VICE PRESIDENT Maria Leonor G. Robredo has called on the country to unite, as efforts to neutralize the Maute Group in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur, are under way.
Robredo made the statement shortly after her briefing regarding the incident with ranking Armed Forces officials at Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo, Quezon City, on Wednesday morning.
“Now is the time for us to unite [as a people]. Now is the time for us to unify and protect our country’s security. This is the not the time for us to be fragmented,” Robredo said in Filipino.
She also reiterated her office’s willingness to provide relief aid to families displaced by the fighting in Marawi City.
Robredo noted that her staff has been in constant communication with representatives of the affected city.
However, the same representatives advised them to put their efforts on hold, as they do not have any idea how to receive the aid.
“They will tell us when it is okay for us to send aid,” she said.
Robredo also advised Marawi City residents not to evacuate and gather in a common area, as this could make them vulnerable to attacks.
This was based on the advice of the Armed Forces, she added.
HRW hits martial law declaration
HUMAN Rights Watch (HRW), meanwhile, slammed President Duterte for declaring martial law all over Mindanao, saying it will open the floodgates to more abuses.
Commenting on the Duterte declaration issued in Russia, HRW Deputy Asia Director Phil Robertson said, “The lawlessness of President Duterte’s ‘war on drugs’ heightens grave concerns that his declaration of martial law in Mindanao will bring further rampant abuses. We urge the Philippine government to ensure the rights of all Filipinos are respected, as it addresses violence and crime in the southern Philippines.”
Robertson added: “Martial law is no excuse to trample on civil liberties.”
He said, “The Philippine Constitution contains guarantees for the protection of human rights and civil liberties during martial rule. We call upon the administration—as well as Congress and the courts—to ensure that these important protections remain in force.”
“The Filipino people, having suffered martial law under the Marcos dictatorship, fully appreciate the important role played by human-rights activists, the legal community and the independent media in defending rights,” Robertson concluded.
Local rights groups assail declaration
THE human-rights watchdog Karapatan has warned that the declaration of martial law in all of Mindanao, in response to an alleged attack by the Maute Group in Marawi City, could be a prelude to a nationwide crackdown.
In a statement released before dawn on May 24, Karapatan claimed the declaration of martial law to cover Sulu, Basilan, Tawi-Tawi and all of Mindanao, while Duterte was in Russia, was an “overkill”.
The declaration was issued at around 10 p.m. on May 23, apparently upon instigation of military officials, after the Armed Forces launched an attack on Maute Group members who had purportedly linked up with Isnilon Hapilon of the Abu Sayyaf and his men in Marawi City.
“Karapatan strongly protests Duterte’s martial-law declaration, emphasizing it will not address the circumstances of the current situation in Marawi, but will aggravate the insecurity in the area. Martial law is not the answer; it will never result to anything but gross violations of people’s rights,” the human-rights watchdog said in a statement.
“Karapatan calls for a deeper investigation on the incidents in Marawi, while it condemns the various acts that have endangered civilians. We reiterate, however, that the martial-law declaration is uncalled for and a wrong response,” the group added.
The party-list group Bayan Muna, at the same time, condemned the attack and occupation of some areas and facilities in Marawi City by fighters of the extremist Maute Group, which has pledged allegiance to Isis.
“While we call on the authorities to decisively solve this problem and end the crisis in Marawi, Bayan Muna strongly disagrees with and opposes President Duterte’s extreme response of placing the entire island of Mindanao under martial law,” said Party-list Rep. Carlos Isagani T. Zarate who is based in Davao.
“The declaration signals an all-out militarist approach that may prove even more disastrous to the security, properties and lives of our people, particularly in Mindanao. In the past, these extreme militarist measures resulted to massive and wanton violation of human rights of our people by government security forces, particularly in the Moro areas of Mindanao,” he added.
“We strongly urge President Duterte to immediately recall the martial-law declaration, especially with the military’s own pronouncement that the affected areas are now ‘under control’,” Zarate also said.