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| President Rodrigo "Rody" Roa Duterte |
The President argued that the country will stay as one nation, saying his envisioned federalism would help bring peace and development to Mindanao that has long been plagued by poverty and conflict.
“Kung ano ang teritoryo ninyo, inyo lahat. Kung ano ang inyo, inyo ng lahat niyan diya except that we have to maintain the Republic because to secede is not…hindi pwede ‘yan [Your territory will be yours. Whatever is yours will all be yours except that we have to maintain the Republic because to secede is not allowed],” the President said during an assembly with government troops in Basilan last Thursday.
“Magsarili ka? Eh kung gusto mo itong buong Mindanao, e ‘di magsialisan na lang tayong lahat. Eh papaano?[You’ll go on your own? If you want the entire Mindanao, we should just leave altogether. But what will happen next?],” he added.
In the recent presidential campaign, Duterte strongly pushed for an overhaul of the country’s unitary form of government to a federal one to allow a more equitable sharing of power and wealth between national government and the local government units. Seeking to end the domination of the so-called Imperial Manila, the former mayor of Davao City has endorsed efforts to amend the Constitution to pave the way for federalism.
Some groups however expressed concern that federalism would pave the way for Mindanao’s secession from Luzon and Visayas.
Duterte, in his remarks during stopover in a military camp in Basilan, explained that federalism aims to empower the regions to have greater autonomy in running their economy, local budget, development of natural resources, among others.
“Walang gobyernong makialam sa inyo. Kayo na ang magpatakbo ng gobyerno ninyo [The government will not meddle with you. You will run the local government],” he said.
The President also encouraged concerned sectors to join the dialogue on the proposed federalism to raise any concerns and suggestions.
“You can join the talks. I don’t really care kung sino ang humarap sa akin,” he said. “If you can come up with this federal system, then makukuha ninyo ang the desired result,” he added.
The President has called for peace and an end to hate in Mindanao during his visit to Basilan, a known stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf Group, last Thursday. He said he would echo such call in his first State of the Nation Address on Monday, July 25.
