PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte warned Congress of more attacks by Islamic State-inspired extremists in Mindanao in the coming days as he sought to justify an extension of martial law over the entire island.
In his July 18 letter to Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III and House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, Duterte sought a martial law extension of five months to deal with extremist groups such as the Maute group, the Abu Sayyaf, Ansarul Khilafah Philippines and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, which are still capable of violent attacks in Mindanao.
“Validated reports disclose that Hapilon and the Mautes have sent an operational fund to ASG sub-leader Furuji Indama in order to launch attacks in Basilan, Cagayan de Oro, General Santos City and Zamboanga City,” Duterte said, referring to Abu Sayyaf head Isnilon Hapilon, who was appointed as the “emir” in Southeast Asia and brothers Omarkhayam and Abdullah Maute, who were still at large.
“Hapilon has also directed the remnants of the AKP to conduct IED bombings in vital areas in Mindanao, including Lanao del Norte. The ASG includes several areas in ARMM as its stronghold, and has in the past operated in areas within Region IX, its kidnap-for-ransom activities cover Sulu, Zamboanga del Norte and Tawi-Tawi,” he said, as he pointed out the incidents where the Abu Sayyaf killed its hostages in Sulu and Basilan.
Duterte said that several reports consistently indicate that “these local terrorist groups are pursuing offensive actions and conspiring to attain their overall objective of establishing a wilayat or caliphate in Mindanao.”
Duterte, who placed the entire island of Mindanao under martial law on May 23 after Islamist extremists laid siege in Marawi City, is set to call Congress for a special session on Saturday, July 22 to consider his proposal.
Duterte will also face both chambers of Congress on July 24, or two days after his second State of the Nation Address.
Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella said Duterte asked an extension until the end of the year to allow government troops to deal with the crisis “unhampered by deadlines.”
Under the Constitution, only Congress can revoke or extend any declaration of martial law while review powers are with the Supreme Court.
In the same letter, Duterte cited as an example videos recovered from a safe house, which was previously occupied by ISIS-inspired terrorists, that “validate their intention to establish a wilayat in Marawi City and other areas of Mindanao through simultaneous armed public uprisings against the duly constituted authorities.”
Despite the government’s ongoing crackdown, the President said that the support structures of these groups in various parts of Mindanao and other areas have yet to be destroyed, as top leaders, including the foreign terrorist Mahmud bin Ahmad remain at large.
Only 12 of the more than 200 ordered arrested were apprehended during the 60-day implementation of martial law, the President added.
The entry of high-powered firearms and military-grade weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades and a large supply of ammunition still remains as a hindrance for the military to crush these rebel groups, Duterte said, adding that some private armed groups and supporters had extended help to them by providing them reinforcement and financial help.
Foreign fighters, including 20 recently identified Indonesians who joined the battle in Marawi City, and the Malaysian fugitive Mahmud bin Ahmad who reportedly planned and financed the attack in Marawi still remain at large, Duterte said.
He also cited the entry of illegal drugs in Mindanao, which is financing the ongoing siege in the country’s south.
Some two months after the siege in Marawi City started, terrorist groups still remain in control of some four barangays,
“Indeed, the crisis in Marawi City has introduced a newly evolving type of urban warfare—one that is characterized by the rebels’ total disregard for civilian lives, cruelty to combatants and non-combatants alike, and widespread looting and pillaging of occupied communities,” said Duterte.
“This type of urban warfare has caused a significant number of casualties on both sides and a huge destruction of property, both public and private, more importantly, the house-to-house firefights have slowed down the advance of government forces and their mopping up operations,” he added.
Armed Forces chief Gen. Eduardo Año dared critics of President Rodrigo Duterte for them to go and visit Mindanao themselves before opposing his proposal to extend martial law for five more months there, even as the Palace expressed confidence that Congress will approve his request.
In a chance interview at Malacañang on Tuesday, Año said that many of those who expressed opposition to Duterte’s martial law declaration weren’t even from Mindanao themselves and are not aware of the situation.
“Surprisingly, those people who aren’t even living there, those people away from Mindanao, they themselves were the ones who protest against martial law. I hope they go to Mindanao and see,” he said in Filipino.
“When I talk to people in Mindanao — while they might be inconvenienced, they can sleep soundly. It’s because for the first time, crime incidence lowered and the semblance of discipline among residents was seen,” he said.
The Palace on Wednesday said it expects Congress to give Duterte his request for an extension, adding that the President won’t be asking for anything without basis.
Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo said any attempts by Duterte’s critics to derail the extension calls won’t prosper.
He noted that the latest surveys show most Filipinos or 57 percent said they support Duterte’s declaration of martial law in Mindanao, but more than six out of 10 oppose expanding it to other parts of the country.
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II on Wednesday defended the extension request.
“The request of the President is very reasonable and justifiable. And since only he knows information as basis for martial law, I believe that we should give him the benefit of the doubt,” Aguirre said.
Aguirre agreed with the President that the existence of rebellion in Mindanao has not ceased as government troops continue to fight Maute terrorists almost two months since their attack in Marawi City.
Vice President Leni Robredo, meanwhile, said Congress must conduct a thorough discussion on the extension request.
“Let us listen to the reason why there is a need for an extension,” she said.
“It is best that the issue is taken up and debated in Congress whether to grant or not to grant an extension. Just in case it is denied, at least it has been discussed well.”
She declined to say how long the extension should be.
“I am not in the position to tell up to when [martial law should be] because there is still too much information that I still do not know,” she said.
Also on Wednesday, US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim assured the public that there is no permanent presence of American troops in Marawi City.
“We do not have a permanent presence but at the request of the Philippine government, we have a rotational presence down south to help with the security situation there,” Kim said in a television interview over ANC’s Headstart.
He added that Americans are providing “very important” advice.
Secretary of Labor and Employment Silvestre Bello III, meanwhile, said his department has provided P30 million under the emergency employment program to benefit close to 3,000 people affected by the fighting in Marawi City. With Rey E. Requejo, Sara Susanne Fabunan, Rio N. Araja, PNA