President Rodrigo Duterte in his second State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Monday said he declared martial law in Mindanao and asked for an extension from Congress to suppress the rebellion and invasion of Maute terrorists in Marawi City, and not to extend his term in office.
In his speech, Duterte said he will hold himself and himself alone accountable for the extension of martial law in Mindanao.
READ: Congress votes 261-18 to extend Mindanao martial law ’til year’s end
He said he did not declare martial law to extend his term in office, adding that he has no problem if Congress does not extend his martial law.
“Sabihin niyo na di nyo ibigay (martial law extension), okay lang. Wala akong problema diyan… (Say if you do not want to give it [martial law], that’s ok. I have no problem with that..) I will fight the way I will fight the war. If it’s not acceptable to the normal civilian conduct, then I am sorry, because I am fighting a civilian war,” Duterte said.
“Hindi kayo maniwala saken, wala… (You do not want to believe me, nothing…) Because I do not intend to go beyond my term… Akala ko bilib ako sa trabaho kong ito… Letse sakit ng ulo (I thought I would admire myself in this kind of job… Damn it, it’s a headache),” he added, rousing laughter from the audience.
He lamented the entry of the extremist ideology of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the Philippines, which compelled him to declare martial law as the fastest way to quell the rebellion.
“The battle of Marawi was terrible, a terrible low for our quest in peace, especially now an alien ideology and a radical shift in purpose has been injected to the local setting. I declared martial law in Mindanao because I believe that that was the fastest way to quell the rebellion at the least cost of lives and properties,” Duterte said. JPV/rga