Nationwide martial law not needed 'at this time' — Duterte

MANILA — Imposing military rule in the entire Philippines is not called for right now, President Rodrigo Duterte said, following concerns over his remark that if he declares martial law again, it could be a “copycat of Marcos.”

Duterte had expressed a willingness to withdraw military forces in Marawi City if the Supreme Court rules against his May 23 proclamation placing the entire island of Mindanao under martial law.

He had warned though that, if Mindanao is beset anew by violence that would require him to impose martial law for the second time, he would no longer consult anyone.

Duterte declared martial law in Mindanao after Islamic State-aligned terrorists from the Maute group raided Marawi, a predominantly Muslim city in Lanao del Sur province. He allayed fears that he is planning to do a Marcos by expanding the martial law in Mindanao to include the rest of the country.

“Martial law is here. Whether or not I expand it to cover the entire the Philippines is something else. And at this time, it is not called for,” the president said in a press conference in Cagayan de Oro last Tuesday.

Officials have said that they could not say when Duterte would lift military rule in Mindanao, saying it would depend on the assessment of military ground commanders.

While Duterte has no immediate plans to place the Philippines under military rule, he dangled anew the possibility of suspending the privilege of writ of habeas corpus in the Visayas. He noted that suspending the privilege would allow authorities to arrest terrorists immediately.

“The mechanism of the habeas corpus is to prevent the terrorists to gain a foothold in the Visayas. Kasi mas doble na ang sakit (Because the impact could be worse),” Duterte said.

“If some of the terrorists are there, I need to pick them up immediately and then find out if they are really a threat. If not, then we will release them immediately. But if they are confirmed terrorists, I do not have the time to apply for a judicial warrant or a warrant of arrest, just because we cannot agree with each other,” he added.