As City Mayor of Angeles, I am fully supporting the President’s declaration of Martial Law in the entire island of Mindanao for 60 days.
The Maute Group has joined forces with the Abu Sayaf Group to form a terrorist alliance aligned with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), and this group is responsible for the recent attack on the City of Marawi which resulted to mass evacuations of civilians. It is also the group that planned terrorist activities in Bohol and Palawan in the Visayas and Luzon, respectively.
The President has the Constitutional authority to place Mindanao under Martial Law. Cutting short his official visit in Russia, the President will report to Congress within 48 hours after the declaration.
These terrorist groups operating in Southern Mindanao must be destroyed once and for all before it could extend its nefarious activities in other areas of Mindanao and other parts of the country.
The President’s declaration is in the best interest of the country. It is required to ensure public safety, and to restore peace and order.
