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The Mindanao State of the National Consultative Conference in Western and Central Mindanao has regrouped in Cagayan de Oro, reviving calls for the secession of Mindanao and adopting a resolution to be sent to the United Nations Committee on Decolonization following a consultative meeting on December 27, 2025. 

“They will only need at least one country to endorse and recognize the independence of Mindanao to start the decolonization process,” said a United Nations official based in New York, as reported by the Daily Tribune.

The secession of Mindanao from the Republic of the Philippines reignited and gained the attention of the public. In October 2025, Second District Cavite representative Francisco “Kiko” Barzaga said, “It’s now time for us to heed Mindanao’s calls for secession.”

Secession from the Philippines is possible by gathering signatures among all the residence in Mindanao, by having them verified and under oath, and in the presence of many people supporting and witnessing the separation of Mindanao from the republic,

Former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte in 2024

From Vera Files, legal experts warn that the secession is unlikely to happen because of Philippine and International law. Lawyer Domingo Cayosa, former president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, called this idea “practically impossible” because of the protection of the territorial integrity or the right to defend its border. He clarified that secession under International law is not clearly defined or generally recognized. 

Antonello Tancredi, a professor of international law at the University of Palermo, stated that “the international law does not prohibit or authorize secession” however, it recognizes the “de facto processes” which may lead to a creation of a new state.

In 2024, President Ferdinand “Bong Bong” Marcos Jr. said “is doomed to fail because it is anchored on a false premise, not to mention a sheer constitutional travesty. I strongly appeal to all concerned to stop this call for a separate Mindanao. This is a grave violation of the Constitution.”

Online, netizens showed their mixed opinions and reactions stating “The whole ‘Imperial Manila/Luzon’ is driven by this narrative of economic dependence that was set during the colonial period is difficult to change.” and that independent Mindanao state can only be a hypothetical scenario for now.

by George Cheng