Opposition lawmakers who want to stop the year-long extension of martial law in Mindanao don’t know any better than President Rodrigo Duterte about the situation in the region, according to Solicitor General Jose Calida. “Do the petitioners know better than the President and the overwhelming majority of members of Congress who approved the extension of martial law in Mindanao? Last Dec. 13, Congress, in a joint session, voted 240-27 to approve Duterte’s request to extend the declaration of martial law in Mindanao until the end of 2018. “The congressional imprimatur on the validity of the extension is a political question that has been resolved by the legislature,” Calida said. “There is no actual rebellion in Mindanao and the re-extension is extremely long even as the approval was made with undue haste and unscrupulous imprudence,” the petitioners said.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer December 28, 2017 11:15 UTC