Duterte. PNA Photo
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LAWMAKERS from across Southeast Asia yesterday warned that the Duterte administration’s move to extend martial law in Mindanao would put human rights at risk. The warning came the same day Congress voted to grant President Duterte’s request during a joint session yesterday.

“The continued imposition of martial law threatens to facilitate a culture of impunity in Mindanao and intensify human rights violations already taking place there,” said Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) chair Charles Santiago, a Jakarta-based member of the Malaysian Parliament.

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The group had urged the Philippines to scrap plans for extending martial law, and instead take steps to end the ongoing abuses on the island.

“Crucially, authorities must conduct effective investigations into all allegations of human rights violations, including by military personnel,” said APHR in a statement sent to this paper.

APHR noted that martial law was declared in Mindanao, through Duterte’s Proclamation 216 on May 23, 2017 after the Islamic State-inspired armed group Maute carried out deadly attacks in Marawi City and occupied key infrastructure. Although the military announced the end of combat operations in October 2017 after taking back control of Marawi City, it noted that authorities still say there is still a militant threat on the island, including through remnants of the Maute group.

While President Duterte has cited a need to address the “ongoing rebellion” — an element necessary for declaring or extending martial law – opponents in Congress have argued that the extension was unconstitutional due to the “absence of actual rebellion.” They also stressed that martial law is an emergency tool and “should never be treated as something ordinary and lasting.”

Local human rights groups have reported a “marked increase of human rights violations” in Mindanao over the last one year and a half, which included forced surrenders of alleged rebels, illegal arrests, and attacks against human rights defenders.

In December 2017, the UN Special Rapporteurs on the rights of indigenous peoples and on internally displaced people — Victoria Tauli-Corpuz and Cecilia Jimenez-Damary — found that militarization has led to the displacement of thousands of indigenous Lumad people and expressed alarm over reports that Lumad farmers had been killed by military forces.

APHR said it has also noted that on May 13, 2019, the Philippines would have its midterm elections. With martial law extended, APHR said Philippine authorities must ensure that its implementation does not prevent legislators from campaigning or carrying out other duties necessary for a functioning parliament and democracy.

“Any form of hindrance will not only be against the aspirations of the people in Mindanao, but will also negatively impact the overall results of the national election,” said Santiago.

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