MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte wants the imposition of martial law in Mindanao to end soon, but he said this may only happen once the region is safe from extremists.

“Sino ba naman may gustong ganon? And I want to end it as soon as possible. But I must be assured also na the Filipino people, the nation, is safe,” Duterte said Thursday in a speech in Bukidnon, where he visited troops from the Army’s 403rd Infantry Brigade.

“Masakit lang sa akin kasi wala namang presidente gustong may magpatayan sa kapwa niya Pilipino. It’s not good to wage a war, if possible, against your own people,” he added.

Duterte placed the entire Mindanao under martial law after Islamic State-linked militants led by the Maute and Abu Sayyaf groups laid siege on Marawi City in a bid to establish an ISIS province in Mindanao.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday affirmed the president’s proclamation, junking several petitions that questioned his basis for declaring martial rule over all of Mindanao.

Eleven justices voted to uphold Duterte's declaration, three voted to limit martial rule to certain parts of Mindanao, and one magistrate said the proclamation had no basis.

“The majority of the justices sustained me at hindi naman ako mag-declare ng martial law kung talagang hindi pwede,” Duterte said of the decision.

“And we won by an overwhelming mandate. It was only one. Ang lahat pumayag but ang iba naman gusto lang ng Marawi. Eh papaano ‘yung spillover?”

NO LIMIT TO MARTIAL LAW PROCLAMATION

Based on the constitutional limit of 60 days, Duterte’s martial law declaration will end on July 22, but he can ask Congress to extend it if he deems it necessary.

The president has said he would rely on the advice of his military commanders whether to extend the martial law declaration in Mindanao.

Duterte’s chief legal adviser, Salvador Panelo, said Duterte may issue another martial law proclamation if Congress fails to extend it.

“There would be a need for [another] proclamation if he feels [it is necessary] and upon recommendation of the Armed Forces that there is a need for prolonged martial law,” Panelo told reporters.

“But of course if the presidents wants to extend it, he will have to ask Congress.”

Panelo argued, Duterte can issue another martial law proclamation since the Constitution does not state that the president can only declare martial law once.

“Otherwise we will be tying the president’s hands in quelling the rebellion,” he said.

Panelo added that the 60-day constitutional limit on martial law enforcement may no longer apply if Congress, dominated by Duterte’s allies, decides to extend the May 23 martial law declaration.

On Tuesday, the police and military chiefs expressed willingness to extend martial rule in Mindanao to pave the way for rehabilitation efforts.

ISIS THREAT

Clashes erupted in the city on May 23 after government troops attempted to arrest senior Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon, the anointed Islamic State leader in Southeast Asia. The Philippine government and military said that while government troops failed to catch Hapilon, the operation thwarted a bigger attack by the terrorists.

At least 475 people- 351 suspected terrorists, 39 civilians, and 85 government troops - have died since firefights began.

About 400,000 civilians from Marawi and outlying areas have also been displaced as a result of the fighting.

While the government has put the civilian death toll at 39, the military believes this could “increase significantly” as troops have yet to reach other parts of the city where some trapped civilians were feared to have been executed.

The emergence of groups pledging allegiance to Islamic State has been considered the biggest security problem to face the year-old Duterte administration.

The rise of pro-ISIS groups in the country has also raised alarm in Washington and the Philippines’ neighbors in the region, which fear that the notorious terror group was seeking to establish a new front in Asia amid its successive losses in Iraq and Syria.