Davao del Norte 1st District Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez (Photo from his Facebook account)
MANILA, Philippines — Mindanao is in a “toxic relationship” with the Philippines and should break up with it, according to Davao del Norte 1st District Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez
A former House Speaker, Alvarez also said that the country was now a “sinking ship” due to a lack of reforms and budgetary woes.
“We need to walk away from this toxic relationship,” Alvarez said in a statement Friday. “Please, just let us go.”
“After all, a lot of people are breaking up this month, let’s just break up. Better for us to be on our own,” he added in Filipino.
On January 31, Duterte claimed that local political forces would regroup in the Davao Region to start a movement for Mindanao’s independence.
The new movement, he said, would be headed by Alvarez.
READ: Duterte now wants ‘separate, independent’ Mindanao
According to Alvarez, their aim is “for Mindanao to finally be allowed to prioritize itself.”
“[Mindanao should] not just be an afterthought because the national government has different priorities. That’s hard. It’s been like this for a long time. If the Philippines can’t provide what we Mindanaons need, why are we still there?” he said.
He also lamented the “inequitable distribution” of government resources and purported slow political and electoral reform implementation.
READ: Marcos: Calls for separate Mindanao ‘doomed to fail’
Alvarez likewise noted the administration’s decision to allow the United States access to five more military bases in the country, claiming it would drag Mindanao to the supposed Washington-Beijing war.
“Those are just a few of the many problems,” Alvarez said.
“Why would we go down with the sinking ship? Just let us separate. And those who want to come, just come with us.”