MALACAÑANG ASKS FOR PUBLIC SUPPORT AFTER CONGRESS EXTENDS MARTIAL LAW IN MINDANAO BY A YEAR
President Rodrigo Duterte grateful to Congress for granting martial law extension.
President Rodrigo Duterte thanked Congress yesterday for approving his request to extend martial law in Mindanao until Dec. 31, 2018. His spokesman, Harry Roque Jr., appealed to the public to support the extension, saying it will ensure that the rehabilitation of Marawi City proceeds unhampered. Congress voted 240-27 in a joint session Wednesday to grant President Duterte’s request for a one-year extension. Military officials said the approval “was an acknowledgment of the grounds we have cited that need immediate and decisive actions.” Under the 1987 Constitution, the President may declare martial law and suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus “in case of invasion or rebellion, when the public safety requires it.” Duterte declared martial law in Mindanao last May 23, 2017, on the day the siege of Marawi started.
Malacañang yesterday appealed to the public for support amid the one-year extension of martial law in Mindanao.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. reiterated that extending martial law would eradicate the terrorists, their coddlers, supporters and financiers.
He added that the martial law would ensure the unhampered rehabilitation of war-torn Marawi and the lives of its residents.
“Public safety is our primordial concern; thus, we ask the public to stand behind the administration and rally behind our defenders to quell the continuing rebellion in Mindanao,” Roque said in a statement.
“This is everyone’s shared responsibility. Together, we will prevail,” he added.
President Rodrigo Duterte, for his part, expressed his gratitude to Congress for granting his request for extension.
Speaking before the troops during the ceremonial demilitarization of firearms seized during the five-month long Marawi battle, Duterte admitted that his government would struggle if martial law is not imposed, even after the security forces were able to suppress extremists who wreaked havoc in Marawi City.
“I would like to thank Congress for understanding the plight of the Filipino. Me personally, I am a President. Well, I will just order. But the problem is if there are enough dimensions on the power I have? Not power, but the duty. You know, it would really be difficult for me if there is no martial law in Mindanao,” the President said in a speech delivered in Taguig City.
“This martial law, without the martial law powers -- the ancillary powers attached to the implementor, the implementing agency -- it will be difficult for us. How many hours can we detain a person? The longest is 36 hours. You think you can really solve the problem, the crime? They are criminals, they are not imbued with a sense of patriotism,” he added.
Congress voted 240-27 in a joint session Wednesday to grant President Duterte’s request for an extension of martial law and suspension of the writ of habeas corpus in Mindanao until December 31, 2018.
The military said the congressional approval was “an acknowledgement of the grounds we have cited that need immediate and decisive actions.”
“Specifically, we need to quell the ongoing rebellion in Mindanao and prevent its spread to other parts of the country. The military will faithfully perform its mandate to protect the people and secure the state,” Marine Col. Edgard Arevalo, spokesperson of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said in a statement.
The Senate voted 14-4 while the House voted 226-23 in favor of the extension.
Duterte first placed Mindanao under martial rule on May 23. Congress extended this to December 31, 2017.