MANILA, Philippines — Communist rebels are expected to ramp up their extortion activities from candidates in Mindanao running in the 2019 midterm elections, another reason why the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine National Police (PNP) are seeking a one-year extension of martial law in the region.
According to PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Benigno Durana Jr., the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing the New People’s Army (NPA) will take advantage of the midterm elections to shore up their funds.
“They are glamorizing it as permit to campaign taxes but in a democratic country, it’s plain and simple extortion,” he said in an interview over radio station dzBB yesterday.
President Duterte earlier asked Congress for another extension of martial law in Mindanao upon the recommendation of police and military officials.
Durana said communist CPP-NPA rebels have been monitored specifically in the northeastern and eastern portions of Mindanao.
Defending their recommendation of a one-year extension, he explained that the rebels have been engaged in extortion and other criminal activities even before the campaign season kicks in.
“Sometimes it can go beyond the election period, that’s why I think it’s in a better position to extend martial law to a year,” Durana said.
The presence of additional security forces in Mindanao will also help prevent election-related violence perpetrated by private armed groups.
The PNP is monitoring about 77 such armed groups in the country, 72 of which are located in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
Durana said the presence of Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, Maute and Abu Sayyaf is another reason why they want martial law extended.
“These are the inputs, reasons why we recommended (martial law) for another year,” he said.
But Durana said they are leaving it up to legislators to determine the legality of their recommendation for martial law extension in Mindanao.
“We are not here to interpret the law or policy. We just have to provide the necessary inputs and allow our leaders in Congress to decide,” he said.
Senate briefing
Meanwhile, security officials are set to present to senators today their justifications for extending martial law in Mindanao for a third time.
National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and Interior Secretary Eduardo Año will lead the panel of military and police officials in briefing senators on the situation in Mindanao.
The briefing is supposed to help senators decide on whether or not to grant Duterte’s request for another extension of martial law although some lawmakers have already made known their preferences.
Duterte is expected to send today to the Senate and House of Representatives a formal letter calling for a joint session of Congress on Wednesday to vote on his request.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson, chairman of the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs, said he expects his colleagues to have more questions than the briefing a year ago when martial law was extended for the second time.
Lacson added that he expects the House to prevail in the voting, having nearly 300 members.
“As if our votes will be a factor (during the joint session) because we’ll be voting jointly and we’re only 22 (senators)… but at least our voices will be heard,” Lacson told dzBB.
3 bishops say ‘no’
For their part, three Catholic bishops from Mindanao yesterday objected to the proposal for another extension of martial law in the southern islands.
Bishops Antonio Ledesma, Jose Colin Bagaforo and Dinualdo Gutierrez of the dioceses of Cagayan de Oro, Kidapawan and Marbel, respectively, all said there is no necessity for such extension.
“No need for martial law (extension). Keeping peace and order can be handled adequately by the police and the military with proper safeguards for respecting human rights,” Ledesma said in an interview.
Gutierrez shared this opinion.
“No need. We are OK in (South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos City),” he said in a separate interview.
Bagaforo, for his part, called on the government to end martial law to allow the people in Mindanao to get back to their normal lives.
“It is about time we normalize everything. Everyone in the government says, including the military and police, that peace and order is at its top and their governance is well placed, so we end martial law. There is no more need for it,” he told church-run Radio Veritas. – With Paolo Romero, Edu Punay