Understanding federalism

DAVAO. Attorney Romel Bagares receives his certificate of recognition after his discussion and reaction about federalism in the Philippine context. (Lyka Amethyst Casamayor)
DAVAO. Attorney Romel Bagares receives his certificate of recognition after his discussion and reaction about federalism in the Philippine context. (Lyka Amethyst Casamayor)

A LOT of Filipinos do not understand or are having a hard time understanding what federalism is. This could simply mean that it was not properly explained in ways the average person can understand.

The draft federal charter prepared by the Consultative Committee (ConCom) contains 116 pages, which discuss jargons that only few could comprehend, speakers at a seminar-workshop on federalism for media practitioners pointed out.

The speakers said federalism is not just about pushing for a new system of government.

It creates questions like: What is the value of a federal system? Are federated regions or states necessary to securing the benefits attributed to a federal structure? What is the scope of federal power? What role does federalism play in contemporary debates on issues such as (but not limited to) peace process, Bangsamoro, health care, exploitation of natural resources, and taxation?

The questions go on.

Professor Andreas Heinemann-Grüder of the Department of Political Science of Friedrich-Wilhelm University of Bonn said there is no single global model for federalism that the Philippines could follow.

He said federalism in the Philippines should depend on the principal goal of the country, for instance, economic development and decentralization. This is because there is a huge economic discrepancy between the Metro Manila and other areas in Mindanao and Visayas.

Rodolfo Vicerra, former director-general of the Congressional Planning and Budget Office, said federalism is all about bringing the government closer to its people, but the shift to federalism would be very costly.

The ConCom projected a budget of around P8 billion while the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) believed that the budget should be about P245 billion.

Other issues need to be addressed such as the timeline, communication plan and point persons.

“The problem was... he (President Rodrigo Duterte) actually was the problem. Why? Because he went around campaigning (for) federalism not knowing what federalism is,” Malou Tiquia, CEO and founder of Publicus Asia Inc., said in response to Vicerra's presentation on the salient points of the draft charter.

Tiquia said the Duterte administration should focus on creating a communication plan as she pointed out that the "pepederalismo" campaign of former Communications assistant secretary Esther Margaux Uson failed to explain federalism to the public.

“Paano mo iko-communicate and napakahirap na federalism na topic? The ‘pepe-dede’ is an insult to all federalists. How do you communicate with ‘pepe’s and dede’s’?,” Tiquia said.

Lawyer Romel Bagares, executive director of the Center of International Law Philippines, suggested that before the federalism shift, Filipinos should throw away toxic political and Filipino cultures and strongly implement the anti-dynasty law.

“If we are not talking on the same page, if we don’t understand why we need federalism, it’s all useless,” said Bagares, one of the reactors during the workshop held October 8 to 10, 2018 in Cagayan de Oro City.

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