Atin Ito First Filipino Community Newspaper in Ontario
MANILA, Philippines — The calls for an independent Mindanao separate from the Philippines is a “constitutional travesty” that is “anchored on a false premise,” President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Thursday.
In a speech at “Constitution Day” event in Makati, Marcos said that the calls for Mindanao secession are “doomed to fail” as the Bangsamoro government does not support this call.
“The new call for a separate Mindanao is doomed to fail…The current leadership of BARMM (Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) itself has repudiated this preposterous proposal and so did the other political leaders of Mindanao,” Marcos said in his speech
“This is a grave violation of the Constitution,” he added.
This is Marcos’ first statement on the call of former President Rodrigo Duterte about Mindanao separating from the rest of the Philippines, which government agencies and Bangsamoro leaders opposed.
RELATED: DOJ opposes Duterte’s call for Mindanao secession | Bangsamoro folks reject Duterte’s Mindanao independence call
Duterte mulled the idea of Mindanao separating from the Philippines through a People’s Initiative (PI), a day after he accused Marcos of being behind the campaign for Charter change.
The former president’s idea, according to Rep. Raoul Manuel (Kabataan Partylist), might be only a scapegoat for Duterte to dodge a possible prosecution by the International Criminal Court.
“In fact, the Dutertes just want to turn Mindanao into an escape bunker at a time when they are being hunted by the ICC when the investigation progresses and they are convicted of their crimes against the Filipino people,” Manuel said on February 1.
Philstar.com asked Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra if the former president may be charged due to his pronouncements, but he declined to answer unless “matters are brought to court.” — Ian Laqui
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Credit belongs to: www.philstar.com
