Duterte wary of proposed creation of Bangsamoro police

Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

DAVAO CITY – Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said he was bothered by the provision in the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) that calls for the creation of an autonomous Bangsamoro police within the Bangsamoro area, saying it might create a window of opportunity for the area to declare independence in the future, which will eventually lead to a fractured country.

Duterte issued the statement despite earlier assurances that the creation of an autonomous Bangsamoro police will not lead to a separate chain of command and it will still be under the Philippine National Police (PNP).

“I have nothing against (Moro Islamic Liberation Front Chair All-Hajj) Murad (Ebrahim), (Ghadzali) Jaafar or even (Moro National Liberation Front founder Nur) Misuari, but autonomous PNP and AFP bothers me because it will open a window,” he said.

He said the provision on an autonomous Bangsamoro police will create a lateral command within the police force, which can be “short-circuited” by whoever will sit as a regional governor in the future.

Duterte said that under the present setup, the entire police force follows only one chain of command under the commander-in-chief.

“But with the creation of the Bangsamoro police, we are creating a lateral command,” Duterte said, “The problem might crop up three or four generations from now, that a political warlord with a backhoe mentality, armed with all the resources of government, can declare independence against the republic,” he said.

“I will tell them tomorrow, ‘di kayo ang problema ko (you are not my problem),” Duterte said, referring to the Moro leaders, “But three or four generations from now, it’s possible that a political warlord with a backhoe mentality will rise to become a regional governor,” he said, “With the local police and armed forces under his command, what do you think will happen?”

“May lateral command na, ‘di na derecho,” he said, “If he decides to ‘short-circuit’ the chain of command by just not following the orders, that will pose a danger,” Duterte said.

“Since he has the armed forces and the police, and he has the resources, he can declare independence,” Duterte said.

He added that given the historical basis of the Bangsamoro struggle, it’s possible that they will be recognized as a belligerent nation.

“Then, if the declaration is recognized as a belligerent act, we will have to deal with them as a republic, as a separate country,” he said. “Iyan ang bantayan ninyo ang (Watch out for that word) belligerency.”

“Once they declare independence, they can be recognized because historically, they’re right,” Duterte said. “We will just be restored to our former status before Magellan landed.”

He, however, clarified that this will not happen in a very near future “but in the generations to come.”

Meanwhile, contrary to what was being claimed by some quarters, the sultanates in Mindanao had consulted in the process of the drafting of the BBL, according to a group of royal families and sultanates.

The Royal Houses in Mindanao, a gathering of some 200 sultanates and royal families, said they had been active in the consultations conducted all over the island and have decided to fully-support the peace process and the legislation of the BBL.

Engineer Norodin Uyob, a convenor of the Royal Houses in Mindanao, said the position of the other five sultanates, such as that of Sulu, did not reflect the sentiments of the 200 royal houses.

Uyod asserted that their members agreed to support the BBL during a gathering here on April 12. Germelina Lacorte and Karlos Manlupig, with a report from Eldie Aguirre