(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday proposed the creation of a “hybrid” type of government, if the people do not want a “pure” federal structure.
Speaking at the Indigenous People’s Leaders Summit in Davao, Duterte said that while the federal type of government was the “ideal setup,” if “everybody ayaw, then we have to make concessions.”
He said by “hybrid” he meant a “Hong Kong-China” setup.
China has sovereignty over Hong Kong which enjoys a degree of autonomy from the Beijing government.
“Ang iniiwasan ko ay ang giyera. Magkagulo tayo talaga. Di niyo ibigay yan, ako na presidente na nagsasabi, magkakagulo tayo,” he said.
In previous speeches, the President has said that there was a need to change the system of government to ensure that the problems that have been besetting the Moros in Mindanao are addressed.
He said that if this was not done, war could break out.
In Thursday’s speech, the President reiterated he had no plans of “perpetuat(ing) himself in power” with the change in the structure of government.
“Twenty three years ako sa government…Gusto ninyo a day or two days before bababa na ako. Kung maapprove yan by 2019, 2020 I assure you, I will step down. May Constitution na naabutan ako, di na ako makatakbo and I will honor it. Hindi ako gaya sa inyo na mayaman na walang ginawa kundi nakawin ang propiedad ng gobyerno,” he said.