Manila, Dec 12 (DPA) Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Saturday ordered an end to eight days of martial law imposed on a southern province where 57 people were massacred last month.
Executive secretary Eduardo Ermita said martial law in Maguindanao province, 930 km south of Manila, would be lifted at 9.00 p.m. (1300 GMT) Saturday.
“The rebellion has been addressed, law and order has been been restored,” Ermita told a news briefing after the meeting of Arroyo and her key security officials at the presidential palace.
Ermita added that major objectives for declaring the martial law in Maguindanao have been attained, including the arrests of key suspects in the Nov 23 mass killings.
Arroyo declared martial law in Maguindanao Dec 4 amid intensified security operations against the Ampatuan family, a close ally of Arroyo, which allegedly ordered the political massacre.
Among those arrested by security forces were the clan patriarch Maguindanao Governor Andal Ampatuan Senior and his son Datu Andal Ampatuan Junior, who allegedly led more than 100 militiamen in killing the victims.
