Galvez warns vs Duterte’s ‘destabilizing’ call to secede

Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. urged the public on Friday to turn down “any call or movement” pushing for the separation of Mindanao from the Philippines.

“[This] call for separation is anathema to the letter and spirit of the Philippine Constitution, which is the bulwark of our nation’s identity as a people,” Galvez said.

He issued the statement days after former president Rodrigo Duterte raised the idea of Mindanao seceding from the rest of the country through a signature campaign.

“Let us, therefore, turn away from any call or movement that aims to destabilize our beloved nation, especially to separate Mindanao from the rest of the country,” Galvez said.

Galvez, who served as Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff under Duterte, lamented that the call for separation comes after Mindanao had shed its image of “a land of volatility, violence and armed struggle.”

On Tuesday, Duterte said that since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. insisted on amending the Constitution, local political forces would regroup under Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez for “a separate and independent Mindanao.”

He said the breakaway “won’t be a bloody one” but would follow international law. Alvarez said they had the Singaporean model in mind when it broke away from Malaysia in 1965.

“It has now become a symbol of hope, mutual understanding and solidarity, and most of all, a shining example that good things come to those who choose the path of peace,” Duterte said.

Galvez called on the people to support the Marcos administration’s peace, reconciliation, and unity agenda.

“We cannot afford to go back to square one. We must learn our lessons from the past and apply these to all aspects of our lives as peace-loving citizens,” he said. “The dividends of peace are upon us and are now being felt by everyone.”

Chief Minister Ahod Balawag Ebrahim of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao also expressed opposition to Mindanao separating from the Philippines.

He emphasized that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front had agreed to set up an autonomous government “that is acceptable to the Bangsamoro people” instead of its original demand for independence.