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Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Talk back: Plan to secede
By Vincent 'Bentong' S. Isles
Lorega-San Miguel, Cebu City
In the July 22, 2005 column of Riel Micame, he equated the secession of the Visayas from the Philippine Republic with that of the reorganization of local political subdivisions.
Mr. Micame seems to know intuitively that Cebuanos do not like the creation of new political subdivisions, especially if it looks like it would benefit (and it usually does) the ruling families.
Sugbuak is almost dead by now, we have denied congressional district status to Mandaue City, and even the conversion of Talisay into a city has been questioned.
But equating secession and the creation of new political subdivisions only results to confusion.
By doing so, Mr. Micame is robbing the Cebuanos of the chance to seriously consider the secession of Cebu (or the whole of the Visayas) from the Republic of the Philippines.
What is the fundamental difference between secession and the reorganization of political boundaries?
One is a right enjoyed by all people; the other is a privilege that can be denied by the central authority.
It is true that secession is an extra-constitutional act. No provision in our Constitution explicitly states that our people have the right to secede.
But the first organic article of the Constitution says thus: “The Philippines is a democratic and republican state. Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.”
What we must understand is this: that the state governs by the consent of those governed.
If we want to withdraw our support from this Manila-centered, internally imperialistic government we now know as the Republic of the Philippines, we can.
If the governors of the Visayas want to organize a separate republic, they can.
There is no legitimate reason for preventing people from having the government of their choice, even if their choice is a poor one. Government is legitimate only to the extent that it exists by the consent of the governed.
If Mr. Micame is really for Cebu, he should write not only against those for the breakup of Cebu but also against those who do not want Cebu to secede.
Or, at the very least, distinguish between the two groups.
(July 27, 2005 issue)
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