The Department of National Defense (DND) sees the persisting martial law in Mindanao, with already three extensions to date, to be long standing; therefore, prolonging it more is no longer advisable. Its birth can be traced back to May 2017 following the skirmishes and threats authored by the Maute group. The DND, however, will await the Philippine National Police’s and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)’s recommendations on the matter prior to releasing its official word on the extension. The AFP remarks that order in Southern Philippines grows gradually, though the military does not lower down its guard on the security of the region.
On a separate news, security forces are already on the their feet in view of the upcoming staging of the Southeast Asian Games in the Philippines on November 30 to December 11, 2019. The corps is composed of staffers from the AFP, DND, and National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
