Philippines Supreme Court upholds Duterte's martial law

The Philippines Supreme Court has overwhelmingly 
upheld the enforcement of martial law in the southern
region of Mindanao, which President Rodrigo Duterte 
said was necessary to quell the threat from ISIL.

Eleven justices of the 15-member high tribunal voted to
dismiss petitions that challenged the martial law on 
Tuesday, according to Supreme Court spokesman 
Theodore Te.

Three justices voted to partially grant the petitions, 
which alleged that Duterte's declaration had no factual
 basis, while one voted in favour of the petitions, Te said.

The petitioners have up to 14 days to file a 
reconsideration request to the Supreme Court.

Duterte declared military rule over Mindanao for 60 
days on May 23 when hundreds of fighters linked to 
the the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL , also 
known as ISIS) group attacked Marawi city after government forces tried to arrest a local leader of the group.

The region is home to about 20 million people.

More than 460 people have been killed in the battle in 
Marawi, while more than 300,000 residents have been 
forced to flee their homes in the municipality and nearby towns.

Ahead of the Supreme Court ruling, Duterte had 
threatened to ail critics of the martial law and insisted 
he would ignore the findings of the court, vowing only 
to listen to recommendations from the armed forces.

The martial law will be in effect for another three weeks.
Duterte would need congressional approval to extend that
period.

"It seems that based on how Congress has been 
amenable to his requests in the past, he would be able 
to get that extension if requested.