07 July 2017

News Story: Philippine military, police to recommend next week on whether to extend martial law

MANILA, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Philippine military and police authorities will recommend to President Rodrigo Duterte next week whether to extend the martial law in the entire Mindanao in the southern Philippines, military officials said on Thursday.

Duterte declared martial law on May 23 for 60 days on the island of Mindanao and nearby island provinces after extremists linked to the so-called Islamic State (IS) laid siege to Marawi City. The 60-day deadline will end on July 23.

Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla, spokesman for the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said military ground commanders have already started conducting assessment of the security situation in the region.

"The assessment that we are conducting is whether martial law should be continued or not," Padilla said, adding the assessment is important to determine whether the martial law has helped restore order in the entire Mindanao.

"We are getting inputs from the ground. These inputs will be (carefully studied) by authorities on the ground," Padilla said.

However, he stressed that the assessment will depend on the situation on the ground.

Read the full story at Xinhua