AFP: 5 more months of martial law ‘enough’
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte’s proposed five-month extension of martial law in Mindanao is enough to end the insurgency in war-torn Marawi City, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief-of-Staff General Eduardo Año said.
He said the martial rule in Mindanao needs to be extended, stressing the Marawi crisis is still "far from over."
Año noted that to date, around 60 to 70 members of the Maute terror group are still holed up in Marawi City in Lanao del Sur, while the presence of more or less 800 "Islamic State-inspired terrorists" are reported in other areas in Mindanao.
“We can notice that it’s still far from over. We have to address it once and for all,” Año told reporters Tuesday, July 18.
Duterte sought Tuesday morning the extension of martial law and the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in Mindanao until December 31.
Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said the proposed extension aims to allow the security troops to proceed with their
offen sives against the terrorists in Marawi City and prevent spillover of the armed conflict.
Año said martial rule in the conflict-torn region might not reach until December if the government forces are able to “significantly degrade the capability of this terrorist group who staged this rebellion.”
“The President made it clear that once everything is normalized, we will even recommend for the early termination of martial law. It’s purely work. We do not have any interests, except to bring back normalcy and defeat all the threats, particularly the terrorists, the Maute, Isis group who staged this rebellion,” he said.
“If there’s already a ground for the lifting, we will make our recommendation,” he added.
Mindanao has been under martial law since May 23 when members of the Maute terror group occupied Marawi City to defend Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon, who has been on the US’s list of most-wanted terrorists worldwide. The martial law declaration is supposed to end on July 22. SunStar Philippines