President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. graces the graduation of Bangsamoro Police Basic Course Batch 2023-01 class of Alpha Bravo “Baklas-Lipi” at the Municipality of Parang, Province of Maguindanao del Norte, on Monday, April 29, 2024. (PPA POOL PHOTO)
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday vowed the full force of the law against separatist movements and terrorist elements.
The President led the commemoration ceremony for the 10th Anniversary of the Signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro at Camp Iranun, Municipality of Barira in Maguindanao del Norte.
READ: Duterte now wants ‘separate, independent’ Mindanao
“As we defend the gains we have achieved, we will be vigilant against the enemies of peace,” said Marcos in his speech.
“We will bear the full force of the state against terrorist elements, to those who preach the discarded and debunked ideology of dismemberment. The people will reject your selfish agenda,” he warned.
Marcos offered a wreath at the Marine Warrior Memorial, which honors the fallen fighters in the Central Mindanao Campaign in 2000.
A total of 53 soldiers and combatants died during the battle.
READ: Marcos: Calls for separate Mindanao ‘doomed to fail’
Former President Rodrigo Duterte called for an independent Mindanao in January.
While Marcos did not address Duterte directly, the President said in February that any call for a separate Mindanao would not prosper.
“The new call for a separate Mindanao is doomed to fail, for it is anchored on a false premise, not to mention a sheer constitutional travesty,” he noted in his February speech.
“The current leadership of BARMM (Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao) itself has repudiated this preposterous proposal. And so did other political leaders of Mindanao,” he added.