Court surrendered its power of review to Marcos and gave him carte blanche to continue his dictatorship.

It is gratifying that under the present Constitution that unlimited discretion is no longer permitted. The doctrine in Lansang
v. Garcia has been constitutionalized and, indeed, even strengthened in Section 18.

These are the limitations now laid down in Section 18 on the military powers of the President of the Philippines:

As commander-in-chief of all the armed forces of the Philippines, he can call them out, whenever necessary, to prevent or
suppress only lawless violence, invasion or rebellion.

He may suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus or proclaim martial law in case of invasion or rebellion only,
when the public safety requires it.

The suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus or the proclamation of martial law shall not exceed the period
of 60 days.

Within 48 hours after the suspension or proclamation, he must report his act to Congress in person or in writing.

If not in session at the time, Congress shall convene within 24 hours without need of a call.

Voting jointly, Congress may by a majority vote of all its members revoke the suspension or proclamation. The revocation
may not be set aside by the president. On the other hand, Congress may, in the same manner and by the same vote,
extend the suspension or proclamation for such period as it may determine.

Any citizen may challenge the suspension or the proclamation in appropriate proceedings before the Supreme Court. The
decision must be promulgated not later than 30 days after the filing of the petition.

Martial law shall not suspend the operation of the Constitution or supplant the civil courts and legislative assemblies, or
transfer jurisdiction over civilians to military tribunals while the civil courts are open. Neither shall it automatically suspend
the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus.

The suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall be applicable only to persons charged with rebellion or
offenses inherent in or directly connected with the invasion.

During the period of the suspension, any persons arrested for the said crimes must be judicially charged within three days,
otherwise they shall be released.

The determination of the existence of these grounds is no longer a political question, that is, one that only Congress or the
president can resolve. It is now expressly provided that the Supreme Court can decide the issue and thus review – and
even reverse – the acts of both the president and Congress.

The Supreme Court is mandated in another section of the Constitution to decide every case within two years, but the
challenge to the presidential acts in Section 18 cannot wait that long and must be decided within 30 days.
Significantly, any citizen may question the acts of the president before the Supreme Court. In most cases, his lack of proper
standing, or locus standi as lawyers call it, may cause the dismissal of the petition. But it is the Constitution itself that
considers him a proper party, or one directly injured or in imminent danger or being injured as a result of the challenged
act.

A Supreme Court decision rendered during the martial law era held that the proclamation of martial law automatically
suspended the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, but that case is no longer controlling. There is now a new rule in the
Bill of Rights that the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus does not suspend the right to bail.