MEMBERS of the Davao City Peace and Order Council (CPOC) support Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio's proposal to lift martial law in Davao City.
CPOC, which is chaired by Duterte-Carpio, unanimously passed a resolution for its lifting in the city on Wednesday, July 31.
Public Safety and Security Command Center (PSSCC) chief Benito de Leon said he made the motion after receiving evaluation from Joint Task Force Haribon, a military task force that oversees the military operations in Davao City and nearby Island Garden City of Samal.
He said Haribon considered the city's security and threat situation, which he said has no underlying threats.
"Based on the legal framework, Martial Law is supposed to be implemented in areas where there is a breakdown of governance," De Leon said on Thursday during the iSpeak media forum at the City Hall of Davao.
"However, in Davao City, all the functionalities of the executive, legal bodies, judicials bodies are stil functioning and not disrupted," De Leon added.
He said the Council supports the mayor's call of asking President Rodrigo Duterte to exempt Davao City from the Mindanao-wide implementation of Martial Law, which started in 2017.
Duterte-Carpio, in a previous speaking engagement, said martial law does not have to be applied in entire Mindanao but only in areas under military rule and where peace and order is unstable.
De Leon admitted that the city had a bad image from other countries, particulary from those in the West, due to the declaration of martial law.
"In the end, the city could benefit from an improved image from outside of Mindanao, for the foreign observers who look at martial law as a curtailment of rights. Once martial law is lifted, travel advisories issued by Western countries will also be lifted," he said.
City Tourism and Operations Office (CTOO) head Generose Tecson, in a previous interview, said that the implementation had a slight effect in tourist and investors in the city.
"Kagaya ng European and American (countries), need nila ng travel insurance pag nagtatravel. You cannot get one if you are travelling to a country that is under martial law (Like in European and American countries, they will not be given travel insurance when they are travelling to a country under Martial law)," she added.
Tecson said the mayor's request would be helpful to attract more tourists in the city.
De Leon, meanwhile, said there will be no changes in the security measures in the city although he said they will try to ask the military to tone down their uniform presence.
The PSSCC head said they will forward the resolution to the President and to the martial law administrator for evaluation.
He also said a collection consultations will be gathered from various agencies to assess the move for its lifting.
"That should strengthen now the basis of the President to lift martial law in Davao City," De Leon said.
He also said he is optimistic that the President will issue the lifting during the celebration of the Kadayawan festival this month.