A LAWMAKER from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) on Tuesday told proponents of the Mindanao secession not to use the proposal as a political slogan to express dismay over their personal circumstances or other political events.
In a press conference at the House of Representatives, Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, one of the members of Young Guns or a coalition of young and reform-minded legislators, bucked the calls of former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte and ex-speaker Pantaleon Alvarez for Mindanao to secede from the Philippine Republic, saying it was an “insult” to the memory of those who died in the Moro struggle for self-determination.
“I guess my calling to our leaders, be more circumspect. We should not use independence or the issue of secession of Mindanao as a political slogan. We should not use that loosely in order to express our dismay politically,” Adiong said.
He said that the issue of secession has killed “more than a thousand great men,” and that it should not be loosely used to express frustration.
“Huwag ho natin gamitin ito na political slogan or tirahin because we are frustrated personally or politically sa mga nakaupong mga lider. Huwag po. Kasi it adds insult to the memory of those fallen and to the troops who have sacrificed their lives in order to protect the Philippines,” Adiong said.
“The least that we can do is to honor their memories and keep this country intact … So let’s put it to rest. We want to join the Philippines. We embrace unity and let’s support this administration’s call for unity,” he added.
He gave a brief history of the Moro struggle for the right to self-determination and self-governance, starting with the rebellion of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the secessionist movement of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), both of which ended in peace.
In opposing the proposal, Adiong said if there are people who have the “moral ascendancy” to call for the secession of Mindanao, it will be the Muslims or the citizens of BARMM who have fought for their right to self-governance and self-determination.
“Now, we have already the BARMM, and we had the ARMM … I am saying this because in so far as the call for secession is concerned, I think the Muslim community, minority Muslims in Mindanao, have the moral ascendancy to call for secession in the first place,” Adiong said.
“And this has already been accepted by the government even in the previous administration when former PRRD said that it’s time to correct the injustices committed against the Moro people. So we have that ascendancy, the moral ascendancy, to speak about and call for independence,” he added.
