Lanao del Sur 1st district Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong on Friday, February 2, said he was “surprised” over former President Rodrigo Duterte’s call for independent Mindanao.

“Walang clamor at walang existing condition that will require Mindanaoans to really push for independence. Wala tayong nararamdaman that is why we are very surprised when this announcement came out,” Adiong told DZRH in an interview.

“If ever I will come up with a bold statement as that, I would have to consult first with my constituents whether they like it or not,” he added.

The 78-year-old Duterte told his proposal to secede Mindanao from the Philippines during a press conference on Tuesday, stating that he would follow the processes laid by the United Nations.

Adiong, however, explained that the revolutionary fronts have already agreed with an autonomy setup, adding that it was already a “settled” issue.

In 2018, Duterte signed the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), replacing the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) with Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), which paved the way for better fiscal autonomy, a regional government, parliament, and justice system.

“Yung BARMM is a product of a political settlement between the government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF),” Adiong said.

“As far as we are concerned, it is already a settled issue dahil ang revolutionary fronts they have already agreed with the government that they will no longer seek independence but instead work with the national government through a genuine autonomy,” he added.