President Bongbong Marcos wants to stop calls to separate Mindanao from the Philippines, calling it a violation of the 1987 constitution.
“I strongly appeal to all concerned to stop this call for a separate Mindanao,” said Marcos at the Manila Overseas Press event on Thursday.
This is a grave violation of the constitution,” Marcos added.
The chief executive even added that these attempts are preposterous and doomed to fail.
President Marcos said his administration only wants to introduce economic reforms to the Constitution, “nothing more.”
Former President Rodrigo Duterte revealed that there could be moves to push for the separation of Mindanao from the Philippines as the Marcos administration seeks to amend the 1987 constitution through a people’s initiative.
Duterte said the move to separate Mindanao would not be bloody but would follow the processes established by the United Nations.
“It is not rebellion, not a bloody one, but we will follow the process provided by the UN to gather signatures, verify these under oath and with the presence of other witnesses signify that the people want to separate from the country,” said Duterte.
The former president also said that Davao Representative Pantaleon Alvarez would lead the move to separate Mindanao from the Philippines.
“Mindanao would rather be “independent since nothing has happened in the Philippines after so many presidents. Whatever we do there will be another lousy president,” said Duterte.
Duterte also sees this proposal as part of his response to the drug war probe by the International Criminal Court.
“If there will be a separate Mindanao Republic, it could no longer enter Mindanao because Alvarez here will hide me,” said Duterte.
