Lawmakers yesterday appealed to all Filipinos to extend full support to President Duterte’s intensified campaign against terrorism as they called for public vigilance against any acts of violence and lawlessness.
Leyte Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez sought all-out public support for the President’s war against the Abu Sayyaf Group that has claimed responsibility for the bombing in Davao City Friday.
“We share their (victims and survivors) pain and sadness for this very unfortunate barbaric terrorist attack of unprecedented level. Every Filipino should exercise caution and always be on guard,” Romualdez said.
House Deputy Speaker and Batangas Rep. Raneo Abu also expressed all-out support to Duterte’s declaration of a state of lawlessness to intensify his administration’s campaign against terrorism.
“I fully support President Duterte’s declaration of a state of lawlessness which is in consonance with the 1987 Constitution, allowing the President to call on the Armed Forces of the Philippines to prevent or suppress lawless violence,” he said.
Abu allayed fears that such declaration would result in more extrajudicial killings and other human rights violations.
“There is no suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus and there will be no curfew imposed. In these extraordinary times, I don’t see anything irregular if the soldiers and police are authorized to conduct searches in accordance with the orchestration of the national government,” he said.
House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez also rallied behind the President’s declaration, saying that “it will give our law enforcers and the military the means to carry out deterrent measures not just against further acts of terror but also against other forms of criminality, including trafficking in illegal drugs.” (Charissa M. Luci)