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| New People’s Army (NPA) |
By Alexis Romero
MANILA, Philippines — He once called the policy “stupid,” but President Duterte has floated anew the possibility of declaring martial law in the entire country, saying he may be forced to do so if communist rebels bring their armed struggle to the streets.
Duterte said while he allows leftists to hold meetings and rallies, he would not think twice about arresting those who would cause infighting.
“They are not hiding. Their meetings are in public. I just let them be. Even their leftist organizations are holding meetings. I said let them be. But do not commit the mistake,” the President told reporters in Cagayan de Oro last Saturday.
“I am not scaring you. Do not commit the mistake of staging a rebellion, say that there is fighting in the streets. I will not hesitate to impose martial law all throughout the country and order the arrest of everybody,” he added.
Duterte placed the entire island of Mindanao under martial law on May 23 after Islamic State-inspired terrorists from the Maute group laid siege to Marawi City.
Read the full story at PhilStar