By Junex Doronio
MANILA — Coming from a former president, it was not a joke when former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte called for the separation of Mindanao from the Republic of the Philippines and he could be criminally charged with inciting to sedition.
This was the contention of former Akbayan party-list Representative Barry Gutierrez in reaction to Duterte’s rant against the administration and his daring call for “Mindanao independence.”
“Sinabi niya (Duterte) sa Isang public event. Hindi basta joke. Hindi basta madi-dismiss na joke yun kasi karamihan sa mga tao doon naniniwala na yun ang kanyang panawagan,” Gutierrez said in an interview with Facts First podcast hosted by former Inquirer reporter Christian Esguerra.
Gutierrez pointed out that Duterte is not an ordinary citizen being an ex-president who still wields some influence.
In a press conference late Tuesday night, Duterte bared that local political forces would be regrouping here to start a movement for a “separate and independent Mindanao.”
Duterte assured the Mindanao breakaway “won’t be a bloody one” because he said it would follow the processes established by the United Nations.
(el Amigo/MNM)
