Ernesto Abella

The U.S. and Russia on Tuesday separately reiterated their support for the Philippines in its fight against terrorism and illegal drugs, Anadolu Agency reports.

President Rodrigo Duterte plans to extend martial law in the southern Philippines to defeat Islamist militants who have seized a major city, his spokesman said on July 18, as a critic warned the country could be edging towards a dictatorship.

President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte wants the extension of martial law in Mindanao until the end of the year, his spokesman said Tuesday.
Duterte, in a letter to Congress, said the “existing rebellion” in Mindanao would not end on July 22, the 60th day in the limit prescribed by the Constitution.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's popularity has soared during his first three months in office, an independent survey showed Oct. 6, in an apparent endorsement by Filipinos of his brutal crime war.