Since Marcos turned his face and denied his original promise, the conflict between him and Duterte may not be settled.
According to the global network, Philippine national security adviser Eduardo Arnaud issued a statement on the 4th, saying that the Philippine government will "not hesitate to use force to suppress and prevent any attempt to split the country" and urge the public to remain vigilant against those who "sow discord".
It is almost self-evident who the so-called "sowing discord" in the statement is referring to, because not long ago, former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said that he would call on the Philippines to "live separately", claiming that "the people of Mindanao should find another way out rather than continue to accept the 'terrible' rule of Marcos." ”
The two have become strangers
Of course, Duterte will not admit that this practice is called "secession", he called it a "referendum on independence in accordance with UN procedures", but it is clear that no matter how Duterte justifies his actions, Marcos is categorically unlikely to accept Mindanao's independence, hence this strongly worded statement.
In fact, in response to Duterte's "call for independence", several former Philippine politicians and media have also expressed their views in the past few days, generally believing that this is just Duterte's momentary rhetoric, and the Philippine government has issued a special statement of "force suppression" for this purpose, but it has overreacted a little.
However, if you look at Marcos's movements, these optimistic analyses have not dispelled his doubts.
Marcos was in dire need of an army to show loyalty
In addition to Duterte's call for Mindanao's "independence", recent rumors of "his military coup" have also been widely circulated in the Philippines, and although Duterte has repeatedly clarified that this is a rumor, the skeptical Marcos is clearly unwilling to believe it.
Therefore, it seems that out of concern about Duterte's raising of arms, Brauner, chief of staff of the Philippine army, has frequently visited the military camp in Mindanao and Davao City, Duterte's stronghold, in the past few days. During his visit to the Philippine Army's 10th Infantry Division and the West Mindanao Command, Brawner also repeatedly urged Philippine soldiers to remember that "there is only one Filipino, and everyone is Filipino."
If he can't control the army, Marcos can't be president
As mentioned earlier, Mindanao has had a very serious separatist tendency since the Philippines became independent, and although the large-scale armed conflict has now subsided, sporadic firefights still occur from time to time, and the Philippine government is most concerned that Duterte has close ties to several armed groups in the region – Duterte pushed for the passage of a bill authorizing Mindanao's indigenous and Muslim communities to form self-government in 2019, which gave him the friendship of the armed groups in the region.
In addition, Duterte's stronghold, Davao City, is in Mindanao, and he can now be said to be "asking for people and guns".
Therefore, after Duterte called for the "independence" of Mindanao, the Philippine government was most worried that the Philippine soldiers on the island would also follow him to make trouble.
Duterte's influence in Mindanao should not be underestimated
As far as the current political situation in the Philippines is concerned, whether Duterte's statement calling for "independence" in Mindanao is a momentary statement or a real thought, after Marcos made the statement of "force suppression", the contradictions between the two sides have reached the point of irreconcilability:
Although the Philippine media called on Marcos to focus on domestic issues, he obviously did not listen to any advice, and now Duterte's every move will be carefully observed by Marcos with a "magnifying glass", for fear that there is some ulterior secret in it.
In this regard, some Philippine media believe that the current Marcos is very reminiscent of his father Ferdinand Marcos, and he can be regarded as a conspiracy to overthrow his own power at all.