MARTIAL LAW SA MINDA MAPALALAWIG

POSIBLENG muling mapalawig ang Martial Law sa Mindanao.

Ito ang sinabi ni Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo sa ginanap na press briefing kahapon sa Malakanyang makaraang irekomenda ng Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) at Philippine National Police (PNP) kay Pangulong Duterte ang  pagpapa-lawig ng Martila Law sa Mindanao na nakatakdang magtapos sa taong kasalukuyan.

“Given the support of Martial Law in Min­danao, even by a Catholic bishop and the citizens there, the President may be persuaded to go on to approve the recommendation. But of course, that is the prerogative of the President,” wika ni Panelo.

“Well, the basis palagi would be the safety of the people there,” giit pa ni Panelo.

Ayon kay outgoing AFP chief Carlito Galvez ay irerekomenda nila ang isang taong extension ng Martial Law sa Mindanao.

“Ang nakikita namin, ang lahat ng RPOC (Regional Peace and Order Councils), LGU (local government units) and even Comelec (Commission on Elections) and other agencies are recommending for the extension of at least one year,” sabi ni Galvez.

“Our position is, because there is really a clamor for the extension considering that terrorism is still lurking in the area, nakita natin, nagkaroon tayo ng Basilan bombing and then recently we have an encounter in Sulu. The Sulu problem still persists, and we have also some bombings in Isulan and General Santos and also continuous bombing in Maguindanao so there is really a need to constrict and limit the maneuver space of the terrorist to the maximum,” dagdag pa ni Galvez.

Sinabi pa ni Galvez na ang rekomendasyon ay kanilang isusumite kay Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana sa isasagawang command conference sa Disyembre 12 at pagkaraa’y isusumite na kay Pangulong Duterte.

Nagdeklara ng Martial Law si Pangulong Duterte noong nakaraang Mayo 23, 2017 makaraang lusubin ng Maute Group ang Marawi City.

Sa joint session ng Kongreso ay inaprubahan ang pagpapalawig ng Martial Law hanggang Disyembre 31, 2017.

Muling inaprubahan ng joint session ng Kongreso ang hiling na pagpapalawig ng Martial at suspensiyon ng writ of habeas corpus sa loob ng isang taon mula Ene­ro 1, 2018 hanggang Disyembre 31, 2018.

EVELYN QUIROZ