Palace: Duterte won’t impose martial law to fight illegal drugs

President Rodrigo Duterte will not impose martial law to aid his controversial war on drugs, Malacañang said on Thursday, after the Chief Executive vowed "harsher" and "bloodier" approaches to curbing the problem.

"He doesn’t have to. We are containing it given the official figures [on the drug war]," presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said at a news conference.

Under the 1987 Constitution, the President is empowered to declare martial law in times of invasion and rebellion when the public safety requires it.

Duterte used this power in quelling rebellion in Mindanao by extremist groups accused of plotting a caliphate for international terror group ISIS.

"If there is rebellion, and there is eminence, and the public safety requires – then the President can do that. But according to him, he will not, he will not because he has still many measures that he can do to quell the present threat on the drug industry," said Panelo, who is also the chief presidential legal counsel.

Duterte on Wednesday reiterated his pledge to continue the war on illegal drugs until end of his term in 2022, saying he would not allow the country to end up a "failed state."  He did not give specifics but said the war can take "many forms."

The President also said the cocaine packages found floating in waters off some provinces established the presence of international drug cartels in the country.

Panelo pointed to the Philippines' archipelagic nature as reason why the country is being used as transshipment point for cocaine. 

"Ang reading ko diyan kasi iyong teritoryo natin, islands eh.  Sa madali’t sabi ang daling pumasok, hindi mo mabantayan lahat, ang dami. There are how many islands kaya nakakapasok iyong mga drugs," he said.

The Palace official, however, said the government has already dismantled "many" drug operations.

Roundly condemned by local and international human rights groups due to its alleged heavy-handed approach, the war on drugs has killed more than 5,000 drug suspects, based on government data, since Duterte took office in 2016.

Duterte is facing two communications in connection with the drug war before the International Criminal Court (ICC), which opened in February last year a preliminary examination to determine whether it has jurisdiction over the matter and a full-blown investigation would serve the interests of justice and of the victims.

The President responded by withdrawing the Philippines’ membership in the ICC the following month, a move challenged by opposition senators before the Supreme Court.

He had repeatedly said that the ICC had no jurisdiction over him, arguing that the Rome Statute — the treaty that established the court— is not enforceable in the Philippines because it was not published in a government publication or any commercial newspaper. — RSJ, GMA News