President Rodrigo R. Duterte talks to a wounded victim of the Davao City bombing incident during his visit at the Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City. But he also stressed that the declaration will remain effective until Duterte “sees order and safety restored”.
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Andanar said the police and military have been mobilized to suppress security threats but would need the cooperation of the public.
He said the proclamation commands the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippines National Police (PNP) to undertake measures permitted by the constitution and laws.
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has signed a proclamation declaring a state of national emergency due to lawlessness and violence in the country.
However, military spokesman Brigadier General Restituto Padilla said that the Abu Sayyaf has since been avoiding any confrontation.
Following President Dutertes order, close to 8,000 soldiers are hunting down Abu Sayyaf fighters in their lairs in Sulu and have so far killed nearly 30.
The attack ripped through a popular night market Friday night, killing 14 and injuring at least 71 others. I can not control the movements of the citizens of the city and every Filipino of the country has the right to enter and leave Davao.
Maria Ressa, executive editor of Philippines news website Rappler, said the blast occurred amid tensions surrounding Duterte’s war on drugs, as well as an ongoing peace process with Muslim militants in the southern Philippines.
He put the nation under a “state of lawlessness”, saying he has not declared martial law and has not suspended the writ of habeas corpus.
Police forces in the capital Manila went on full alert at midnight following the blast. “I warned, I remember warning everybody that there could be a reprisal because of the pressure there in Sulu which is going on”, Duterte said.
On Monday at least 12 soldiers were killed in clashes with militants in what was the deadliest day for Philippine troops since President Duterte was elected in May.
Duterte, Davao’s longtime mayor before he assumed the presidency in June, was in the region but had not issued any statement. The newly-elected president has been active in the crackdown of drug syndicates around the country which has resulted to more than 2,000 drug-related deaths since July 1.
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President Barack Obama will have an opportunity to offer his personal condolences to Duterte when the two leaders plan to meet on the sidelines of a regional summit in Laos next week, Price said.
