Philippine troops battle Isis-allied Islamists
Duterte warns martial law imposed in southern crisis region may be greatly expanded
Philippine troops backed by tanks and helicopters battled Isis-allied militants in a southern city on Thursday as President Rodrigo Duterte warned he may greatly expand martial law already imposed in the crisis region.
Explosions and gunfire rang out in Marawi on Mr Duterte’s home island of Mindanao as soldiers fought to dislodge extremists who occupied the area after a failed security forces raid to capture a leader wanted by the US.
The crisis has laid bare both the militant threat in the southern Philippines and Mr Duterte’s willingness to back up his hardline rhetoric by suspending normal constitutional rights and expanding the military’s powers. His action has so far triggered only pockets of opposition, despite Filipinos’ memories of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos’s use of martial law to enable his brutal and corrupt two-decade rule.
Mr Duterte warned he might expand martial law nationwide and seek congressional approval to extend it from its current 60 days to one year, as part of a “harsh” crackdown on terrorism.
“If I think that you should die, you will die,” he said. “If you fight us, you will die. If there is open defiance, you will die. And if it means many people die, so be it.”
At least 21 people have been killed already in this week’s Marawi fighting, which prompted Mr Duterte to cut short a trip to Russia and impose martial law on the southern third of the 100m-strong Southeast Asian country.
The battle was triggered by a security force raid to capture Isnilon Hapilon, a leader of the Abu Sayyaf group. The organisation is known for beheading hostages and hijacking ships that pass by the Philippine archipelago’s scattered southern islands. Mr Hapilon has a US bounty of up to $5m on his head.
Prominent Philippine politicians and interest groups have mostly supported or at least avoided criticising Mr Duterte’s action on martial law. The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry acknowledged “concern” among businesses but said it had “faith in our president’s firm control and determination to eliminate the threats and to protect the entire community”.
The Commission on Human Rights, which is government funded but operationally independent, condemned the “recent attacks of terrorist groups” in Marawi. It called on legislators to “exercise due diligence” and warned that the country must never repeat the “dark past” of the 1972 martial law declaration by Marcos. The former dictator ruled for another 14 years until he was ousted by the country’s “People Power” protests.
Mr Duterte is seen as unlikely to face wide opposition to his plans in Congress, which is packed with his supporters.
The Marawi crisis is a serious blow to Mr Duterte’s image as potential peacemaker in Mindanao, where he grew up and was mayor of the city of Davao for more than 20 years. Many hoped his longstanding contacts could help entrench a peace deal between the previous government and more moderate Islamist rebels in the decades-long insurgency there.
Domestic and foreign security officials have grown increasingly concerned that extremist groups are gaining a bigger foothold in the southern Philippines, with the possibility their numbers could be boosted by Southeast Asian fighters for Isis returning home from the Middle East.