MANILA, Philippines — Why did two senators show up but “did not participate” when Congress voted to extend martial law in Mindanao until December 31, 2019? Sources said Villanueva would have voted against the extension because of possible legal questions of the present Congress granting a martial law extension even beyond its expiration. The present 17th Congress will expire in June 2019 while the martial law extension being sought would last until December 31, 2019. Another source, meanwhile, said Binay and Villanueva were not convinced by the justifications presented by the government’s top security officials when they briefed senators about the necessity to extend martial law for another year. Only 12 of 23 senators voted in favor of the extension while five voted against it.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer December 12, 2018 09:30 UTC