Philippine Supreme Court backs Duterte martial law

The Philippine Supreme Court yesterday approved a one-year extension of President Rodrigo Duterte's martial law decree covering the southern third of the country, a ruling which a critic described as a blow to human rights.

Duterte initially imposed military rule across Mindanao -- home to about 20 million people -- in May last year, when the military was fighting a deadly uprising by pro-Islamic State group militants in Marawi city.

Congress later endorsed his plan to prolong martial rule across the region until the end of 2018. But rights campaigners, warning of a looming dictatorship, asked the Supreme Court in December to block the extension.

"The President and Congress had sufficient factual bases to extend (martial rule)", the court said in a statement yesterday, summarising the justices' 10-5 vote to throw out the petition.

"The rebellion that spawned the Marawi incident persists," it added, saying public safety required the extension.

Hundreds of gunmen rampaged through the Islamic city of Marawi in May last year in what authorities said was part of an attempt to establish a Southeast Asian base for IS in the mainly Catholic Philippines.

A US-backed military campaign took five months to defeat the militants, with the battle claiming more than 1,100 lives and leaving large parts of Marawi in ruins.