“It’s a big window for all of us,” he says
(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday thanked Congress for approving his one-year extension of martial law in Mindanao.
“I would like to thank Congress for understanding the plight of the Filipino,” he said in a speech during the ceremonial destruction of firearms in Taguig.
He added that he would have had a “difficult time” if martial law was not in place in Mindanao.
He said the one-year extension was “a big window for all of us.”
“I am not a dreamer but the reality of one year, pag continuous ang bakbakan, mauubusan talaga kayo ng bala diyan. Mayroon akong attack helicopter, kayo pagprapractisean ko,” he tells the communists, whom he recently labelled as terrorists.
He said government troops would also focus on the terrorists.
“..Itong Mindanao, bigyan niyo ako ng onting panahon,” he said.
Early in the day, Congress voted to approve Duterte’s proposal to extend martial law for a second time.
The first extension was done on July 22, when the 60-day martial law allowed by the Constitution lapsed.
Duterte first declared martial law in Mindanao after local terrorists overran Marawi in May.