Coronavirus: Philippine president Duterte threatens to impose martial law after 120,000 arrested for violating lockdown

'I don’t like it but it’s necessary if the country will suffer because you have no discipline,' says Philippine president

Filipinos have been threatened with martial law-style enforcement if they do not comply with a month-long coronavirus lockdown, as police said 120,000 people have been arrested or warned for flouting rules.

Over two weeks after he ordered law enforcement to shoot those who violate the lockdown, Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte said in a speech on Thursday he would order the military and police to enforce social distancing and curfews if compliance does not improve.

He said: “The police and military will enforce social distancing and curfews. They will It’s like martial law. You choose. I don’t like it but it’s necessary if the country will suffer because you have no discipline.”

The Filipino government has come under fire for its handling of the coronavirus crisis and has drawn concern about potential human rights violations. The president vowed to “identify Filipinos who have done nothing [but] criticise and find fault because they want to be heard by the public” and accused critics of “politicking”.

The Philippines’ main island of Luzon, where the capital Manila is located, has been under lockdown for the past five weeks. Authorities previously said the restrictions would stay in place until 30 April, but Mr Duterte said earlier this week there was “no end in sight” for the lockdown.

He said the lockdown would not be lifted completely until a vaccine for Covid-19, which has infected 5,878 and killed 387people in the country, is developed.

Luzon is the fourth-most densely populated island in the world, home to about 57 million people, including 12 million who reside in the capital.

Mr Duterte regularly uses violent force to keep people in check, as he did during a major drug crackdown when he took office in 2016, which resulted in the deaths of thousands of people.

Last month, five men were arrested for violating the curfew and were reportedly put in a dog cage by officials. Elsewhere, in the city of Paranaque within Metro Manila, curfew violators were reportedly forced to sit under the sun with no protection after their arrest.

On 1 April, Mr Duterte said in an impromptu national address: “My orders to the police and military… if there is trouble or the situation arises where your life is on the line, shoot them dead.

“Understand? Dead. I’ll send you to the grave… Don’t test the government.”

Less than a week later, a 63-year-old man was shot dead by Philippine police for refusing to follow the coronavirus restrictions, becoming the first casualty result of the lockdown.

The head of a task force assigned to enforcing the law amid the coronavirus pandemic said the police and military were prepared to implement a martial law-like lockdown, reported The Manila Times.

Lieutenant General Guillermo Eleazar said on Friday the force was “ready for any scenario and is always ready to comply with the president’s order”.

He added: “While the situation has improved, there are still some people who violated the rules and even went to the extent of engaging in illegal cockfighting and drinking session.”

Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, warned that those who violate quarantine rules are being subjected to “cruel” mistreatment and called for any abuse to be “immediately investigated”.