MINDANAO SECESSION | Marcos shoots down Mindanao separation, says it’s ‘doomed to fail’

February 8, 2024 , 09:19 PM

By Clarist Zablan

(February 8, 2024) – President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. strongly shot down a proposal to separate Mindanao from the rest of the country, saying it is “doomed to fail.”

In a public address during the Constitution Day commemoration at Makati Shangri-La organized by the Philippine Constitution Association and the Manila Overseas Press Club, the chief executive said the secession violates the 1987 Charter.

The suggestion for Mindanao to separate from the Republic is a “sheer Constitutional travesty,” he said.

“I strongly appeal to all concerned to stop this call for a separate Mindanao,” he said, adding the proposal was “anchored on a false premise.”

“This is a grave violation of the Constitution. Hindi ito ang Bagong Pilipinas na ating hinuhubog. Bagkus, ito ay pag-wasak mismo sa ating bansang Pilipinas.”

‘THIS IS A GRAVE VIOLATION OF THE CONSTITUTION.’

Umapela si Pres. Bongbong Marcos na itigil na ang panawagang ihiwalay ang Mindanao sa Plipinas. #News5 pic.twitter.com/PSiUNMV6w2

— News5 (@News5PH) February 8, 2024

He reiterated his pronouncement from his inaugural State of the Nation Address (SONA) that he would not give up “even one square inch” of the country’s territory.

“We 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,” Marcos added.

Last week, former president Rodrigo Duterte put forward an idea of launching a signature drive to separate Mindanao from the rest of the Philippines, citing a lack of progress in the development of the southern island.

Duterte’s remarks drew opposition from Marcos’ security officials. The national security adviser, retired Army general Eduardo Año, said the Marcos government will not hesitate to use its forces to stop all attempts to “dismember the Republic.”

Marcos’ peace adviser and another retired Army general, Carlito Galvez Jr., also expressed concerns that the secession calls in Mindanao could undermine ongoing peace efforts in the Bangsamoro region.

Governors of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), in a statement earlier this week, urged the public to focus on safeguarding peace in the region.

The secession calls came on the heels of a word war that broke out between Marcos and his predecessor, with the two trading accusations of drug abuse last month in what political observers viewed to be a sign of a public fallout in the “UniTeam” alliance.

Speaking to reporters last week, Marcos maintained that the alliance between the country’s most powerful political families remains intact. He also assured that Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio will remain as his education secretary despite her father hurling tirades against him.

(MM)

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