(Photo courtesy of The Official Gazette)
MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has lifted the declaration of state of national emergency on account of lawless violence in Mindanao, considering the improved peace and order situation in the region.
Marcos on Tuesday signed Proclamation 298, repealing Proclamation 55 issued in 2016 which proclaims the state of national emergency because of a “spate of violent and lawless acts across many parts of Mindanao.”
Proclamation 298 emphasizes that the lawless violence perpetrated by private armies and local warlords, bandits, criminal syndicates, terrorist groups, and religious extremists “have been significantly mitigated or reduced.”
“Through successful focused military and law enforcement operations and programs that promote sustainable and inclusive peace, the government has made significant gains in improving and restoring peace and order in the region,” the new proclamation said.
According to Proclamation 298, the lifting of a state of national emergency would help boost economic activity and hasten the recovery of the local economy.
A copy of Proclamation 298 was made public on Thursday.
Former president Rodrigo Duterte issued Proclamation 55 on Sept. 4, 2016 because of lawless violence in Mindanao, including abductions, hostage-takings and murder of innocent civilians, bombing of power transmission facilities, highway robberies and extortions, attacks on military outposts, assassinations of media people and mass jailbreaks.
Duterte, in issuing Proclamation 55, explained that the acts of violence exhibit the audacity and propensity of the armed lawless groups to “defy the rule of law, sow anarchy, and sabotage the government’s economic development and peace efforts.”
Proclamation 55 was also issued because of government intelligence reports about “credible threats of further terror attacks and other similar acts of violence by lawless elements in other parts of the country, including the metropolitan areas.” (PNA)
