PH Supreme Court OK with 3rd Mindanao martial law extension 

It looks like the Philippine Supreme Court (SC) is totally fine with the third extension of martial law in Mindanao.

That is after it declared today that it is upholding the extension set to end on Dec. 31. This means the entire island of Mindanao will still be under military rule and the right to the writ of habeas corpus will continue to be suspended, the Manila Bulletin reported.

“The Supreme Court ruled to uphold the constitutionality of the extension of the declaration of martial law and the suspension of the privilege of writ of habeas corpus in Mindanao until December 31, 2019,” SC Public Information Chief Atty. Brian Keith Hosaka said in a press conference today, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

The vote on the extension’s constitutionality ended with nine justices ruling in favor of it and four against it.

The government reportedly cited the cathedral bombing in Jolo, Sulu last month in arguing the need for martial law in the area, ABS-CBN News wrote. The incident, which included two explosions, led to the deaths of more than 21 people. More than a hundred were also injured.

In December, both houses of Congress approved President Rodrigo Duterte’s request to extend martial law in Mindanao a third time.

Duterte had asked for the extension, supposedly to end violence in Mindanao, where he said there was an ongoing rebellion. Extending martial law, the president said, would help the government prevent the rebellion from spreading in other parts of the country.

Many criticized this extension, which led to four different petitions against it filed by members of the House of Representatives, human rights lawyers, and Mindanao residents, the Philippine Star reported.

Martial law was first declared in Mindanao in May 2017, following the IS-linked Marawi Siege.