Lacson: Martial law extension this time will not be as easy as before

The possible extension, for the third time, of martial law in Mindanao would not be as easy as before, Senator Panfilo Lacson said on Thursday.

Lacson said Malacañang should exert more effort in convincing the Congress if it wishes to extend martial law in the south. Martial law in Mindanao is due to expire on December 31, 2018.

“We’ll have to take a closer look this time if Malacañang asks Congress to have another extension,” he said in a Senate forum.

According to Lacson, the government should have already earned a huge achievement in addressing the issues in Mindanao, as martial law has alread been in effect for over a year and a half already.

“I don’t think it will be as easy as before. Hindi ganoon kabilis makakakuha ng [approval] (They won’t be able to get approval that fast),” he said. 

President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law in Mindanao in May 2017, after the ISIS-inspired Maute group ravaged Marawi City, displacing over 200,000 residents including children.

The 1987 Constitution only allows the martial law to be imposed for a maximum of 60 days. Duterte first asked the Congress for an extension until December 2017 before it expired in July last year.

He again requested that martial law in Mindanao be extended for a year, citing continuous threat and insurgency of the New People’s Army./jpv

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