MANILA – Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte dialled up his criticism of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, saying his successor is looking to cement his rule beyond the current term limit in the Constitution.

The 78-year-old, in his latest tirade, threatened to separate his native Mindanao – which makes up a third of the Philippine archipelago – from the rest of the nation.

He also stepped up a war of words with Mr Marcos, with the two trading accusations of drug use.

Representative Pantaleon Alvarez is leading efforts for a possible signature drive on the “desirability of Mindanao seceding from the Republic of the Philippines”, Mr Duterte said in a briefing on Jan 30.

“This is not rebellion, not sedition. There’s a process, I think, before the (United Nations) where you would gather signatures,” he said.

Mr Duterte’s daughter Sara Duterte serves as Mr Marcos’ vice-president.

Cracks in the alliance of the Philippines’ two most powerful political families that won the 2022 election have become more visible this week, as Mr Duterte and his successor levelled drug use accusations at each other while a politician son of Mr Duterte called for Mr Marcos’ resignation.

If Mr Marcos withdraws his support for amendments to the Constitution, ties will stabilise, Mr Duterte said at the briefing.

“It’s a mechanism for perpetuation of power,” Mr Duterte said of the moves to tinker with the nation’s by-laws, warning Mr Marcos that if he pushes ahead, he will be ousted like his father who ruled for two decades by revising the Constitution.

Military intervention

He urged Mr Marcos not to be confident about the support of the military, warning him that if the situation becomes chaotic, “they have to intervene”.

The late dictator, Ferdinand Marcos Sr, father of the incumbent, was overthrown by a popular revolt following military defections in 1986.

A year later, under then President Corazon Aquino, a new Constitution was set, whose provisions include limiting the country’s leader to a single six-year term to prevent another abuse of power.

Other presidents after Mrs Aquino also floated plans to amend the Constitution, only to pull back because of public backlash.

Earlier in January, Mr Marcos supported moves to amend the 1987 Constitution, saying it needed to be rewritten for a “globalised world”.

Mr Marcos has yet to issue a statement on Mr Duterte’s allegations about wanting to extend his term.

Mr Duterte on Jan 30 also hit back at Mr Marcos, who accused him of using the synthetic drug fentanyl for years.

The former president said he took fentanyl with a doctor’s prescription, and that he had stopped using it after he got better.

“Now I’m asking you: Do you have (a) prescription for cocaine? Where do you get your supply?” Mr Duterte said, following up on allegations he made on Jan 28 that Mr Marcos was a “drug addict”.

The current President on Jan 29 said he would not dignify the drug accusations with an answer.

Secession survey

Mr Duterte’s secession threat comes after Mr Marcos called for unity on Jan 28. The former president said he has “permanently retired” when asked if he plans to run for public office again.

His public appearances, though, have increased since 2023, and he did at least two media briefings in January.

A former senator said people allied with Mr Duterte were agitating the military, allegations that Mr Duterte denied.

“We have to educate the people about this advocacy of a Mindanao independence,” Mr Alvarez said in the same briefing on Jan 30, talking about the secession plan.

Communist and Muslim armed separatist movements have flared in the Philippines’ resource-rich southern island of Mindanao since the 1970s, but none has succeeded.

But there is an autonomous region in the south-western portion of the island. BLOOMBERG