DAVAO CITY — Former President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday night press conference was smiling when he told reporters that the much-talked Mindanao Independence from the Philippine republic was a tickler.
On January 30, Duterte in a press conference said “What is at stake now is our future, so we’ll just separate,” He then appointed former House Speaker and Davao del Norte First District Representative Pantaleon Alvarez to move around Mindanao and consult the people and gather signatures if they will support the planned Mindanao independence.
Last night however, Duterte backpedalled, “Nagising ako sa mundong ito (I woke up in this world) Republic of the Philippines, for as long as I live it would be the same Republic of the Philippines.”
Saying there is only one Republic to talk about, he said “Panghadluk man lang na (it was meant to scare)” Duterte said, when asked if he changed tune after 53 of 60 Mindanao lawmakers and the Bangsamoro government rejected the call for a Mindanao Independence.
In changing his tune, Duterte elaborated “You can craft the way you want, through legislation or you can never do what you want but let it remain republic of the Philippines, ang problema (the problem) is the distribution of the country’s wealth.”
Earlier on, Duterte said he wanted Mindanao to separate from the Philippines.
In answering Duterte’s call for independence, President Ferdinand Marcos cited the Philippine Constitution “Our Constitution calls for a united, undivided country. It calls for an eternal cohesion. For this reason, unlike other Constitutions, there is nothing in ours that allows the breaking up of this union, such as an exit provision.”
Mindanao is one of the wealthiest regions in the country, which significantly contributes to the Gross Domestic Product. Supporters of the independence movement agree that Mindanao has been financially supporting other regions and would be better off managing its resources and investments.
Following Duterte’s latest declaration that the Mindanao independence issue was just a bluff, one can safely say, that the Mindanao Independence Movement died a natural death a long time ago.-Editha Z, Caduaya
