DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 09 February) – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday night said the call of former President Rodrigo Duterte for a separate Mindanao is “doomed to fail” because it is “anchored on a false premise, not to mention a sheer constitutional travesty.”
“I strongly appeal to all concerned to stop this call for a separate Mindanao” because this is a “grave violation of the Constitution,” he said in a speech before the Philippine Constitution Association (Philconsa) to commemorate Constitution Day. The 1987 Constitution was ratified in a plebiscite on February 2 that year and proclaimed in force on February 11. “Hindi ito ang Bagong Pilipinas na ating hinuhubog. Bagkus, ito ay pagwasak mismo sa ating bansang Pilipinas” (This is not the New Philippines that we are creating. Rather, it is the destruction of our Philippines).
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. accepts a token of appreciation from Manila Overseas Press Club Chairman Tony S. Lopez for being their guest of honor at the 56th anniversary of the Philippine Constitution Association (Philconsa). Also in the photo is his wife Liza and cousin Speaker Martin Romualdez. (Photo courtesy of Presidential Communications Office)
Duterte, the long-time mayor of Davao City who was elected as the first Mindanawon President (2016 to 2022) called for an independent Mindanao in a press conference here on January 30.
Duterte could not provide details on their Mindanao independence plan but said it will not be a bloody separation from the Philippines and they would gather signatures and go all the way to the United Nations.
He announced that he chose the person beside him at the table — Pantaleon Alvarez, Representative of the 1st district of Davao del Norte — to head the “movement” because Alvarez, House Speaker during the first half of Duterte’s Presidency, was among the first advocates of the “desirability of Mindanao seceding from the Republic of the Philippines.”
Former President Rodrigo Duterte and former House Speaker Pantalon Alvarez Jr. at the press conference Tuesday night, 30 January 2024, in Davao City. MIndaNews photo by MANMAN DEJETO
The former President made his call for Mindanao independence even as there was no clamor for it. His supporters were still on the second day of euphoria after his son Sebastian, the mayor of this city, called on Marcos to resign during the Hakbang ng Maisug Leaders’ Forum and Duterte himself spoke at the rally that followed the forum. His supporters cheered as Duterte called Marcos “bangag” (high on drugs) and warned that if his “hungry for power” wife Liza and House Speaker Martin Romualdez continue to push for an alleged “People’s Initiative” where signatures are affixed in exchange for money, Marcos could suffer the same fate as his father who was booted out of Malacanang by People Power in February 1986.
Shot down
Duterte’s call for an independent Mindanao was shot down even before it could take off by fellow Mindanawons and allies during his Presidency.
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, who was Senate Majority Leader under Duterte, told reporters in Manila that “with due respect to the former president, I think right now the last thing that we want is to have the country divided.”
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, who served as Senate President under Duterte, said he is “against any suggestion of secession or separation of part of the Philippine territory.”
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte sounds the agong to signal the inauguration of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) at the Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex in Cotabato City on March 29, 2019. Joining the President is BARMM Interim Chief Minister Al Haj Murad Ebrahim. ROBINSON NIÑAL JR./PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO
Not one of Mindanao’s 28 governors and 33 city mayors expressed support for Duterte’s independence call, not even in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) which was established in 2019 while he was President.
Duterte had pushed his “super majority” in both houses of Congress in 2018 to pass the Bangsamoro Organic Law, the enabling law of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, the peace agreement signed by the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in 2014 during the Presidency of Duterte’s predecessor, Benigno Aquino III. Congress under Aquino, however, failed to pass the CAB’s enabling law.
“Preposterous”
Marcos stressed that the leadership of the BARMM “has repudiated this preposterous proposal” along with other political leaders in Mindanao.
He said there is already a “genuine and effective local autonomy throughout our country, especially in the BARMM, without compromising our national integrity in the slightest degree.”
Nur Misuari (L), founding chair of the Moro National Liberation Front with President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim, chair of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Chief Minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao on 15 September 2022 at the inaugural session of the Bangsamoro Parliament in Cotabato City. MindaNews photo by CAROLYN O. ARGUILLAS
The BARMM is home to Moro liberation fronts that waged an armed struggle to assert their right to self-determination. In 1968, the Muslim Independence Movement (later renamed Mindanao Independence Movement) led by Datu Udtog Matalam called for an independent state comprising Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan.
The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) under Nur Misuari initially pushed for independence when it was organized in 1968 but settled for autonomy when the Organization of Islamic Conference (now Cooperation) whose support it sought, passed a resolution in 1975 calling on the Philippine government to negotiate with the MNLF “to arrive at a just solution to the plight of the Filipino Muslims within the framework of the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Philippines.”
Right to self-determination
In a statement on February 2, BARMM Chief Minister Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim said they stand firmly on “adhering to the faithful implementation of the provisions of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) towards the right to self-determination.”
The CAB paved the way for the creation of the BARMM which is presently being governed by the MILF-led 80-member Bangsamoro Transition Authority. The BARMM will hold its first election of the Bangsamoro Parliament in May 2025 and the transition period will end on June 30, 2025, when the first elected officials are sworn into office.
Ebrahim explained that underlying the CAB is the recognition of the justness and legitimacy of the cause of the Bangsamoro people and the “aspiration to chart our political future through democratic process that will secure our identity and posterity and allow for meaningful self-governance.”
Members of Parliament pose for a souvenir photo with Moro revolutionary leaders Nur Misuari, Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim and Muslimin Sema on 15 September 2022 at the Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex, Bangsamoro Government Center, Cotabato City. Photo courtesy of BTA Parliament FB
He said the government and the MILF have made “great strides” in the implementation of the peace pact for the benefit of the Bangsamoro people and are grateful for, and acknowledge, the “significant contributions” made by past and present Presidents in arriving at the peaceful settlement of the Bangsamoro Question.
He urged everyone to “help protect the gains of the peace processes” and to continue to support the Marcos administration “and allow peace and civility to reign over the affairs of our land.”
BARMM Governors
All six governors of the BARMM also rejected Duterte’s call.
In a Joint Statement also on February 2, Governors Hadjiman Hataman-Slaliman of Basilan, Mamintal Adiong Jr. of Lanao del Sur, Abdulraof Macacua of Maguindanao del Norte, Yshmael Sali of Tawi-Tawi expressed their “deepest gratitude” to Marcos for his “unyielding dedication to realizing lasting peace and prosperity in the Bangsamoro Region” and that his Bagong Pilipinas brand of governance is a testament to his “steadfast commitment to ensuring that the government’s presence is felt through the efficient delivery of services to people and communities.”
“We emphatically call upon everyone to maintain an unwavering focus and unity in safeguarding the hard-earned gains of peace, recognizing their indispensable role in driving economic development,” they said, adding that “distractions are not an option, as the foundational elements for peace and prosperity are firmly established.”
Joint Statement of four BARMM Governors. The two other governors had resolutions rejecting the call for an independent Mindanao.
The governors made an “impassioned collective call” to their constituents and the entire nation, urging “steadfastness and unity to achieve our shared aspirations.”
“The Bangsamoro People are resolved not to regress but to forge ahead together as one indomitable force, proudly celebrating our Bangsamoro identity as an integral part of the Philippine Republic,” the governors said.
Also on February 2, in Maguindanao del Sur, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan passed Resolution 010 “expressing opposition to the call for a separate and independent Mindanao.” It was approved by Governor Bai Mariam Mangudadatu.
On February 4, Sulu Governor Sakur Tan signed along with his mayors a “manifesto of support to keep and maintain the integrity and dignity of a united Philippines.”
“United, undivided country”
Marcos said the Constitution “calls for a united, undivided country,” an “eternal cohesion” and unlike other constitutions, “there is nothing in ours that allows the breaking up of this union, such as an “exit provision.”
He stressed that the Constitution “does not recognize a right to rebellion, while our criminal laws punish it.”
“I have said it before and will say it again here. Our national territory will not be diminished, even by one square inch,” Marcos said, emphasizing that he will “continue to defend it against any and all threats, external and internal” and “will not allow even an iota of a suggestion of its breaking apart.”
“On this part of the Constitution, there is simply no ‘dynamism’ or ‘flexibility.’ This is my guarantee, not only throughout this term, but up to my dying breath,” he said.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. graces the opening of the 1st Bangsamoro Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao Local Legislative General Assembly at the Acacia Hotel in Davao City on 14 November 2023. MindaNews photo by MANMAN DEJETO
He said the commemoration of Constitution Day this year comes at “such propitious timing” given the constitutional issues recently brought to the fore.
“I will not stand idly by, but rather, will proactively confront these issues head on. For it is my sworn duty as elected President to preserve and defend the Constitution, and also to ensure that laws, especially the fundamental law of the land, are faithfully executed,” he said.
As Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, and having control and supervision over the Philippine National Police, Marcos said he bears the “paramount mandates of maintaining peace and order in our land, and in preserving our national territory and security.”
He said citizens are sworn to defend our country and its most cherished ideals.
He recalled what then President Duterte said on September 26, 2017, the 56th anniversary of Philconsa. “What keeps us here tonight, what is the unifying factor in the Filipino? “ Duterte asked the Philconsa then. “It’s the Philippine Constitution, signed by our forefathers that we will be one. That keeps us united. You start to destroy the Constitution there will be a breakage in our society,” he said.
“Let us not betray the sacred oath that we have made. We must safeguard our Constitution’s primacy, and adhere to its provisions, procedures, and precepts,” Marcos said.
“As citizens, we have inherited and assumed these for the sake of the continuity of our nation’s legacy. We must then faithfully and vigilantly perform these integral civic duties of ours, lest we lay to waste the great vision and sacrifices of our heroes and our forefathers,” the President said.
Economic provisions
Marcos clarified that his administration is still pushing for amendments to the Constitution but on “economic matters alone, or those strategically aimed at boosting our country’s economy. Nothing more.”
Duterte during the January 30 rally here said the Marcos administration’s moves to amend the Constitution is to perpetuate themselves in power.
Former President Rodrigo Duterte calls his successor “bangag” (high on drugs), and warns him that he will be ousted from the presidency like his father if he insists on pushing for charter change through a “People’s Initiative” that was not initiated by the people. MindaNews photo by MANMAN DEJETO
Marcos noted that since the 8th Congress (1987 to 1992), “no less than 300 measures” have been filed in the House of Representatives calling for the amendment of the Constitution’s economic provisions.
“And we must allow this healthy and democratic debate to rage on, engaging and informing the minds of our citizenry, especially since the socio-economic development of our country is directly involved,” he said.
“I will neither hinder this dialogue, nor encroach on the prerogatives of Congress and the sovereign will of the Filipino people,” the President said, adding that Congress and the built-in system of checks and balances “are wonders to behold.”
“We must allow our democratic institutions and mechanisms, made possible by our constitutional order, to take their natural course,” he said. (Carolyn O. Arguillas / MindaNews)
