Duterte, Alvarez urged: Drop secession
Lawmakers from the House of Representatives representing various districts in Mindanao have rejected calls by former president Rodrigo Duterte to secede the region from the entire Philippines.
Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong of Lanao del Sur’s 1st District and Rep. Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro City’s 2nd District were joined by La Union 1st District Rep. Francisco Paolo Ortega and Rodge Gutierrez of 1-Rider party-list in condemning such unconstitutional act.
“This attempt to separate Mindanao from the Philippines is not only unconstitutional but also a blatant disrespect to our duly constituted authority. We cannot allow the integrity of our nation to be compromised by such reckless actions,” Adiong stated.
Adiong, a member of the House committees on Mindanao and Muslim affairs, underscored the need to respect the Constitution and democratic processes that have shaped the nation.
He noted that the region has been fully represented in government, with Duterte, former House speaker Pantaleon Alvarez of Davao del Norte’s 1st District and Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri all hailing from Mindanao.
Rodriguez, chairman of the House committee on constitutional amendments, called on Duterte and Alvarez, to “stop any talk and any actual plan, if there is any, to secede Mindanao.”
“President Marcos has categorically stated that he would not permit our national territory to be reduced ‘even by one square inch’ and would not allow ‘even an iota of suggestion of its breaking apart’,” he said.
Ortega, a member of the House committee on public order and safety, invoked the Bible and urged Duterte to be “patriotic enough and reconsider his call for separating Mindanao from the country,” citing as basis the biblical warning that a divided house cannot stand.
Gutierrez, a member of the House committee on constitutional amendments, lamented the calls for secession, explaining that it would be constitutionally infirm and logically unsound as there is no compelling reason for the secession of Mindanao.
“The Constitution is clear, Article I provides for our national territory, we are one archipelago. There is no constitutional provision or any other legal means that would allow for Mindanao to unilaterally secede,” he said.
“If we allow our nation to be divided, it would undermine our solidarity with each other as Filipinos. It would disrupt economic stability and hinder growth opportunities for both Mindanao and the rest of the country,” he explained.