DND, AFP welcome Congress decision to extend martial law in Mindanao

December 13, 2017

The Department of National Defense (DND) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) welcomes the Congress' one-year extension of martial law and suspend the writ of habeas corpus in Mindanao until December 2018.

“The Department of National Defense is grateful for this affirmation of trust and confidence from our legislators,” DND Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said in a statement issued after Congress made the decision to continue martial law in a joint session.

“The Filipino people can rest assured that we will not squander this opportunity to finally end the continuing rebellion and terrorism in Mindanao by destroying the Daesh structure in the area, thwart like-minded groups from conducting further acts of terrorism and prevent the spillover of violence and radicalism in other parts of the country,” Lorenzana added.

With the granting of martial law extension, the military vows to “faitfully perform its mandate to protect the people and secure the state.”

“We see the grant of the extension of martial law as an acknowledgement of the grounds we have cited that need immediate and decisive actions. Specifically, we need to quell the ongoing rebellion in Mindanao and prevent its spread to other parts of the country,” Col. Edgard Arevalo, public affairs chief of the AFP said.

“The military will faithfully perform its mandate to protect the people and secure the state,” he added.

Lorenzana also emphasized the importance of the extension of martial law in the ongoing rehabilitation of Marawi City.

“With the extension of Martial Law, we are also confident that we can move forward with unhampered reconstruction and rehabilitation of Marawi City,” he said.

“The challenges we are facing in Mindanao are also challenges to each and every Filipino. Together, as a nation, we will prevail and prove to the world our collective resilience against odds,” he added. Robina Asido/DMS