By Prof. Jose Maria Sison
NDFP Chief Political Consultant
July 27, 2019

Duterte and his ruling clique want to continue martial law in Mindanao for definite purposes, such as the following:

1. To pursue the policy of extrajudicial killings (mass murder) with utter impunity in order to suppress all opposition to the Duterte regime from intrasystemic critics and from the revolutionary forces of the people;

2. To use the military to control all branches and civilian agencies of the reactionary government and abuse their powers and resources in order to coerce submission to the Duterte tyranny;

3. To grab land and natural resources from the Lumad, Bangsamoro and the poor peasants of all ethno-linguistic communities for the benefit of foreign and local mining, logging, plantation and real estate corporations;

4. To use martial law in Mindanao as a base for nationwide martial law, be it de facto or proclaimed, and to effect fascist dictatorship through charter change or plain declaration of “revolutionary government” (counterrevolution); and

5. To capture the votes of Mindanao (as in the 2019 mid-term elections) in forthcoming voting exercises like charter change referendum and election of officials.

In view of his criminal character and control of all branches of the reactionary government, Duterte can proceed to continue martial law on any scale and for any duration in order to realize fully his ambition of fascist dictatorship and to ensure the installation of a successor that will protect him from prosecution for his grave crimes of treason, tyranny, mass murder, plunder and electoral rigging.