If imminent
threat to national security no longer exists
VP NOLI: STUDY
LIFTING OF PP 1017
01 March 2006
Consistent
with his earlier statement that a state of national emergency is
justified for
as long as there is an imminent threat to national security, Vice
President
Noli ‘Kabayan’ De Castro called for the lifting of Presidential
Proclamation
No. 1017.
The
Vice President said that from his personal observation of the current
situation, PP 1017 may no longer be necessary as the emergency no
longer
exists.
He
pointed out that the security alert levels had been downgraded, and
that
whatever emergency the country faced, it had come to pass last weekend.
Sa
personal kong obserbasyon, ang sinasabing emergency ay lumipas na nung
nakaraang lingo. Ang sitwasyon ng bansa ay parang isang pasyente
sa
emergency room. Kapag nagstabilize na ang kondisyon ng pasyente,
dapat na
siyang alisin sa ER at ilipat sa ordinaryong kuwarto.
But
De Castro pointed out that the final decision would still come from the
President
who gets classified information on the security situation of
the
country.
This
information, for security reasons, is not available to the public and
even to
high public officials. The Vice President added that he continues
to
respect the power and prerogative of the President
to take whatever
measure is
necessary for the best interest of the Filipino people.