Thank you. Kindly sit down.
Pag nagka-pirmahan na tayo at mapayapa na ang Mindanao, aakyat ako dito. [laughter and applause] In the mean time, on the side na lang.
I really… ‘di masyado ako naka… naka-ano ako, not really coat and tie, but naka-loafer ako kaya lang basa ako sa Samal papunta rito. I was attending to a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new drug rehab center.
Meron akong speech dito. Lahat naman, every function, meron talaga akong ginagawang speech nila, pero dalawang pages lang tapos uwi na tayo. Hindi ko ma — I do not read speeches because it does not reflect what is in the heart.
Alam mo when I decided to run, it was because I was a latecomer. Nobody was talking about the problems of Mindanao. No offense intended — from the candidates, the usual rigmarole of graft and corruption, and infrastructure projects and everything, despite the fact that we are under a threat of war amongst our people.
Walang nagsasalita about Mindanao. And every candidate, sinusundan ko sila, nobody really bothered to say that there will be a serious undertaking to solve the problems of Mindanao.
So sabi ko, kung ganito, ano ang mangyari kung puro elitista lang, puro oligarchs, sila-sila lang ang namimili ng Presidente at every time, they only protect their own interest. Ang newspaper nila publish their own propaganda.
Ang lahat ng mga TV and radio networks ay wala namang ginawa kung ‘di suportahan ‘yung mga kandidatura ng mga taga-Maynila and every other administration, for so long a time, never really thought of doing a serious study and come up with a solution sa Mindanao.
And among them, I said, graft and corruption and itong droga, criminality, I said, the centerpiece of my candidacy would be the Mindanao issue.
So sinabi ko sa mga Pilipino, alam ninyo, and maybe they listened, because ang platform ko ginagawa ko. When I said there will be no corruption, there will be no corruption.
As a matter of fact, I fired last night one taga-Davao na… for simply making a remark about — sabi ko he’s out and I told him even a whiff of corruption, talagang tatanggalin kita. Kasi I’m doing my… sa drugs, I am facing so many criticism and even threats of prosecution and—
Sabi ko, basta gawain ko ang pinangako ko. If I go down or I go up, that would be my fortunes or my misfortune sa buhay. Pero I will comply with my promise no matter what. [applause]
So ito dito ngayon, a large part of my campaign, if you were listening was really about Mindanao and how I explained to the people that Mindanao was already Islam before Magellan arrived here. [applause]
And that is what the Filipino, the rest, do not understand. Kaya it took somebody with a Maranao descent but a Christian to explain to them na ganito ang nangyari sa Mindanao, that before it was the rising of anationalistic fervor and nothing to do about religion, no, hindi—Hindi ‘yan.
But it had to do something about demography and the—‘yun ang sinabi ninyo, colonization of the Philippines. Problema kasi inivade tayo ng other countries, just like in the Middle East, they are now suffering, they are now in agony, as a result of the imperialism of the west.
Tayo dito, because it was mishandled and because they insisted dito sa Mindanao, first to get the land and to make the people change religion. And make… it became a… it became something like a bad blood because fiercely there was opposition. Ganon ang nangyari.
Whatever happened in the past, as we are talking about it now, was just the nationalism of the Moro people and perhaps indigenous tribes here. [applause] It had nothing with religion. Ito ngayon ang problema ko, because of the imperialistic tragedy that happened in the Middle East.
Ngayon ang problema nila is extreme terrorism, extremist. Now that is why we… I am in a hurry. I am a man in a hurry, because sinasabi ko sa inyo, let us avoid extremism. Huwag natin sundin ‘yung mga Arabo kasi tayo Malay.
The Malay has always a forgiving heart. Nandiyan pa ‘yung ating relihiyon which says do something good and that is true for all religions.
Ngayon kung papasok sila dito, as they are now attempting to try to inject the IS. Mahirap ‘yan. That is why also we must avoid extremism or even entertaining or accommodating them because it will destroy all of us.
This will be a country torn apart. Kasi ito sila, walang patawad. And even in the Middle East, because they’re driven by insanity, they kill just people for nothing, or there is no reason at all. Burning women because they do not want to have sex with them; throwing the child into a burning… parang bakery oven; and just simply killing people.
Now if we allow or we allow them to come in here and convert even some, there will be a bloodbath, sigurado ‘yan because of the mix ng atin dito. Now I am trying to fast-track everything.
I promised the Moro people of Mindanao that you will have it during my time. [applause] At ni-warningan ko at makikinig naman sila, kasi nanalo ako eh. Sabi ko, pag hindi ninyo sinunod ‘yung payo ko, taga-Mindanao, and after good faith I’m telling you, dahil kung hindi ninyo sinunod ang sinasabi ko, magkakaroon talaga tayo ng gulo and it will never solve a problem. Where else can you find a President na ang lola Maranao? Lolo ko Chinese ‘yun. [applause]
Saan ka makakita dito ng mixture ng ganon? Although hindi ko piangyayabang ‘yun noon. ‘Di naman… Naglabas lang ‘yan ‘nong election na kasi naglabasan ‘yung mga, ‘yung mga cousins ko, ‘yung mga anak kasi… then it became an open ano na ako pala’y dugo ko kalahati, one-fourth even, taga-roon, taga-Mindanao. Not only because of blood and because of… taga rito ako and alam ko ‘yung agony na dinaanan natin, the suffering that we had to undergo, the Christians, the Filipinos and the Lumads. We must have peace at all costs.
But I would like to tell you now that as President, ang gusto ko talaga mangyari ay kapayapaan but it must be as one country, one nation and one flag. Nagkaintindihan tayo diyan.
So I am urging the BTC to navigate the hindrances and obstructions at hanapin ninyo ang daan hanggang patungo ng kapayaan. Mahirap ‘yan. It’s going to be long journey but if there is a product that is acceptable to all, makikita ninyo ako.
Maybe in front of the Filipino nation, I will ask every Filipino to vote for it because it will make us a great nation [applause] so I leave it up to you.
You know the history, you know the equation here, you know the composition of the population, you know the religions here, you know the idiosyncrasies of the tribes. Magkaiba-iba eh, maski… alam ko. Kasi andun ako taga rito. I was there. You might not have known it but my… [inaudible] dun sila nakatira kasi [inaudible] but I used to go to Marawi when I was and for Firdausi, I was here.
‘Yung kapatid nya, si Jun was my best friend. ‘Yun si Jun ang nakaalam sa pamilya namin. And I used to go to Marawi when I was still, estudyante pa kami sa Ateneo. I used to… pumupunta talaga kami ng Marawi when I was young but I stayed most of the time sa Iligan kasi ang lola ko taga-Iligan, hindi sa Marawi. So alam ko ang gaano kasakit ang, you know. So sabi ko, I have a daughter who is half –Tausug, ang tatay si [inaudible] at si [?] naman sa Maranao. I have ‘yung mga anak ni [Pulong?] si Omad, si Rodrigo, pati si… they are devout Muslims. Talagang pious lalo na ‘yung babae, si Isabel [applause].
So… kind of really… mag-usap tayo dito ng matino. Do not… events overtake us. Resist. I’m asking you now: resist extremism. Kasi pag-extremism magkagulo tayo hindi ko na ma-kontrol ‘yan.
Pag ang gusto na niyan dito patayan lang, wala nang pag-usapan kapayapaan, talagang gugulo ‘yan. Talagang gugulo ‘yan, and I cannot prevent just—just because they are real—they are just a few.
If they start to plunder this island and then everybody — do not — alam mo religion is good, every religion is good.
Pero huwag ‘yang extremism, killing people for no reason at all, medyo ano tayo diyan—talagang sisirain tayo lahat. Pero kung marunong kayo and you must hurry, because if there is I said—on the third year meron kayong produkto at naipasa ng Congress, we will implement it.
And there will some changes there, and an election for — and I advise you, maski na papaano do not forget at this time because of the so many islands and so many political parties and persons — sabihin ko nalang sa inyo — most of the people from Luzon guys they don’t understand and they do not want it.
So you must in a newly formed set up, just choose in the mean time you can do away with the Presidency maybe a pure parliament but at this time, I would suggest go for the parliament of just like France. Have a good President, hindi na ako ‘yan. Because if you finish it in three to four years, they’re will be an election and it will provide an Office of the President, I will be automatically disqualified.
So I will step down and I would be very happy to see a Maranao for a President. Siyempre nauna man Maranao mamaya na ‘yang Mindanao pati Tausug. [applause]
Or I would be happy see sino… Iranon and I would like to see people from the Moro community really, really crafting laws for their own good.
It could be a deeper set up than what we other see in other countries but they have many changes there and you can follow the best what is really for Mindanao.
But it will be a federal type of government, I said and I reiterate again that I would be happy to step down if I see a good law that would govern us all equally.
Ang unitary type has worked [inaudible] not only during the Spaniards because it provided for an imperial chair which is Malacañan.
Kaya hindi ko tinatawag ‘yang— you have never heard me say Malacañan. I only say, “my office” or “ my house.” Puro ang nagtira diyan mga imperialista, ‘yang mga yawa na ‘yan.
Kaya hindi ako natutulog doon sa… kung sino-sino ‘yung mga Amerikano pati Kastila non, ay l****.
Kung magharap naman ako ng multo Pilipino na, huwag mo ako paharapin ng imperyalista mas mag init ako imbis matakot ako baka masampal pa kita pu—
So ganon. I just simply love my country and I would give way. I will step down, just come up in a hurry of what is good then have an election. We can have the regional territorial autonomous region and hindi naman happily ever after but we… I would be very happy to leave a country that… leave the office and see my country peacefully.
‘Yan lang madali ‘yan basta you just put your heart into it. The only appeal that I make ito sa, I only have one country and that is the Republic of the Philippines.
I, we only have one maski na tawagin tayo na ano, you may change one Filipino basta tayo, puro tayo Malay. Ang masakit lang sa amin eh kasi ininvade, nandoon kami sa Visayas ang tatay ko but luckily for my mother, taga rito man siya.
So ayan ang ano that’s why there’s a little bit of diversity but it is only belief in God. The one thing that is really important is that you have the control of the resources and of course the income of your own land, that is what is important to the Moro people, their territory, and their… the changing fortunes of times in their hands. ‘Yun lang.
And I hope that you can, I said, navigate the obstacles, the many obstructions, but just go right ahead and craft one that is good for the entire Filipino nation.
Maraming salamat po.
***
Delivered at Pavilion, Waterfront Insular Hotel, Lanang, Davao City
24 February 2017