Statement of Konsyensya Dabaw on the third extension of martial law in Mindanao
We at Konsyensya Dabaw, an open movement of human rights advocates from Davao City, question the request transmitted by Malacañang to the 17th Philippine Congress for a third extension of martial law in
The Philippine Constitution in Article VII, Section 18 clearly identifies the applicable conditions when martial could be declared by the President: “In case of invasion or rebellion, when the public safety requires it, he may, for a period not exceeding sixty days, suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus or place the Philippines or any part thereof under martial law.”
Government itself has made various declarations that cast doubts on whether the aforementioned causes exist in Mindanao at this time.
The rationale for Proclamation No. 216 has been addressed. The President himself declared Marawi City liberated on October 17, 2017. The security sector has been systematically conducting operations against the Dawlah Islamiyyah/Maute, which was already pronounced “leaderless,” and other violent extremist groups.
Meanwhile, responses to reported human rights violations in relation to the Marawi crisis have not been adequate.
In a November 16, 2018 message to the Mindanao Media Forum on Peace, Martial Law, and Marawi Rehab by Gen. Carlito Galvez, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), titled “Mindanao under martial law: A report to the nation,” claims were made about the confiscation of loose firearms, the “constriction of known terrorist groups,” and the surrender of over 10,000 members of the New Peoples Army (NPA) and supporters as well as over 300 members of local terrorist groups.
Given that the Public Affairs Office of the AFP in March 2018 estimated the NPA nationwide strength to be “3,700 based on revelations of captured/arrested/surrendered NPAs themselves,” of which “about 60% of the NPA guerilla fronts and red fighters are in Mindanao,” then the NPAs in Mindanao would number around 2,200.
The November report could mean only one of two things: either the AFP already wiped out all of the NPAs in Mindanao; or if the NPA has not yet been contained, then most of the claimed 10,000 surrenderees are, in all likelihood, civilians.
If the NPA has been significantly weakened in Mindanao, what need is there for an extension? On the other hand, if most of those who surrendered under questionable circumstances are civilians, who is it that truly benefits from the protection supposedly afforded by martial law?
We at Konsyensya Dabaw, an open movement of human rights advocates from Davao City, question the request transmitted by Malacañang to the 17th Philippine Congress for a third extension of martial law in Mindanao originally promulgated through Proclamation No. 216 on May 23, 2017.
In a previous statement, we warned about the ‘tapok-hangyo’ (TapHang) approach, where community members suspected of being rebel supporters are asked to gather in a meeting, subjected to talks pressuring them to cooperate, and then later declared as mass surrenderees. Cases of fake and forced surrenders have been documented in recent times in Davao del Norte, Compostela Valley, Agusan del Sur, Bukidnon, Misamis Occidental, and Zamboanga del Sur.
In truth, these approaches are not new to Mindanao. During the years of the Marcos dictatorship, civilians were also periodically harassed and herded into mass gatherings and declared as surrenderees.
Martial law and its seemingly ‘indefinite’ state has created a climate where those in authority in Mindanao seem to have been emboldened to use brute force or to curtail civilian rights and freedoms.
Four volunteer numeracy-literacy teachers of the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines in Tagoloan 2, Lanao del Sur went missing on November 12, 2018 and were found 15 days later, detained by the 103rd Brigade based in Marawi City.
