Mindanao Secession: Could the Philippines Split Apart?

Duterte endorsed Mindanao's secession amid a feud with Marcos Jr. over drug abuse allegations. This video unpacks the complex conflict involving power struggles, constitutional reform, and geopolitics.

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CORRECTION: At 7:42, we misspelt 'secession' as 'succession'. Apologies for this error, and we hope you nonetheless enjoyed the video!

[ErmisSouldatos]

The most sophisticated political argument ever:
-You are on drugs
-No, you are high
-No u

[gustavusadolphus]

Political dynasties in governments are disgusting.

[AntiMatter-gg]

I'm from the Philippines and I would like to say that our two Presidents are extremely Childish!

[mendicius_jade]

I live in Mindanao, and it seems that we don't take that 'secession thing' seriously. Like, I hear no issues of people having heated debates about it, and we just don't talk about it, unless we're making jokes out of it.

[engrchoucha]

I'm from the Philippines and all I can say is Politicians and Government prioritize fighting each other rather than solving the country's problems.

[bhobg]

The presence in the philippines of an armed rebel group with the acronym of MILF is our gift to the English speaking world. This has spawned many a newspaper headline such as "Milf ambushes military convoy" which am sure would conjure up images of Eva Longoria brandishing an M16 towards a battalion of soldiers.

[dulio]

This is the political equivalent of "Man yells at Cloud". He caused a scene and no one cared.

[-socialcredit]

The Philippine Republic: when a democracy has both monarchal and mafia family elements

[kaerprime]

I'm from Mindanao and I'm pretty sure us regular people don't want that kind of change. What we want are jobs and overall progress and neither Marcos Jr. or Duterte Sr. seem to have that as their priority.

Edit: Elitists, Oligarchs and Trapos from Imperial Manila just sold out the first president from Mindanao, a Bisaya and a Filipino to a foreign court. I am now Pro-Secession, I don't need the tyranny of Imperial Manila.

[blackpowderuser]

I will speak as someone who is a Filipino AND born in the southern Philippines.

There is indeed an economic disparity between the capital of Manila and the surrounding areas in Luzon (northern Philippines). More than 80% of the country's GDP is generated here. However there are also prosperous cities in the central (Visayas) and southern (Mindanao) areas. If Mindanao secedes (which is for now unlikely), Mindanao loses A LOT of its revenues because Luzon is essentially bankrolling the growth of Davao (ironically Duterte's home city), Cagayan de Oro, and other Mindanaoan cities. On our own, we cannot even fully subsidize the more rural areas. Hell, even Duterte could NOT finish his pet project for a railway in Mindanao when he had all the power to do so!

There were some instances where federalism is being pushed as a solution to the country's economic disparity of its regions. However, even our local politicians admitted that doing federalism will only make things worse because that would mean the poorer regions will not be able to generate more revenue on their own. Mindanao, for all its mineral resources, is still incapable of self-sustenance. Even the oil-rich Bangsamoro, a historically Muslim-dominant region, has already said NO to Mindanaoan secession, after decades of fighting for autonomy. Manila has always subsidized the southern regions BUT the problem is that there are A LOT of regional dynasties here who seek personal wealth through politics, leaving the ordinary people with scraps of the national budget for us. We are relatively okay here in the southern cities, but the rural areas are still impoverished despite government efforts to reduce poverty.

The real issue behind this recent call for secession is that Rodrigo Duterte is now under increased pressure to answer for his alleged crimes against humanity in his drug war. He no longer commands power like he used to when he was President, but he still has a solid, fanatical base centered in Davao and some parts of Mindanao. His secession call is likely a bargaining tool for him to escape accountability rather than meet the genuine aspirations for Mindanao. And sadly, many people here in the South are falling for his lies. Not to mention, he has always been pro-China so a divided Philippines (or at least, a distracted one) will definitely play into China's hands.

Long story short, Duterte wants an independent Mindanao to protect himself, NOT to serve his constituents.

I am a southern-born Filipino, and I say NO TO SECESSION. We are a united Philippines, through thick and thin. 🇵🇭

[paulsteaven]

Really weird that the first Philippine President who hailed from Mindanao Island is now the prime endorser of Mindanao secession. While the Moro organisation who fought for it, now wants to stay and continue in working with the Philippine Government thru a special administrative region (BARMM).

If he really wants the improvement of Mindanao, he should have fixed the red tape, bureaucracy, and limit the political dynasties that is really hampering the growth and improvement of Mindanao and other provinces/islands for decades.

It really shows that his call for Mindanao Secession is just for his self interests and the survival of his family's political dynasty.

[Jayvee]

Bangsamoro doesn't even want to seceed. How even...?

[rppl_]

this on the next level of confusing(saying this as a filipino) i didnt expect the Philippines to be mentioned and this came out of nowhere for me.

[iamreaperd]

I study Political Science in one of the biggest schools in the Philippines and I have to say, this was very well made and researched. Kudos, my friend

[curiousmonty]

As a Filipino, Mindanao didn't even became better or developed during Duterte's administration as well.

[tsukareruru]

I feel like Duterte will go through any means to stay in power even if it means splitting the country apart.

[d_-]

It's not really surprising that the "UniTeam" started to have some bit of infighting when their main platform during the elections was "unity." The purpose of that coalition is to win the elections first, and then worry about leading the country later. So all it really takes to cause problems would be if there is one disagreement. From there, it's all too easy for more disagreements to come out and ultimately escalate to wanting Mindanao to be a separate country.

[prateekbhurkay]

07:20 How did Ben keep a straight face while talking about a group called M.I.L.F?

[dye]

I am a Filipino living in Luzon. Of course, it will be quite catastrophic for the whole of the Philippines if Mindanao decided to do a secession. But the numbers don't lie, we can live without them and they can't without us. So, while it might be troublesome for us for quite some time, it will be more devastating for them. This is without stating that most of the terrorists in the country resides there.