SMX Convention Center, Lanang, Davao City
December 1, 2016

“What I really want is… just my country at peace,” said President Rodrigo Roa Duterte in front of several leaders from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) during the 3rd ARMM Local Government Summit at the SMX Convention Center in Lanang, Davao City.

The President spoke at length about the history of exploitation and violence against the Moro people in Mindanao and discussed the eventual outcome of rebels in the region.

He said, “The anger fed in the minds of the Moro is actually ‘yung nationalism niya sa lupa niya.”

He continued by discussing how peace can be attained if both sides work together, saying, “We’re suffering because there’s no cohesive action between the Moro people and the national government.”

President Duterte also talked about the administration’s determination to achieve peace with the Communist Party of the Philippines and the rest of the country through an effective federal government.

He said, “If I cannot work out a system after Oslo in Norway, if I cannot work on the federal set up and make it work, then I would tell you, I am a failure. And I would concede being the President.”

The President was accompanied in the event by Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Ismael ‘Mike’ Sueño, Agriculture (DA) Secretary Emmanuel ‘Manny’ Piñol, and ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman.

With the theme, “Pagkamulat… Pagbabago! Pag-unlad,” the summit’s goal is to upscale the performance of the ARMM local government for a wealthy and progressive Mindanao.

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