Not content with the breakup of the Duterte-Marcos alliance, Rodrigo Duterte also wants Mindanao to break up from the republic. He complained that after several presidents “walang nangyari sa Pilipinas,” forgetting that he was a president who is as much to blame.
“We will follow the United Nations guidelines and protocols, like gathering signatures and filing a petition with the UN,” Duterte said. Duterte is apparently working with former Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, who he said is in charge of it. Alvarez and Sara Duterte were previously bitter political enemies.
Duterte and Alvarez, according to a Business Mirror report, said their concept is inspired by Singapore when Lee Kuan Yew seceded from Malaysia. “Look at Singapore now, which has no resources of its own. Good governance eventually led to Singapore becoming a First World nation. It would have remained Third World if it stayed with Malaysia.”
As if our leaders, Duterte and Alvarez included, are capable of good governance. They both had their chance to show off their chops but their off-key performances were disappointing. Corruption was the hallmark of Duterte’s time in Malacañang. He can’t even explain the Pharmally issue and dispute the corruption findings of a Senate committee.
Senior Mindanao leaders are not buying Duterte’s secession call. Even the former Muslim secessionists are against it. They see no advantage for Mindanao to declare independence from the rest of the Philippines since the region’s collective economy isn’t so good.
“OK lang siguro yung mga nakakuha ng P51 billion na sa kanilang distrito o sa kanilang siyudad. Paano naman yung mga wala pa?” Zamboanga Rep Manuel Dalipe said in apparent reference to Rep. Paolo Duterte’s eye-popping P51-billion pork barrel allocation.
Declaring independence would cripple the Mindanao economy and plunge millions there into poverty, officials from Mindanao have warned.
Mindanao breaking away from the republic is an old threat not just from the Muslim secessionists but also from disgruntled Mindanao politicians. In the late 60s, Reuben Canoy, an owner of a radio station in Cagayan de Oro launched the Mindanao Independence Movement. It was probably just an attention getting ploy and didn’t catch fire. More serious were the secessionist wars of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Nur Misuari’s Moro National Liberation Front.
An independent Mindanao is not economically viable. Though the island is rich in natural resources, its LGUs struggle financially and are largely dependent on the funds allocated by the national government to local governments. Mindanao has about 21 percent of the national population but only accounts for 14 percent of the nation’s GDP. Mindanao provinces, including the Muslim Autonomous Region have long suffered from poor governance, a reason for their lack of progress. Only the political dynasties, Christian and Muslim, got rich.
Duterte’s breakaway threat is just bravado. Even federalism will not work. Outside of NCR, Calabarzon and Central Luzon, the rest of the regions don’t generate enough to support economies independent of the national government. The numbers are just too formidable: NCR is 31.7 percent of national GDP; Calabarzon is 14.4 percent and Central Luzon is 10.6 percent. Even seemingly progressive Cebu and Central Visayas are only at 6.4 percent. Davao region is at 5 percent; Northern Mindanao at 4.9 percent and Western Visayas at 4.8 percent.
Treasonous as the Duterte threat sounds, it probably should not be immediately dismissed. After almost 80 years of our republic’s existence, we have failed to develop as a nation. Our people still adhere to regional loyalties. We talk of the solid North, the Cebuano vote, the Waray vote, the Bicolano vote, etc. The tribal mentality is preventing us from thinking in terms of a Filipino national interest.
What if we take Duterte at his word and allow them to secede? Is that a plus or a minus for the rest of us? Maybe, because we are so broken up and not really a nation, Duterte’s breakup proposal makes sense. Maybe our parts are more valuable than the whole. Let’s take Duterte’s idea to the point of absurdity.
A new republic composed of Mega Manila (NCR, Calabarzon, Central Luzon plus Bicol) would be viable provided we fix the current government structure. We can’t have so many governors and mayors lording it over so nothing moves. With 63.6 percent of the GDP of today’s Philippines, it can focus all its resources to the development of a smaller area and not have to support the struggling regions outside of it.
The solid North Ilocanos in Regions 1,2 and Cordillera can solidify into their own Ilokoslovakia Republic. The Visayans can form their own republic as well. The late Cebu governor Lito Osmena once launched a marketing campaign selling Cebu as an island in the Pacific, no mention of what country it is in.
Gov. Lito had good reasons for blurring the Philippines in his campaign because the international image of the country was in the pits and tourists were afraid of the high criminality in our streets and the bribe-demanding officials in our airports. It was amazing how it worked. I remember watching an interview at the airport where the tourist was surprised to learn he was in the Philippines. He thought Cebu was just an island in the Pacific.
But we shouldn’t break up. We should instead unite proudly as Filipinos and start demanding good governance from the officials we elect so that our country can be resurrected. We should stop electing mga laos na artista to public office. We can all bring our country up, bayanihan style.
The old man Duterte said too many things last week that no one with his stature as a former president should have said. The secession threat adds to the increasing political risk for investors. But if Duterte seriously wants Mindanao to secede, let him prove the island shares his sentiment. Otherwise, he should just fade away quietly and let dementia take its course with a little help from fentanyl. He had his chance to shine and he bungled it.
Boo Chanco’s email address is bchanco@gmail.com. Follow him on X or Twitter @boochanco