Inihain ng isang kongresista ang isang resolus­yon sa Mababang Kapulungan ng Kongreso para palawigin ang pagpapairal ng Martial Law sa Minda­nao hanggang Hunyo 2019.

Katwiran ni Iligan City Rep. Frederick Siao kailangang masagkaan ang mga napapaulat na terrorist plot at masigurong ligtas ang pagdaraos ng eleksyon sa Mayo 2019.

Nakasaad sa House Resolution (HR) No. 2302 ni Siao na pahahabain pa ang implementasyon ng Martial Law ng anim na buwan.

“It is urgently imperative that government autho­rity must ensure peaceful, orderly, and honest May 2019 elections in Mindanao, including and especially in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region and adjacent regions, to secure the integrity of the ballots and safety of voters and elections personnel and to ensure that the duly-elected officials are installed,” pahayag ni Siao na miyembro ng House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms.
Walang basehan sa Konstitusyon

Nilinaw naman ni Akbayan Party-list Rep. Tom Villarin na walang ‘constitutional basis’ ang pagpapalawig ng Martial Law sa Mindanao dahil sa ‘sporadic violence.’

“Only if there is rebellion, invasion or lawlessness violence and when public safety so requires can martial law be justified,” paliwanag ni Villarin.

Ang reaksyon ni Villarin ay kasunod ng hirit ni Rep. Siao na pahabain ang pagpapatupad ng Martial Law sa Mindanao.
“If Rep. Siao insists that nothing has changed since Martial Law was imposed in Mindanao thus the need to extend it, then something is wrong here. It is an admission of failure, not success. If the terrorists are still capable to sow terror, then we should be afraid because our military can’t handle them,” giit ni Villarin.