Ramos slams martial law

MANILA: Ex-Philippine leader and democracy hero Fidel Ramos yesterday slammed President Rodrigo Duterte’s threats to impose martial law, warning against inevitable abuses under military rule.

Duterte declared martial law for the southern region of Mindanao on Tuesday to combat what he said was the rising threat posed by the Islamic State group, after militants rampaged through a city triggering deadly battles that are yet to end.

Duterte said he would impose it on the rest of the country if he felt the terrorism threat had spread, and praised martial law under dictator Ferdinand Marcos a generation ago.

Ramos, a Marcos security chief who turned to become a leading figure in the ‘People Power’ revolution that overthrew the dictator in 1986, held a press conference to speak out at length against martial law. — AFP