Blanket martial law is ‘very remote’

Duterte has thought of expanding a martial law declaration in the south, defence secretary says

The Philippine defence secretary said yesterday that President Rodrigo Duterte has considered the possibility of placing the entire country under martial rule over fears of planned left-wing protests getting out of control, but he added the prospect of such a declaration is “very remote”.

Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Duterte has thought of expanding a martial law declaration in the south to cover the entire Philippines due to fears the planned protests could spiral out of hand and threaten the government and public safety.

Lorenzana, however, belittled the capability of leftwing activists to stage massive protests nationwide.

One is planned for Thursday next week to mark the anniversary of the 1972 martial law declaration by late dictator Ferdinand Marcos that had been associated with massive human rights violations and muzzling of civil liberties.

Prospect very ‘remote’

Asked about the prospects of such a declaration, Lorenzana quoted Duterte as saying recently, “‘If the left will try to have a massive protest, they’ll ignite fires in the street, they will disrupt the country, then I might’.”

Lorenzana, however, told a televised news conference the prospect of a martial law declaration is “very remote”, adding the military and local governments nationwide have not monitored any planned massive protests by antigovernment groups. “We do not have those indications in our The Philippine capital’s police chief ordered that the entire 1,200-member police force in one of Manila’s biggest areas be relieved of duty and retrained yesterday in response to a series of controversies, including the killing of two teenagers.

Metro Manila’s top officer Oscar Albayalde said all police personnel in the Caloocan area of the capital would undergo retraining and reorientation before being reassigned to other police units, not necessarily in Manila.

“We will start with the city’s police precincts 2 and 7,” Albayalde said. All personnel in Caloocan’s headquarters and seven precincts would be temporarily replaced by the regional public safety battalion, a combat-trained unit.” reports,” Lorenzana said.

Left-wing protests in Manila and elsewhere in recent years have nowhere been near the size of the mammoth “people power” street protests that ousted Marcos in 1986 and President Joseph Estrada in 2001. A left-wing alliance, Bayan, said Duterte may be trying to spark fears to discourage people from joining its protest.

“The mass actions for the 45th anniversary of martial law are more than justified given our current worsening human rights situation and drift toward dictatorship,” Bayan leader Renato Reyes said. “We do not anticipate any untoward incidents emanating from protesters.”

Hundreds of activists and Muslim tribesmen opposed to Duterte’s martial law declaration in the south scuffled yesterday with riot police who blocked them from marching near the US Embassy.