The Supreme Court (SC) rules that President Rodrigo Duterte’s martial law proclamation in Mindanao is valid.
During an en banc session on Tuesday, July 4, 2017, 11 out of 15 SC justices voted to affirm Proclamation 216, while three voted that it should be confined to Marawi City and not the entire Mindanao. Only Associate Justice Marvic Leonen voted that the martial law is invalid.
The majority SC ruling dismisses the petitions to invalidate Proclamation 216 filed by the minority bloc in the House of Representatives, residents of Mindanao and women from Marawi.
Duterte issued Proclamation 216 on May 23, when militants from the Islamic State-affiliated Maute Group seized Marawi City, killed civilians and security forces, and burned buildings and schools.
Government forces continue to battle the militants resulting in more than 400 deaths. Thousands of Marawi residents fled their homes; others were evacuated in the warzone.
credit: Wikimedia
