Is it possible for a separatist initiative not to be bloody? For Mr. Duterte, it’s possible. He cites Singapore as an example of how peacefully the Singaporeans broke free from the Malaysian federation and eventually created a first-world country in under fifty years.

Nah. Crap. Bull. Mr. Duterte must have read a different history or deliberately used this twisted history to justify or even cloak why he’s now calling for Mindanao to separate from the republic. The truth of the matter is–Duterte has nothing to use as a case study to justify his call.

Singapore never intended to separate from the Malay federation–they were unceremoniously booted out. And it is not true that in the path of state-hood, Singapoore did it without shedding blood. Race riots occurred not just in Singapore but in Malaysia, where Malays massacred thousands of Chinese citizens. Singapore had to fight tooth and nail for survival.

Duterte says his campaign for a separate Mindanao state will be non-violent. Okey. So, how will he do it? By signature campaign. Okey.

He then cites that for his dream to be fulfilled, Duterte needs his kababayans’ signatures to satisfy the United Nations’ statutory requirements (UN). I thought Mr. Duterte did not believe in the UN. So, why is he using the UN to justify state formation?

Duterte, his daughter Sara, and his sons, Baste and Pulong, are all non-believers in international institutions such as the International Criminal Court (ICC) established under a UN convention. And now, where convenient for them, they say that they will abide by the requisites as set by the UN so that Mindanao qualifies as a state. There is nothing unusual here. This family is known to sway whenever the wind blows for as long as it benefits their survival.

Anyway, returning to the UN statutes, Mr. Duterte is ill-advised. Why? No institutional organization would recognize signatures coming from a segment of a state’s population that calls for separation. First, Mindanao is part of the Philippine territory established through domestic and international conventions. This fact alone would turn Mr. Duterte’s separatist campaign into a joke and a hard climb.

To separate, a movement should be able to establish sovereignty. Sovereignty is a basic requirement. A group of people must have a clear monopoly of power to exercise authority over all of the population in a clearly defined territory. Okey, for Mr. Duterte, the term is “belligerency.”

Sovereignty is exercising authority over people in a defined territory by a monopoly of coercive power. Therefore, separatism has always been attended by violence because those claiming such authority over a said territory must be able to defend it at all costs against everybody. This is called a state of “belligerency.”

Maybe Duterte has lost it and probably envisions himself as the modern Hermano Pule who once tried but was unsuccessful in building his kingdom or state.

I would love to see Mr. Duterte holding his rifles, leading a pack of old Cabinet officials armed with their automatic rifles, shouting and calling for Mindanao’s independence.

I would love to see them firing their guns at our Armed Forces and seeing their old bodies falling to the ground like flies.

Just to save his condemned ass from international persecution, Mr. Duterte is willing to use this very serious issue that resulted in thousands killed and millions of future in jeopardy as something feasible or something to spark a movement of people in his defense. Either Mr. Duterte is stupid, or he has lost all rational thought. Or both.

or maybe this call is part of an elaborate plot by a foreign government to destabilize the Philippines and convince President Marcos to attend to domestic concerns instead of training all of the military guns against Chinese ships firing water cannons against Filipino fisherfolks.