A party-list congresswoman on Monday said she will urge leaders in the House of Representatives to issue a resolution urging the implementation of martial law in the entire country.
“Siguro after nito (State of the Nation Address), kung makakausap ko ang House leadership, magku-consult ako sa kanila siguro para kung puwede mag-file tayo ng resolution para ma-expand natin ang martial law all throughout the country,” KUSUG-TAUSUG party-list Representative Shernee Abubakar Tan told Unang Balita in an interview.
Tan insisted that there is enough reason to place the entire country under martial rule, citing the presence of rebel groups, including the New People’s Army, in Luzon and the Visayas.
By way of explaining her affirmative vote to President Rodrigo Duterte’s proposal to extend the Mindanao martial law by five months on Saturday, this is what the party-list representative told her fellow lawmakers about why the martial rule’s implementation should cover the entire country.
The suggestion drew surprised laughter from the people in the plenary hall during the joint session of Congress.
Tan said during the interview that her fellow lawmakers – some of them representatives from Luzon and the Visayas – support her suggestion.
“After kong nagsalita, pagbalik ko sa upuan ko ang mga katabi ko naman galing din sa ibang probinsya, mga galing din sa Luzon at sa Visayas na mga kongresista, nagustuhan naman nila ang sinabi ko na mag-martial law tayo hindi lamang sa Mindanao kundi pati sa Luzon at sa Visayas,” she said.