SolGen says foreign terrorists escalate Mindanao conflict

Solicitor General Jose Calida announces the state of Martial Law and the suspension of the privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus in Mindanao should not be a cause for alarm to all law-abiding citizens. He also confirmed that foreign jihadists are now trying to establish a caliphate in Mindanao. Calida made the announcement on May 26, 2017 during a press briefing at the Royal Mandaya Hotel in Davao City. PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

Violence in Mindanao is no longer a rebellion but a conflict that “transmogrified into an invasion by foreign terrorists who heeded the clarion call of the ISIS to go to the Philippines,” Solicitor General Jose Calida said in justifying the declaration of martial law in the south.

Military offensive continues in Marawi City as the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) confirmed that there were terrorists from Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore fighting alongside the Maute group.

READ: Foreign terrorists killed in Marawi fighting—military

Calida said security and intelligence units of the government hadmonitored ISIS “literature and publications” in Mindanao.

He added that the order to attack was not only focused on the government. People considered by terrorists as “infidels,” whether Christians or Muslims, were also targets of opportunity, whether  found in Marawi, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Zamboanga, Cebu, Manila, and other cities.

“Given the above clear and present dangers and atrocities happening in Mindanao, it is the President’s constitutional duty to unsheathe the Republic’s sword of martial law to crush the rebellion that threatens to divide our country,” Calida said.

He urged the public to support and trust President Rodrigo Duterte in dealing with the problem. JPV/rga

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