By LITO RULONA
and NITZ ARANCON
Correspondents
MAYOR Oscar Moreno has declared his support for President Duterte’s declaration of martial law but he cautioned against possible abuses down the line.
Moreno, chairman of the Regional Peace and Order Council in northern Mindanao, called Duterte’s declaration on Tuesday night as a “decisive and focused move” following fierce clashes between government troops and members of the Maute terrorist group in Marawi City.
“Given the atrocities perpetrated in Marawi City yesterday by lawless elements, and to thwart and suppress terroristic objectives, I support the President’s martial law declaration covering the whole island of Mindanao for a period of 60 days,” said Moreno, RPOC chairman. “I do fervently hope however that the operationalization of martial rule will not subvert the sovereign people’s collective will, and neither will it disregard constitutional guarantees, except in cases that are more than reasonably necessary to achieve its sole purpose.”
Senior Supt. Robert Roy Bahian, director of the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office, assured that officers here would respect civil rights, adding that “the declaration of martial law will not be abused” by law enforcers.
Bahian said police officers have been given instructions to be courteous when they conduct inspections.
“This martial law is unlike what we had in the past,” he said. “Civil rights and the rule of law would be followed.”
Bahian said the police would focus more on profiling but those who would refuse to cooperate would be subjected to thorough investigation.
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