(Eagle News) — The 17th Congress on Wednesday, Dec. 12, voted to extend martial law in Mindanao for a third time.
Two hundred thirty five lawmakers voted for the extension, 28 against it, and one abstained.
Among the senators, 12 senators–Senate President Tito Sotto, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, Senators Gringo Honasan, Ping Lacson, Richard Gordon, Cynthia Villar, Grace Poe, Koko Pimentel, JV Ejercito, Sonny Angara, Sherwin Gatchalian and Manny Pacquiao–voted for the extension anew.
Five senators–Senators Franklin Drilon, Kiko Pangilinan, Bam Aquino, Risa Hontiveros, and Francis Escudero—voted against it, while Senator Ralph Recto abstained.
Senator Leila de Lima, who is detained on drug charges, did not take part in the voting.
Among the congressmen, 223 voted for the extension, including Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and House Majority Leader Rolando Andaya, while 23 voted against it.
No one abstained.
The voting took place after both Andaya and Zubiri moved for the extension which President Rodrigo Duterte had asked for in a Dec. 6 letter to lawmakers.
This is the third time martial law in Mindanao has been extended.
The first time President Duterte sought for the imposition of martial law in Mindanao was after Maute terrorists overran Marawi in May 2017.
Duterte and members of his government had cited what it said was a subsisting rebellion in Mindanao in seeking the extension. With a report from Meanne Corvera, Eagle News Service