DAVAO CITY Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio has expressed support to the proposal of President Rodrigo R. Duterte, her father, to extend martial law in Mindanao by another year, which would cover the entire 2018.

“The city is not opposed to the martial law extension; we will defer to the decision of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Office of (the) President since they have access to information related to these decisions,” she told the media.

Other local government officials said they also have no opposition to the extension as the current martial law, which has been in effect since May 23, served to strengthen security and had no adverse impact in the economy.

“We have not heard of any investor withdrawing their investments from the city just because of martial law. On the contrary we are receiving many inquiries from local and foreign investors,” Davao City Investment Promotions Center head Lemuel G. Ortonio said.

The number of foreign visitors in the Davao Region has also increased from Jan. to Sept. this year compared to the same period last year despite the Marawi siege and the declaration of martial law.

“The number of foreign travelers to the region increased to 113,305 from Jan. to Sept. this year from 96,902 during the same period last year based on airport arrivals, hotel arrivals and other data from the region’s tourism sector,” Department of Tourism-Davao Region Chief Tourism Operations Officer Zuhairah Abas said in an interview.

However, domestic arrivals decreased to 1.92 million during the first nine months this year from 2.05 million during the same period last year. The Davao Region received a total of 2.06 million visitors, down from 2.16 million during the period in review. — Carmencita A. Carillo

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