The Philippine Congress on July 22 voted to extend President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration of martial law in the south until the end of the year to defeat Islamist gunmen.
/ AFP PHOTO / TED ALJIBE
Filipino military personnel expect that President Rodrigo Duterte would tighten up security as conflicts between the government and insurgents are mounting.
Two military officials made the remarks in an exclusive interviews with China Central Television (CCTV) before Duterte will deliver his second state of the nation address (SONA) since he took office last June.
Major Ezra Balagtey, spokesman of the Eastern Mindanao Command, one of the country’s seven military commands, said that he hopes the security will be one of the priorities in Duterte’s SONA as the region is on high alert of a spate of violent attacks launched by the
New People’s Army (NPA), one of Asia’s longest-running insurgencies.
“We expect that he will be laying out some guidelines that will continue to sustain the changes that he started, not only here in his hometown but across the whole country, especially in conflict resolution in solving the conflicts that besiege our country today,” he said.
The Philippine Congress on Saturday approved Duterte’s request to extend a 60-day martial law to the end of this year in the entire Mindanao, which has aroused dissatisfaction among the NPA.
The NPA has launched dozens of attacks against the government since July. According to intelligence information, the NPA is planning a potential attack when Duterte delivers his SONA.
Balagtey said he also wishes Duterte to take strict measures to solve the current problems.
“He’s been talking about the peace process, and he’s been talking about the inclusiveness, which is the root cause of the conflict.
This is my expectation that he will be directing also the different agencies to look into this, to emphasize his call to the different agencies of government to look into the root cause of conflict. This is what now we are facing in our community,” he said.
Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla, spokesman of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), voiced the military’s support of the iron-fist president in restoring the stability at an early date.
“We’re working closely with the president’s mission, we’re ensuring the country be safe, and we will be safer from every Filipino who wishes to live their lives peacefully, and we’re working to do that. On the aspect of security, particularly with Abu Sayyaf and now this terrorist organization, we will work closely with the president. He is in tense desire to ensure that the security of every Filipino is assured. And we will work for that,” he added.
(China Central Television)