DANCING TO THE BEAT OF CHA-CHA: A LAYMAN’S GUIDE TO FEDERALISM”
- Oct 24, 2018
- 6 min read
Change is inevitable. It is very vital that our survival depends on our ability to change. With the dynamic movement of the society and the demands of time, change is essential.
The Republic of the Philippines employs Unitary System to govern the administration and affairs of the government. However, one can’t deny that the current system is not responsive to the prevailing problems of the country given its archipelagic features. Evident to this is the disproportional distribution of the country’s resources and wealth, hence development is very limited. This problem gave birth to the proposal of changing the current system of government from unitary to a federal system. The political history of the Philippines would also tell us that this is not the very first attempt to change the system of government. Various proposals were made in the past, unfortunately, all proposals died its natural death.
The Duterte Administration is very vocal about the idea and currently working its way towards the realization of the proposal.This will have an impact not just to the government but to the citizens as well. Are Filipinos ready for this? Do we really understand the concept of Federalism?
Unitary government is a system of political organization in which most or all of the governing power resides in a central government.1 Federalism on the other hand, is a system of government where governmental powers and responsibilities are assigned or shared between the federal (national) government and the state (regional and local) governments.2 As a system of government, federalism organizes the territory of a country into constituent units or regions and allows these units to run their governments with some powers that do not require the national government to be part of the decision making or approval process.3
In a primer entitled Federalism 101 published by PDP Laban Federalism Institute, it pointed out the flaws prevalent to the system of government we have today. According to the primer, the Unitary System has created a huge imbalance in economic development, resources and budget allocation. It has resulted in the weakening of fiscal discipline, deterioration of government accountability and operational efficiency, greater tolerance of corruption and perpetuation of patronage politics and political dynasty. Moreover, the system lacks the flexibility in adapting to local problems because of its rigid and highly centralized structure.
PHILIPPINES UNDER A FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Base on the PDP Laban Model of PH Federalism, there shall be two Constitutionally-established orders or levels of government- the Federal Government and the Regional Government. The Federal Government shall have exclusive legislative powers over National Defense, Police and National Security, Foreign Affairs, Currency, Immigration, and other matters that concern the entire nation. On the other hand, Regional Governments shall have primary legislative powers over basic services such as Social Welfare and Development, Irrigation, Water and Sewerage, Regional Development Planning, Franchises, Licenses and Permits, and the allocation and provision of funds and resources to local Governments within the Region, among others.
It is proposed also that our current Presidential System which concentrates executive power in a single office, be replaced with a semi-presidential or hybrid parliamentary system. Thus, the group proposes both a President and a Prime Minister for the country. The president is the head of state and primary responsible for the country’s national defense and foreign affairs. He is elected by the people and shall serve for a maximum of two five year term. On the other hand, the prime minister is the head of government and is responsible for the program of the government. He is nominated by the President with the consent of the Federal Assembly and shall serve upon the pleasure of the Federal Assembly.
Legislative power shall be vested in Parliament which shall have two houses or chambers – the Federal Assembly and the Senate. As to their functions, the Federal Assembly shall have the power to initiate legislation which shall go through the mandatory 3-readings. But in order to avoid the duplication of functions between the two chambers and to simplify the legislative process, the 3-reading rule shall no longer apply to the Senate. One reading shall suffice. Moreover, it cannot initiate legislation. The power of the Senate shall be limited to the review of bills passed by the Federal Assembly. It shall now be the Senate who shall confirm appointments made by the President and Prime Minister to the Cabinet and to other positions that require confirmation. The Senate shall continue to act as the Impeachment Court, approves treaties and international agreements, and screen and nominate appointments to the Judiciary. Both the Senators and Members of the Federal Assembly shall have a maximum of two 5-year terms.
The proposal also includes salient reforms to be made when the Federal Government will be pushed through, on Fiscal matters, 60% of the government revenue will be controlled by the Regional Governments and only 40% by the Federal Government. Anti-Dynasty provision in the Constitution will be self-executing and political turn-coatism shall be prohibited.
In the event that the proposal will be realized, the transition process will now be the next issue. To answer this, PDP Laban proposed for a three-step process. Step 1, the enactment of the Regional and Local Government Code, step 2, the creation of a Regional Commission and lastly, creation and approval of the Regional Organic Act.
While it is good to know how the transition process will work upon the adoption of Federalism, it is better to know first, how do we adopt the Federal System?
Federalism may only be adopted by revising the constitution. It cannot be done by simple legislative act. The actual process involves not mere amendments but a revision of some articles of the Constitution. Section 1, Article 17 of the 1987 Constitution provides ways on the manner of revising the Constitution and these are:
Constituent Assembly – Congress may convene itself into a Constituent Assembly upon a vote of 3/4 of its members, voting separately; and
Constitutional Convention – Congress may call for a Constitutional Convention with a vote of 2/3 of its members
END STATEMENT
Federalism will not solve all the problems of the country but it can help ease the problems and allow more possibilities for solutions.4 Moreover, Federalism will allow the people to take greater control over their own lives and satisfy their preferences. With Federalism, government will be felt more by the people in the grassroots since the local officials will be empowered to address their needs and aspirations.5
Federalism as a word is not anymore new to the Filipinos. They hear the word over the radio, television and social media the most. Whatever the case maybe, the need to inform the public, especially the youth about the concept of Federalism and the current proposal thereof is very important, especially that the proposed change will affect the status quo and the system of government. The state recognizes the role of the youth in nation building, and as future leaders and citizens of the Philippines, they should be involved. Moreover, Filipinos are resilient and its ability to adapt change is unfathomable. The country’s history is the sole witness to that ability. Confusions will be present at first, but as time goes by, Filipinos will be able to dance to the beat of cha-cha. The need for change and reforms is essential, for the present could no longer jive to the current and future beat of the society.
PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION
Last September 28, 2018, I together with Mr. John Philip Paculba, in collaboration with the University of the Visayas Political Science Society, organized an Awareness Seminar to College of Arts and Sciences Students of the University of the Visayas. The seminar focused on the proposed adoption of a Federal System of Government and Human Rights Issues. Activities were conducted after the discussion, in which the students were able to share their respective opinions and ideas on the matters presented. In totality, there was a healthy discussion of issues pertaining to the subject of the seminar which precisely our main objective.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Flora May A. Avenido is a first year Bachelor of Laws student. She is an advocate for change and good reforms.
She upholds the latin maxim “salus populi est suprema lex” (the welfare of the people is the supreme law of the land).
REFERENCES
1 The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica.“Unitary System Government.” www.britannica.com.August 08, 2018, www.britannica.com/topic/unitary-system. August 19, 2018
2 Local Government Development Foundation and Konrad Adenauer-Stiftung.Primer on Federalism. Local Government Development Foundation, 2002
3 Bednar, Jenna. The Political Science of Federalism.University of Michigan, 2011
4 Local Government Development Foundation and Konrad Adenauer-Stiftung.Primer on Federalism. Local Government Development Foundation, 2002
5 PDP Laban Federalism Institute. “Federalism 101 PederalismoparasaPilipinasAprimer.”p. 55, 2016,www.academia.edu,http://www.academia.edu/35964282/FEDERALISM_101._A_PRIMER_PUBLICATION_COPY
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