MANILA – Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson on Wednesday said the ability of government critics to freely assail the administration undermines claims that the country is under “de facto Martial Law.”

Lacson said the freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under Article III, Section 4 of the 1987 Constitution contradicts arguments that the Philippines is in such a state.

“When critics of government can ‘fire at will,’ not through underground media outlets but openly, to say that the country is under ‘de facto’ martial law is not only full of holes, but the hole itself,” Lacson said in a post on his X account.

The senator made the statement a day after he rejected allegations by Rep. Leandro Leviste that the country is under “de facto Martial Law,” noting that he has not seen critics being silenced under the current administration.

Lacson also pointed out that Leviste earlier filed a libel complaint against Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro, saying this would not have happened if the country were truly under such a condition.

“Didn’t Leviste file a libel complaint? Had there been a de facto Martial Law, he could have been the one slapped with a libel complaint,” he said.