No ‘weakening’ in fight against insurgents

The Philippine Congress has approved a request by the president to extend martial law in the country’s volatile south by a year due to continuing threats by Islamic State group-linked militants and communist insurgents.

An overwhelming majority in the Senate and House of Representatives voted to extend martial rule, which expires at the end of the month, by another year in southern Mindanao region, scene of decades-long Muslim and communist rebellions in the largely Roman Catholic nation.

President Rodrigo Duterte placed the southern region under martial law after hundreds of Islamic State group-linked militants attacked the Islamic city of Marawi on May 23, 2017, in the worst security crisis he has faced. Troops quelled the siege after five months but officials say surviving militants continue to recruit new fighters and plot bombings and other attacks.

‘‘Now more than ever, we cannot afford to show our enemies a moment of weakness in our resolve to defeat them,’’ Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea told the joint session of Congress.

He warned that if Muslim militants and communist insurgents are allowed to regroup, ‘‘this government will not be able to function fully, basic services to the people will continuously be hindered, and the safety of the general public will remain to be under constant threat.’’

Muslim militants, backed by foreign extremists, are fighting to turn the Philippines into a province of a socalled Muslim caliphate, while other armed groups aim to establish a separate Muslim homeland, Medialdea said.

Opponents argue that extending martial law is unconstitutional because it is an ‘‘extreme measure’’ that can only be imposed when an actual rebellion against the government exists. They say the move could be a prelude for Duterte to declare martial law throughout the Philippines.

Opposition Rep. Edcel Lagman said the government’s repeated requests for extensions of martial law show the military and police have failed to achieve their objectives under martial rule.

‘‘I think this undue prolongation of martial law in Mindanao would amount to perpetuity,’’ Lagman said.

Other opposition lawmakers argued that government forces could fight insurgents in remote rural areas and allow economic growth without martial law.

At least 143 suspected militants have been arrested and charged with rebellion since martial rule was imposed across the south, where a number of extremist groups, including the brutal Abu Sayyaf group which still has more than 400 fighters, continue to pose threats, military officials said.