Upon President Duterte’s behest, the Senate and the House in joint session last Wednesday voted to again extend martial law and suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in the whole of Mindanao. This third extension will remain until December 31, 2019. The vote was 235 yes, 28 no, 1 abstention. No doubting…
The spate of killings in Mindanao is expected to continue after Congress and Senate approved on Wednesday the extension of martial law, a militant Moro group said, noting that it is being used by President Rodrigo Duterte to cling in power.
“Whether the extension of Martial Law in Mindanao is rooted in fear, fancy, or plain and simple malevolence, its effects on people’s rights, lives and liberties are all too real.”
There was hardly any question about it. The dominance of the Duterte “supermajority” in both houses of Congress made the one-year extension of martial law in Mindanao certain, and even the members of the political opposition in the House of Representatives and the Senate, who nevertheless voted against it, predicted congressional approval of President Rodrigo…