allegations that Duterte issued the declaration unilaterally without the recommendation of top security officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
“Every Filipino have the right to question the validity of Martial Law in Mindanao because they have the right to participate in the decision-making process that affects their welfare and security,” he said.
GAWA is in favor of convening a joint session of the Senate and the House of Representative in order to determine the validity of Martial Law and to decide whether it should be revoked or not.
“The people deserve to know and the people shall be the judge,” he added./WDJ