MARTIAL LAW EXTENDED

During the joint session of both chambers of Congress, 245 members of the House of Representatives and 16 members of the Senate voted to extend martial law until Dec. 31

A few hours before Proclamation 216 expired, Congress extended martial law in Mindanao until the end of the year. The vote was 245 for an extension and 14 against in the House of Representatives. No one abstained. It was 16 for and 4 against in the Senate, and 2 (Binay and Trillanes) weren’t around.

Lawmakers from Cebu all voted in favor of extending martial law in Mindanao until the end of 2017, joining the majority of the House of Representatives in approving the request of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Reps. Gerald Anthony Gullas (first district), Wilfredo Caminero (second district), Gwendolyn Garcia (third district), Benhur Salimbangon (fourth district), Ramon Durano VI (fifth district), Jonas Cortes (sixth district), Peter John Calderon (seventh district), Raul del Mar (Cebu City, north district), Rodrigo Abellanosa (Cebu City, south district) and Aileen Radaza (Lapu-Lapu City lone district) favored the President's request for an extension of martial law.

During the joint session of both chambers of Congress, 245 members of the House of Representatives were convinced that martial law in Mindanao until Dec. 31 will prevent the rebellion from spilling over to other parts of the country.

Fourteen, however, believed otherwise.

For the Senate, only four senators voted no, while 16, including Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III, backed the administration's move.

Duterte on May 23 placed Mindanao under martial law after the Maute group tried to take over Marawi City, the capital of Lanao del Sur.

He asked for a five-month extension as the 60-day validity of the initial proclamation was set to expire at 10 p.m. yesterday.

The martial law proclamation, which was supposed to end yesterday, was made after government troops, who were supposed to arrest international terrorist Isnilon Hapilon, encountered the Maute group in Marawi City.

Authorities said the Maute bandits also stormed Marawi in an attempt to establish the city as a caliphate of Islamic State fighters in Southeast Asia.

The Marawi crisis entered its 60th day yesterday.

Duterte cited Section 18, Article 7 of the 1987 Constitution in declaring martial rule.

Section 18, Article 7 of the Constitution states that the President has the power to declare martial law, in the case of invasion or rebellion, for a period not exceeding 60 days. Such proclamation can either be revoked or extended for a period determined by Congress through joint voting.

Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Eduardo Año, martial law implementor, said that he recommended the extension of martial law to ensure that there will be "no repeat of Marawi siege in the future."

"All of us in the military organization, our only desire is to finish this crisis the soonest time possible," he said.

Haven for terrorists

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana also said that the purpose of the extension is to ensure that the country will not become a haven for terrorists.

It is also needed to fight other rebel groups like the Abu Sayyaf, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and the New People's Army, and those operating illegal drugs in the whole region that are reportedly financing the ongoing war in Mindanao, he said.

"We need some leeway to finish our job. We need to take decisive steps to eliminate this nefarious threat, destroy their resource channels from illicit drugs and other crimes and ensure that Mindanao will be a safe place for our people," he said.

Senator Honasan, a former soldier, who voted in favor of the 150-day extension of martial law in Mindanao, said that while martial law places many lives in jeopardy, the other side of the coin is terrorism which is worse and is now a reality that the country cannot deny.

"Who is the enemy? It is reflected in the new dimension of warfare. Let us resolve this issue as fast and as far as our laws will allow," he said..

National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. explained that without the power of martial law, they will need to go to court before they can make any apprehension to these suspects.

"We need to go to court to apply before we can do action. We cannot control movement on the ground and limitation of movement will hamper our goal and time is of the essence where lives are involved," he said.

He said that the present implementation of martial law is different from the past considering that they are not shutting down operations of local officials and normal operations of government to serve the people were being allowed and respected.

"The present martial law is here that is meant to protect the people of Mindanao," Esperon said.