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[av_heading heading=’’TIL END OF YEAR
Martial law ‘won’t reach Visayas’ – official ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY ADRIAN STEWART CO
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MANILA – Congress voted to extend the martial law in Mindanao until the end of the year.
During a joint session yesterday, 16 senators favored the extension and four objected, while 245 House representatives approved and 14 dissented.
Defense secretary Delfin Lorenzana was quick to allay the worry of those opposed to the extension, stressing that the military rule in the southern major region will not expand to Luzon and Visayas.
“Hindi mangyayari iyan (That is not going to happen),” Lorenzana said.
President Rodrigo Duterte proclaimed martial law in Mindanao on May 23 after the Islamic State-inspired Maute group laid siege on Marawi, the capital city of Lanao del Sur.
Less than 24 hours after, Duterte said he was also open to expanding it to the Visayas.
“(Visayas) is just walking distance (from Mindanao) actually, and because of (Visayas’) many islands (the Maute group) can always escape there and begin another terroristic activity,” he then said. “I might also decide to suspend the writ of habeas corpus in the Visayas.”
But more than a week later, Duterte said he might suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in Visayas as “a precautionary measure” if extremists flee to the region from Marawi but will not declare martial law as he did in Mindanao.
“I don’t think it will happen. I hope it will not happen,” he said in a speech in Davao City. “[But] if it does, we must be ready. There is no middle ground here.”
Lorenzana stressed that the martial law in Mindanao is aimed at quashing threats present only in that region.
“Iyong ibang threats sa Luzon and Visayas, kaakibat na iyan ng trabaho namin sa security operations (Our regular security operations are covering other threats in Luzon and Visayas),” the Defense secretary said.
Among senators, Gregorio Honasan moved for the approval of the martial law extension, while Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas sponsored it in the House of Representatives.
Clashes between state troops and the terrorists are ongoing.
AFP REQUEST
Early last week, Duterte called on Congress to “extend … the proclamation of the martial law and the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in the whole of Mindanao” because “public safety requires it.”
“The existing rebellion in Mindanao … will not be quelled completely by 22nd July 2017, the last day of the 60-day period provided under Section 18, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution,” the President earlier said, citing assessment from the military.
Chief of Staff Eduardo Año admitted that the Armed Forces of the Philippines requested for the extension of martial law.
“We recommended up to Dec. 31, 2017 because we wanted to finish all Daesh-inspired groups in Mindanao,” Año said, using the acronym for the Arabic name of the Islamic State.
“We are asking for more time because we don’t want to finish just [the conflict in] Marawi but [also] the permanent threat in Mindanao,” the Armed Forces official said.
“We have this ongoing rebellion. In Marawi, ito lang ang napili nila. It could be other cities In Mindanao,” he added. “If you will see, nag-contribute po ang Abu Sayyaf sa Sulu, Basilan, Maguindanao, at iyong Maute.”
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court affirmed Duterte’s proclamation. Eleven justices voted to uphold the martial law, three had reservations and one dissented.
Under the 1987 Constitution, the Philippine president may declare martial law for a period not exceeding 60 days “in case of invasion or rebellion, when the public safety requires it.”
But the Constitution states that “upon the initiative of the president, Congress may … extend such proclamation … for a period to be determined by Congress, if the invasion or rebellion shall persist and public safety requires it.”
NO FACTUAL BASIS
There was no factual basis to grant the martial law extension, according to Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon.
Around 400 of the 600 members of the Maute group were already neutralized since the martial law was declared two months ago, said the Ilonggo senator.
“If we have neutralized 379 Maute [members] or their sympathizers in less than two months, why do we need six more months – considering the time it took to neutralize more than half of the rebels – to defeat the remaining rebels?” Drilon said.
“The reason [that] martial law was limited to 60 days (in the Constitution) was in order that the decision of the president be subjected to regular review,” he added.
The Commission on Human Rights also believes the extension should not have been granted. Martial law is no longer necessary to address the remaining threats in Mindanao, the commission said.
“The Commission expresses its confidence [in] the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police to effectively quell terrorism … and restore law and order in the whole of Mindanao even without martial law,” said the CHR.
‘IT WON’T LAST LONG’
Extending the martial law will allow the government to finish the task of bringing peace to Mindanao, said Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea.
“The Constitution has given us the necessary tools for the President to address the very situation we are now facing,” Medialdea said. “On behalf of the President, I implore Congress to enable the President to finish the task [of bringing] peace in Mindanao.”
“Upon the President’s extensive personal evaluation” of the situation in Marawi, and based on assessment reports from security officials, “the existing rebellion in Mindanao has not been completely quelled,” he added.
For his part, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said the martial law might be lifted as soon as security threats are eliminated.
“If indeed by December 2017 we will see that Mindanao – or, for that matter, Marawi City – gets stable and there are no threats, then we will recommend the lifting of the martial law,” said Esperon./PN
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