Philippine Congress extends martial law in south amid siege
The Philippine Congress on Saturday overwhelmingly approved the president’s appeal for martial law in the south to be extended to the end of the year to help troops quell a two-month siege by Islamic State grouplinked militants and stamp out similar extremist plots in the volatile region.
House of Representatives Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez announced that senators and House members voted 261-18 in favor of granting President Rodrigo Duterte’s request in a special joint session.
The 60-day martial law was to expire on Saturday.
The military chief of staff, Gen Eduardo Ano, warned during the session that aside from the uprising in Marawi, extremist groups have plotted similar insurrections in other southern cities and that martial law has helped troops stop attacks.
Meanwhile, defence secretary Delfin Lorenzana played down concerns of military abuses, saying no major human rights violations have been reported since Duterte declared martial law to dealwiththeMarawiviolence.AP