Duterte threatens nationwide martial law

MANILA: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte threatened yesterday to impose martial law nationwide to combat the rising threat of terrorism, after militants beheaded a policeman and took hostages while rampaging through a city.

Duterte declared martial law on Tuesday for the southern region of Mindanao – which makes up roughly one third of the country and is home to 20 million people – in an immediate response to the attacks by the gunmen who have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) group.

About 100 militants roamed through the southern city of Marawi, taking a priest and an unspecified number of other people hostage from a church, setting fire to buildings and flying black IS flags, according to Duterte and his aides.

Duterte said they also beheaded a local police chief after capturing him at a road checkpoint they had set up, as he expressed outrage at what he said was the growing threat from militants in Mindanao allied to IS.

“I will not hesitate to do anything and everything to protect and preserve the Filipino nation,” he said.

“I might declare martial law throughout the country to protect the people.”

Duterte warned martial law would be “harsh” and similar to military rule imposed by dictator Ferdinand Marcos a generation ago.

Thousands of critics were jailed, tortured or killed during the Marcos rule, according to historians and rights groups.

“Martial law of Mr Marcos was very good,” Duterte said, as he railed against human rights campaigners and other critics of his drug war.

Duterte said his own version of martial law meant security forces could conduct searches and arrest people without warrants.

The fighting in Marawi erupted on Tuesday after security forces raided a house where they believed Isnilon Hapilon, a leader of the infamous Abu Sayyaf kidnapfor-ransom gang and Philippine head of IS, was hiding.

The militants responded to the raid by burning buildings and conducting other diversionary tactics in Marawi, defence secretary Delfin Lorenzana said, adding two soldiers were killed. – AFP

Residents fleeing from Marawi are cramped on a truck as they traverse a traffic gridlock near a police checkpoint at the entrance to the city of Iligan yesterday.