Philippine martial law is extended until end of year
The Philippine congress yesterday voted to extend martial law in the south until the end of the year.
In a special joint session of the house and the senate, politicians overwhelmingly backed president Rodrigo Duterte’s bid for martial law to remain in force in the Mindanao region.
Troops yesterday continued their two-month fight to wrest back the southern city of Marawi from ISIL-inspired militants.
Mr Duterte declared martial law in Mindanao on May 23 shortly after the gunmen occupied parts of Marawi, triggering weeks of bloody fighting.
The law allows the military to establish curfews, checkpoints and gun controls in a country where civilians are authorised to keep licensed firearms in their homes.
Yesterday’s vote was largely a foregone conclusion as Mr Duterte enjoys a majority in both houses of congress.
But opposition politicians dragged out the debate, asking why martial law was needed for the whole of Mindanao when the fighting was limited to only one city.
“I fear that the plan to extend the martial law in Mindanao will pave the way for a Philippines-wide martial law,” senator Risa Hontiveros said before the vote.
A slide presentation accompanying Mr Duterte’s request compared the Marawi crisis to ISIL’s takeover of the Iraqi city of Mosul.
Marawi could now become a magnet for foreign fighters in Iraq and Syria, it said.
Most of the militant leaders in Marawi remain at large while about 90 of the gunmen have slipped past security cordons and could now link up with other armed groups in the region.
At the congressional hearing, defence and security officials justified extending martial law, saying that aside from Marawi, Islamist militants were planning attacks in other parts of Mindanao.
They said about 1,000 proISIL militants holding 23 hostages were still active in the south.
The military said only about 60 gunmen were left in a 49-hectare area of Marawi, but Mr Duterte said he needed martial law to rebuild the city and ensure the war did not spread elsewhere.