BARMM, regional leaders also call for PH ‘to protect gains’
National Security Adviser Eduardo Año joined the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and political leaders over the weekend in denouncing attempts to dismember the country, after former President Rodrigo Duterte hinted last week of a signature campaign for the island-region to secede from the republic.
Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim of BARMM—a region formed after peace talks with secessionist Moro Islamic rebels—has called on the public to protect the gains of the peace process.
“Let us continue to support the current administration and allow peace and civility to reign over the affairs of our land,” Ebrahim said.
Año emphasized on Sunday that the government will do everything to prevent any attempt to break the country apart, as many Cabinet and Mindanao leaders have already rejected the call made by Duterte to separate the southern region through a people’s initiative campaign.
“The National Government will not hesitate to use its authority and forces to quell and stop any and all attempts to dismember the Republic,” said Año, who also heads the National Security Council.
“Any attempt to secede any part of the Philippines will be met by the government with resolute force, as it remains steadfast in securing the sovereignty and integrity of the national territory,” added the NSC chief, who served as the Interior secretary and Armed Forces chief of staff during the Duterte administration.
He urged the public to remain vigilant against those who would attempt to sow discord, which, he added, would undermine the country’s hard-won gains in pursuing peace and development, particularly in Mindanao.
“The strength of our country lies in our unity and any attempt to sow division must be rejected by all sectors unequivocally. It is imperative for all Filipinos to uphold the principles enshrined in our Constitution which espouses the unity and territorial integrity of our nation,” Año said.
Similarly, Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. earlier urged Filipinos to reject any movement calling for an independent Mindanao.
Like Año, Galvez was also an AFP chief of staff during Duterte’s presidency.
Governors Yshmael Sali of Tawi-Tawi, Hajiman Hatama-Salliman of Basilan, Mamintal Alonto Adiong Jr. of Lanao del Sur, and Abdul Raof Macacua of Maguindanao del Norte emphasized that the Bangsamoro people are “resolved not to regress but to forge ahead together as one indomitable force.”
The governors of Sultan Kudarat and Maguindanao del Sur likewise rejected secession calls.
“Mindanao’s concerns should be resolved without pursuing secession… It would disrupt the interconnected productivity of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao that has long sustained our national stability,” Sultan Kudarat Gov. Datu Pax Ali Mangudadatu said.
“Preserving peace, heritage, and progress in Mindanao compels the Philippines to remain united,” he added.
For her part, Maguindanao del Sur Gov. Bai Mariam Mangudadatu pointed out that secession will not address the concerns of residents of Mindanao.
“It denies our people the rights embodied by the Constitution, including the destruction of our territorial integrity compromising our efforts to build a stronger nation,” Mangudadatu said.
“We are for one and united Philippines,” she added.
Meanwhile, the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines on Sunday underscored the importance of maintaining the integrity of the Philippines’ national territory while recognizing and celebrating diverse local and regional identities.
“We believe that the entire nation, including Mindanao, with its abundant resources and untapped potential, can flourish through cooperative and collective efforts,” ULAP said in a statement.
Camiguin Governor Xavier Jesus Romualdo and Rep. Jurdin Jesus Romualdo also opposed the proposal for Mindanao to separate from the rest of the Philippines.
The Romualdos said the proposal and subsequent actions by Duterte and Davao Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez are “seditious insofar as it calls for the separation of Mindanao from the Philippine Republic in violation of the 1987 Constitution.”
“The Charter explicitly protects the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Philippines, prohibiting any form of secession or division,” the statement said.