Palace releases signed proclamation of state of nat’l emergency

Malacañang on Tuesday released the signed Proclamation No. 55 declaring a state of national emergency on account of lawless violence in Mindanao.

The declaration was justified by the "spate of violence and lawless acts across many parts of Mindanao" such as abductions, hostage-takings, murder of innocent civilians, bombing of power transmission facilities, highway robberies and extortions, attacks on military outposts, media killings, and mass jailbreaks.

The proclamation also cited the death of 15 soldiers amid intensified operations against Abu Sayyaf in Sulu as well as the bombing of the Roxas Night Market in Davao City on Friday night that killed 14 people and injured 70 others.

The declaration calls on the military and the police to suppress lawless violence in Mindanao and prevent it from spreading and escalating elsewhere in the Philippines.

The proclamation will be in force and effect until withdrawn by President Rodrigo Duterte. —ALG, GMA News