DUTERTE TO CONGRESS: EXTEND MARTIAL LAW
Martial law in Mindanao, declared on May 23, is set to expire on July 22 Congress asked to hold special session on proposed extension until December 31
President Rodrigo Duterte asked Congress on Tuesday to extend martial law in Mindanao until the end of the year, saying the conflict there will not be resolved by July 22, the end of his 60-day martial law proclamation.
The request came several hours after Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said the President has called for a special session of Congress to deliberate on the possible extension of Proclamation 216.
“Congress has to discuss and consider the actual parameters to extend martial law and the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus,” Abella said in a statement issued Monday night.
Abella said Duterte would hold a special session with lawmakers on Saturday, July 22.
In a letter to the Senate and the House of Representatives read by Abella on Tuesday, Duterte said that after consulting security officials, he has concluded that the “existing rebellion in Mindanao will not be quelled completely down until 22nd of July.”
“For this reason and because public safety requires it, I call upon the Congress to extend until 31st December 2017 or for such a period of time as the Congress may determine the proclamation of martial law and the suspension of the privilege of writ of habeas corpus in the whole of Mindanao,” Duterte stated in his letter.
Proclamation 216 placed Mindanao under martial law and suspended the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus. This was issued on May 23, shortly after fighting broke out between government troops and the Maute Group in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur.
The Supreme Court, in a majority vote, has upheld the proclamation.
Under the 1987 Constitution, martial law may be declared for 60 days in case of invasion or rebellion, when public safety re- quires it.
Article VII, Section 18 provides that, upon the initiative of the President, Congress “may extend such proclamation or suspension for a period to be determined by the Congress, if the invasion or rebellion shall persist and public safety requires it.”
Abella said “the primary objective of the possible extension of martial law is to allow government forces to continue with their operation, unhampered by deadlines and to focus more on the liberation of Marawi and its rehabilitation and rebuilding.”
He said it is up to Congress to decide on the duration.
The Marawi crisis has killed 413 militants, 98 government forces and 45 civilians, according to Malacañang.