A pro-administration lawmaker on Monday filed a resolution extending martial law in Mindanao to June 2019, citing reports of “terrorist plots and the need to secure the May 2019 elections.”
“It is imperative that the government ensures a peaceful, orderly and honest May 2019 elections in Mindanao to secure the integrity of the ballots and the safety of voters and elections personnel,” Iligan City Rep. Frederick Siao, a member of the House committee on suffrage and electoral reforms, said in filing House Resolution 2302.
Siao, vice chairman of the House tourism committee, also cited the “sporadic incidents of violence,” including an ambush in Lanao del Sur in which five agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency died.
“The ISIS, their collaborators among lawless armed groups, and the illegal drug networks operating in Mindanao want to sow terror in pursuit of their twisted objectives,” Siao said.
“After the elected officials assume office, martial law can end and the Philippine National Police can reassume their peace and order responsibilities in Mindanao and with the civilian elected officials by their side.”
President Rodrigo Duterte first declared martial law in Mindanao on May 23, 2017, after local terrorists laid siege on Marawi City.
He asked for a five-month extension that lasted until Dec. 31, 2017, after the 60-day declaration lapsed in July. A second extension was granted by the Congress to continue martial law until Dec. 31, 2018.