AFP exec says rebellion only ends at a ‘certain security level’

An official of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that the end of a rebellion is spelled not by the death of the last rebel but by a security level where "threat groups" are no longer effective.

Major General Pablo Lorenzo, the AFP's deputy chief of staff for intelligence, also admitted upon questioning that there is no ongoing armed rebellion in previously rebel-held Marawi City in Lanao del Sur.

During oral arguments on the third extension of martial law in Mindanao, Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa asked Lorenzo when the AFP will consider the rebellion — which it claims persists in Mindanao — quelled.

"It's not the killing of every single rebel out there when we can say rebellion no longer exists," Lorenzo said. "Rather, it is the attainment of a level of security whereby the different threat groups can no longer impose their will on the people, or they are no longer effective as far as attaining their political objectives [is] concerned."

He said the AFP has "certain parameters" for this. He also answered in the affirmative when Caguioa asked him if the rebellion is considered persisting until that security level is reached.

Will martial law continue until then, Caguioa asked. "Not necessarily, Your Honor," Lorenzo said. The AFP endorsed the extension of martial law in Mindanao until the end of 2019, a request of President Rodrigo Duterte that Congress approved last month.

After Caguioa's turn, Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio asked Lorenzo: "Is there an ongoing armed rebellion today in Marawi City?"

"Not in Marawi City, Your Honor," Lorenzo said.

Carpio and Caguioa dissented from earlier SC decisions that sided with martial law in Mindanao. In 2017, Carpio wanted martial law to be limited to Marawi City, the center of armed fighting between government troops and militants. Caguioa said it should only have covered Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, and Sulu.

Marawi was occupied by the Maute group in May 2017, prompting the initial martial law declaration, and was declared liberated five months later. Despite this, the government claims rebellion persists in the region due to continued hostilities allegedly perpetrated by terrorists and communist rebels.

Citing a lack of factual basis, four groups of petitioners have challenged the constitutionality of the martial law extension and asked the High Court to stop its implementation. — MDM, GMA News