Davao City On Lockdown With Martial Law Declaration, Mayor Sara Duterte Tells Public To Stay At Home

The City of Davao is on “lockdown” with checkpoints being tightened, after Martial Law was declared throughout Mindanao by President Rodrigo Duterte.

City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio who met with police and military officials in the city hours after the declaration of martial law said that security measures were discussed in the meeting.

One of the measures was the “lockdown” of the city.

“Gi-discuss namo ang pag-lockdown sa city, ug gina-advise namo ang gikan sa gawas kung wala mo importante tuyo diri sa sulod sa city, dili lang sa mo mibiyahe sa sulod sa city kay ma-hassle sila sa checkpoint namo. (We discussed the city’s lockdown and we advise those from outside if they do not have an important reason here inside the city, don’t travel here yet as you would be hassled by our checkpoints.),”the City Mayor said.

The Mayor said the checkpoints will conduct a more extensive and thorough search of vehicles and personalities.

The declaration, which placed Mindanao under martial law for 60 days, was done at around 10:00 pm (Philippine time) in Moscow and was announced by Press Secretary Ernesto Abella in a press conference in the Russian capital where the President is on an official visit.

The martial law declaration was in response to the clashes between the army and the police versus the Maute Terror group, which had entered Marawi and burned several structures including the church, city jail and a college.

She also advised residents and tourists staying in Davao City to use prudence in planning their activities particularly with the security measures implemented.

Also discussed in the meeting were contingency measures particularly in scenarios where Maute or any terrorist group will sow terror from within the city or attack from outside.

The meeting also tackled the planning of operations by the military and police units in the coming days until the effectivity of the martial law.

Several personalities belonging to the Maute group are being detained in the city, which the Mayor said they are requesting to be transferred to Manila.

“We will reiterate that request,” the Mayor said.

Mayor Duterte-Carpio also said the declaration of martial law is appropriate during this time.

“In view of the problems we have recently, sa insurgency, sa rebellion and this time around sa terrorism,” she said.

She also bared that the President called her up before he declared martial law.

The Mayor also said that they are waiting for the official Presidential proclamation for directives in relation to its implementation.

Source: Philippine Information Agency