As a 60-day recourseDuterte vowed to solve "all the problems that ails Mindanao" during the length of martial law there. Martial law was used to quell what was claimed to be rebellion in the murder of political opponents and journalists. But, as it turned out, it was not a real rebellion that calls for martial law," he told Philstar.com. 216, declaring Martial Law and suspending the privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus in the whole of Mindanao during his visit to the Russia Federation. This was because martial law was crafted in the 1987 Constitution that upholds democratic checks and balances as a measure of "last resort," Monsod said.

Source: Philippine Star May 25, 2017 10:46 UTC