October 22, 2025

Calls for Mindanao’s secession from the Philippines have erupted anew after a sitting lawmaker released a viral video echoing rhetoric once championed by former president Rodrigo Duterte, in a move analysts warn risks inflaming tensions and destabilising an already volatile political landscape.

Observers say the renewed push, amplified by the ex-president’s allies and a network of online influencers, appears aimed at deflecting attention from corruption scandals and an ongoing International Criminal Court investigation into Duterte’s bloody war on drugs, while shoring up support among his family’s base.

The latest controversy stems from a video posted over the weekend by Cavite congressman Francisco “Kiko” Barzaga, in which he called for Mindanao – home to Davao City and the Duterte clan’s political stronghold – to secede from what he described as a corrupt and Manila-centric government.

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