Cirilito Sobejana said "there might be better options" even as the military "realized substantial gains on our security efforts" during his stint as commander of Joint Task Force Sulu in 2017 when the entire Mindanao was under martial rule.
A day after the Aug. 24 bombings in Jolo town allegedly perpetrated by the Abu Sayyaf Group, Sobejana said it is "high-time" to again place Sulu under martial law, with the police later supporting the proposal.But the local government, as well as many senators, congressmen and other government officials, promptly expressed opposition to the idea.
Citing what he said were the gains in Sulu during the May 2017 - December 2019 martial rule after the Marawi siege, Sobejana said the military reduced the number of kidnap victims from 54 to 3, while "a number"of Abu Sayyaf leaders were neutralized and more than a hundred rebels surrendered.