Duterte takes back comments on Marcos, Mindanao secession

Former President Rodrigo Duterte has backtracked on his statements on President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and pushing for the separation of Mindanao.

After challenging Marcos to take a drug test last month, Duterte on Tuesday denied accusing his successor of being into illegal drugs. 

“Wala ako sinabi na ganon... Even if you kill me a thousand times, wala akong sinabi na ganon. Make it ‘taking a drug.’ Pero kung sabihin mong addict, wala akong sinabi na ganon. Patayin ako ni Marcos niyan. Maawa ka naman sa akin, matanda na ako,” Duterte said in a press conference on Tuesday night. 

(I did not say that. Even if you kill me a thousand times, I did not say that he is a drug addict. Make it ‘taking a drug.’ Marcos will kill me for that. Have mercy on me, I am old.) 

“If I can say it to Marcos, I can say it for all. Antibiotic, aspirin—they’re all drugs… Pero wala ako sinabi… Papatayin ako ni Marcos niyan. Takot pa naman ako mamatay, matanda na ako,” he added. 

(I did not say he’s an addict. Marcos might kill me. I’m afraid to die because I’m already old.) 

It was in January when Duterte called Marcos "bangag" (high on illegal drugs) during a prayer rally in Davao City.

Duterte claimed that Marcos was on the watchlist of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) -- a claim already denied by PDEA.

"Si Bongbong, bangag iyan. That’s why sinasabi ko na sa inyo ngayon, si Bongbong Marcos bangag noon, ngayong presidente na, bangag ang ating presidente. Kayong mga military, alam ninyo 'yan. Lalo na 'yung nasa Malacañang. Alam ninyo. The Armed Forces of the Philippines, alam ninyo. May drug addict tayo na presidente," Duterte earlier said during the event.

Marcos, in response, has laughed off the accusation, saying it must be the effect of fentanyl, a drug Duterte has admitted to taking during his term as president. 

“I think it’s the fentanyl... It is highly addictive and it has very serious side effects. And PRRD [President Rodrigo D. Duterte] has been taking the drug for a very long time now. When was the last time he told us that he was taking fentanyl? Something like that. After five, six years it has to affect him," Marcos told reporters. 

Mindanao secession

Duterte has also toned down with his proposal for Mindanao to secede from the Philippines, saying now that he does not want any part of the country to be "taken away." 

“I would repeat it now and forever: I do not want my country dismembered. I do not want a part of my country taken away. I do not want my country to be disturbed physically even the slightest. It goes for Luzon hanggang Jolo,” Duterte said in the same presser.

“Nagising ako sa mundong ito (I woke up in this world),  Republic of the Philippines. For as long as I live it will be the same Republic of the Philippines,” he continued.

In January, Duterte raised the idea of Mindanao seceding from the Philippines through a process based on gathering signatures.

He said it was Davao del Norte Representative Pantaleon Alvarez who first pushed for the "desirability of Mindanao seceding from the Republic of the Philippines."

“But if it causes rupture to our entire system sa Republika [in the Republic], I will not go for it. Meaning, I will not go for a false carving out in Mindanao out of the Philippines,” Duterte said on Tuesday.

Economic Cha-cha

Duterte also said that he would now support any proposed amendments to the 1987 Constitution, but only relating to the economic provisions. 

He was asked by the media to rate from 1 to 100 how much support he would give to the economic Charter change, as being pushed by Marcos.

“100,” Duterte answered, adding that there would be no problem as long as it would not tinker with the political provisions, particularly that relating to term extension. 

“Ayaw ko nalang mag-speculate, but if there is any change coming up, well and good, we should welcome it. Pero doon lang. I hope it will not rumble on to some matters aside from the economic provisions that they would want to amend, change, correct, rectify,” he said. 

“Ako, I’ll go along with it as long as we stick to the economic provisions, whatever they want to change there somewhere, somehow.” 

Duterte also called on lawmakers not to change any provisions in the Constitution that would extend the term of those currently in power. 

“Kayong mga Congressman o Senador, wag ninyong pahabain o paiksiin ang termino ninyo. Let it be where it is… Any changes that you may want to put forward for posterity, you may do so right now, you can begin with legislation then could lead up to the opening of the Charter for changes and amendments, but it should be progressive,” he said. 

ICC Probe

Duterte also spoke about the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) investigation into the drug-related killings during his time as President. 

Duterte said Marcos should adhere to the guidance of his own legal counsel regarding the matter. 

“I would like the President to seek the advice of his legal counsel. Kung ano ang sabihin niya sa mga abugado niya sa Malacañang, sundin niya. Ako, I could take care of my own,” Duterte said.

(Marcos should follow whatever his lawyers in Malacañang say.)

Last week, Marcos stood firm on his stance that he will not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC in the Philippines.

Marcos also previously said he considers the ICC as a threat to Philippine sovereignty.

The Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, in 2019 during the Duterte administration when the tribunal began a preliminary probe into the drug war killings. 

Duterte, meanwhile, questioned where the ICC was when the Philippines was plagued by illegal drugs. 

“Pakialam kayo nang pakialam, hindi naman kayo nakakatulong. Look idiot, if you are not really an idiot because you are an idiot, sino ba naman gusto pumatay sa kapwa tao niya? Kung may gusto man akong patayin, kayo, kayong pumunta dito sa bayan ko,” he said.  

(You keep on meddling but you’re not helping. Who even wants to kill his fellow human? If I want to kill someone, it would be you who came here to my country.) 

Government records showed that at least 6,200 drug suspects were killed in police operations from June 2016 until November 2021. Several human rights groups, meanwhile, claimed that the actual number of deaths was around 12,000 to 30,000. —Giselle Ombay/ VAL, GMA Integrated News