FOLLOWING the Supreme Court's (SC) dismissal of petitions against President Rodrigo Duterte's declaration of martial law in Mindanao on Tuesday, July 4, netizens shared mixed reactions through SunStar Philippines' official Facebook page.
As of Wednesday, July 5, after almost 24 hours since the SunStar Philippines' question about the SC ruling was posted, it received 123 reactions, 20 comments and three shares from Facebook users.
According to Johnson Yu Vender, only people from Mindanao and those directly affected by the martial law should have the right to comment about the matter.
"Other than them, let's regulate ourselves. Our freedoms are still intact," Vender added.
Dave Chua, meanwhile, joked that he is expecting "Oust Supreme Court" posts to appear sooner or later.
But despite the joke, Chua said if the country needs martial law, so be it.
"It is a necessity," he said.
Reynaldo Casayas said the SC’s dismissal of the petitions is a strong message to the terrorists that “they should not do anything bad to the Philippines because the government is united in crushing them.”
“This is a strong message to the anti-martial law rally groups that the Duterte administration’s aim in martial law is peace and order, and not power (and) greed,” Casayas said.
His comment was echoed and liked by Geraldine Beldee, who said “from now on, all anti martial law [should] shut up your nonsense big mouths up.”
Others expressed their agreement by commenting “agree” or “yes.”
Meanwhile, a netizen expressed great disagreement with the SC's dismissal.
According to James Benedict Florido, although the SC's decision was expected, he hoped logic, reason and the spirit of the law will prevail.
"With this decision by our Supreme Court, the final blow to our beloved country's economy and economic outlook has been sealed. The Philippines as a whole is now officially in a state of rebellion and fighting rebels. This decision has just raised Defcon (defense readiness condition) 4 in this country, while elevating the status of Isis (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) and Maute from terrorist group to legitimate rebel forces," Florido said.
Defcon is a United States warning system that describes the stages of readiness and is composed of five alert levels, with 5 as normal and 1 as maximum readiness.
On Tuesday, the SC voted to dismiss the petitions filed against President Rodrigo Duterte's declaration of martial law in Mindanao.
Three petitions were filed at the SC challenging Duterte's Proclamation 216, which has placed Mindanao under martial rule since May 23.
SC spokesperson Theodore Te said 11 members of the SC voted to dismiss the petitions, three voted to partially grant them, and one voted to grant them.
The Malacañang welcomed the SC decision and urged the full support and cooperation of the public while Bayan Muna secretary general Renato Reyes, one of the petitioners, was disappointed.
Having all of these in one plate, what can you say about the SC's decision? Take your stand on the matter and share to us your thoughts through our comment section. (Jo Ann Sablad/Ojharra Manlosa/SunStar Philippines)