DAVAO City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte LITO TECSON/CEBU DAILY NEWS FILE PHOTO
DAVAO CITY—Mayor Rodrigo Duterte urged the grand imam of Davao to help him make a pitch for federalism among the Moro people as an alternative to the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).
Duterte told Imam Mohammad Pasigan that the version of the Bangsamoro Basic Law that Congress is putting together is not the one that Moro people desire and not the answer to the Moro people’s quest for self-determination.
“Don’t hope too much on it,” Duterte told the Muslim leader.
Duterte said the problem lies with the “ignorance of Manila” on the root of the Moro insurgency.
“What I don’t like about Manila is they make wrong decisions for Mindanao. They act as if they know everything about our land, and then put us in jeopardy,” he said.
Duterte said he had already foreseen that “one day, we will face hostilities in the east and west side.”
“Do you think the MILF will accept a diluted version? What about the other factions? I think we will be counting body bags,” the mayor told Pasigan during a brief talk at the city mosque in Ecoland Subdivision in Matina here.
Duterte said there are also other sectors who did not want the BBL and they, too, could cause trouble.
“If it becomes bloody then the UN (United Nations) will come in,” he said.
But under federalism, Duterte said everyone would be happy.
“It is the viable alternative to the prevailing antiquated system and to effect meaningful political and social changes in the country,” he said.
Duterte said with federalism, the wishes and aspirations of the various tribes and peoples in Mindanao would be addressed.
Under a federal system, sovereignty and power are divided between a central governing authority and constituent political units. Federalism is also a system based on democratic rules and institutions.
“I saw that this is the answer so I agreed when Reuben Canoy (founder of Radio Mindanao Network and one of the strong advocates of federalism) and Senator (Aquilino) Pimentel Sr. asked me to help in pushing for federalism,” he said.
Duterte has been on a listening tour across the country and will visit Catanduanes next for the last leg of the federalism campaign.
Reacting to the Inquirer’s question about the need to have a president that would carry forward the federalism campaign after his listening tour, Duterte said “God will provide one.”
He went on to say that he was not running for President in 2016 despite results of the latest Pulse Asia survey that showed him just seven percentage points behind Vice President Jejomar Binay’s 22 percent.
“I did not say that I will run if I surpassed Binay’s ratings. What I said was that I might run if I get 91 percent in the surveys,” he said. Allan Nawal and Germelina Lacorte, Inquirer Mindanao