De Lima fears 'more awesome, fearsome martial law'

Senator Leila de Lima on Saturday warned that President Rodrigo Duterte may declare a "more awesome and fearsome martial law" soon.

"For me, the prospects of a more awesome and fearsome martial law are almost a certainty now," De Lima, a staunch critic of Duterte, said in a handwritten statement.

"All it takes would be some incident within the NCR or any other urban area/s and we’ll wake up, one morning in the very near future, to a new declaration of martial law, expanded in both geographical scope and duration," she continued.

De Lima is currently detained at the PNP Custodial Center on drug-related charges.

Duterte on Tuesday proclaimed martial law in Mindanao and suspended the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in response to the atrocities committed by the Maute and Abu Sayyaf groups in Marawi City.

He justified his declaration of martial law on the entire area of Mindanao as a precaution to prevent the Maute and Abu Sayyaf groups from using Marawi City as the first step to achieving their goal of taking over the entire island.

Despite his decision, Duterte said he remains open to talks with the terrorist group.

Chief presidential legal adviser Salvador Panelo had said that the public should not fear Duterte's martial law declaration.

“The public should not be alarmed by the President’s proclamation because the Constitution itself provides ample safeguards to ensure the responsible implementation of martial law,” he said.

The Palace had said that the declaration will last for 60 days. —Rie Takumi/ALG, GMA News