Duterte wants martial law in Mindanao extended for one year

President Rodrigo Duterte wants martial law in Mindanao extended for one year.

Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea announced that Duterte has already signed a letter asking Congress to extend martial law in Mindanao.

"There is already a letter, but I don't know if delivered already... Recommendation is one year," Medialdea told GMA News Online.

In an earlier message to reporters, House Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas said Medialdia told him that the letter will be sent to the House of Representatives and Senate on Monday.

"Letter extension of martial law signed by President Rodrigo Duterte will be delivered tomorrow to the House and Senate," Fariñas said.

He said Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez told him they will discuss the letter once they receive it on Monday.

They will also discuss it with their Senate counterparts, he added.

In an earlier statement, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said Duterte was still reviewing the recommendation from the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to extend martial law in Mindanao up to one year.

Duterte, on May 23, placed the entire island of Mindanao under martial law after the ISIS-inspired Maute group attacked Marawi City.

The initial declaration was supposed to end after 60 days, but Congress, in joint session, approved Duterte's request to extend it until December 31.

In October, Duterte declared Marawi City free from terrorists following the killings of terror leaders Isnilon Hapilon and Omar Maute.

Justifying its recommendation, the AFP cited there is an ongoing recruitment by terror groups and an increasing violence from the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army, which has been tagged as a terror organization.

"We need the cover of martial law to address these threats," former AFP spokesperson Brigadier General Restituto Padilla said at the Bangon Marawi briefing on Friday.

The PNP's recommendation, meanwhile, is based on two factors: the need to address continuing threats from terrorist groups and to facilitate the rehabilitation of Marawi City.

Fariñas said the House of Representatives and Senate will again convene in a joint session to tackle and vote on the request. —with Trisha Macas/ALG, GMA News