Vice President Leni Robredo. AP FILE PHOTO
Vice President Leni Robredo on Tuesday advised Congress to listen to military officials with information on the ground in Mindanao before making any proposals to extend the state of martial law by five years, as Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez suggested recently.
“Before we talk of [extending] martial law, let us discuss first what is really happening,” she said in Filipino.
“Yesterday somebody proposed an extension. The military said that is too long,” she said in an interview in Naga City, a transcript of which was sent to Manila reporters.
“Perhaps let us listen to the officials who have information on the true conditions [in Mindanao] before talking of any extension,” the former Camarines Sur representative said.
Alvarez, in an interview with the Inquirer, said he would push Congress to extend martial law in Mindanao until 2022, spanning the duration of President Rodrigo Duterte’s term, to allow him to eradicate the roots of conflict in the region.
“If I can convince my colleagues, I will push for an extension until 2022, because two months is too short,” he said.
READ: Speaker pushing for 5 more years of martial law
But the Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla told a Malacañang press briefing five years “may be too long for the moment.”
READ: It’s too long, says AFP on 5-year extension of martial law
Under the 1987 Constitution, any state of martial law will lapse after 60 days, unless extended by Congress. Mr. Duterte’s Proclamation 216 will expire on July 22, days before he delivers his State of the Nation Address.
RELATED VIDEO