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Martial Law Set to End in Restive Philippine South as Violence Ebbs

Ralph Jennings

   TAIPEI, TAIWAN - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's recent
   announcement that he would, by the end of the year, lift martial law
   over the country's vast, often violent southern island of Mindanao
   after 31 months is seen as a sign authorities have an upper hand over
   armed rebel groups and want business to prosper in the impoverished
   region.

   Martial law has been in place over Mindanao and surrounding seas since
   2017. Foreign embassies still advise against travel on Mindanao, where
   foreign tourists are occasionally kidnapped and beheaded, but lifting
   martial law would follow a period of relative calm over the island and
   respond to calls to improve Mindanao's reputation among investors and
   tourists, analysts say.

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