Congress merely wasted precious time when it convened in joint session two weeks ago to review a report submitted by Malacañang on the declaration of martial law in Maguindanao, former Senator Francisco “Kit” Tatad said Saturday.

Tatad, appearing at the weekly “Kapihan sa Sulo” forum in Quezon City, insisted that the martial law report signed by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita was invalid because under the Constitution, it should have been the President who made the report in person or in writing to Congress underlining the basis of her proclamation.

“The exercise of martial law power is the exercise of the Commander-in-Chief in power. There are powers that can be executed by the Executive Secretary but not a report on martial law that under the Constitution must be submitted by the President in person or in writing,” Tatad argued.

Last December 5, President Arroyo issued Proclamation 1959 declaring martial law and suspension of writ of habeas corpus in Maguindanao. A week after, on December 12, she lifted the proclamation even before Congress could decide if it would approve or revoke it.

Under the Constitution, the President is required to submit to the House of Representatives and the Senate within 48 hours a report on why she declared martial law.

But Tatad said the report received by both houses of Congress on the night of December 6 “was not a document from the President and Commander-in-Chief but from the Executive Secretary.”

Party-list Rep. Jonathan dela Cruz of Abakada-Guro shared Tatad’s views. He said Malacañang’s report on Proclamation 1959 was in itself a fatal flaw.

“In the case of the report, some of us have a number of unanswered question,” Dela Cruz said. “The report given to Congress was signed only by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita. That was a flaw already.”

Dela Cruz said he considers as another flaw the action of the Senate revoking the martial law declaration despite the senators knowing that only Congress in joint session can do that.

“They (senators) were outvoted from the very start. They know that a vote by both houses and not a vote by the Senate alone can revoke the martial law declaration,” he pointed out.

He said that if the President did not lift her proclamation and a voting was held in Congress, “the most that would have voted to revoke martial law was about 65.”

Anti-martial law lawmakers needed to muster a simple majority of 147 votes or 50 percent plus one of the combined memberships of the House (268) and the Senate (23) to invalidate the martial law declaration.