Sanchez: Federal government

DON’T get me wrong. I’m for a federal government. I’ve seen how it works in the United States of America (USA), Canada, and Switzerland.

I’ve studied how unitary, centralized government works, especially in socialist command control economies of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, North Korea, and Cuba. China and Vietnam have shifted their systems to mixed economies for state-led to mixed of free market and state.

With a decentralized government and politics, China and Vietnam have developed their economies by leaps and bounds. The central government cannot manage everything.

A federal government is a system of government that divides the power between a larger central government, and the local and regional governments beneath it.

Perfect examples of federal governments are those that function best in countries with a broad diversity among its citizens, though where a common culture still exists, which ties everyone together.

The archipelagic Philippines with highly diverse ethno-linguistic cultures is a prime candidate for a federal state.

I find it strange that the USA has not promoted a federal form when the country a commonwealth of the Stars and Stripes. The easier for the Americans to control a colony?

I monitored the ongoing Consultative Committee that President Rodrigo Duterte formed. He promised in July 2018 that he will endorse to Congress the draft constitution of the Consultative Committee, save for the transitory provisions which he wants to be revised.

Instead, the Lower House last week voted 224-22-3 in favor of Resolution of Both Houses, a week after the House approved the resolution on second reading.

I can understand why former Chief Justice Reynato Puno, chair of the committee, was upset. He said the House’s draft charter, which he believes was “haphazardly” approved, offers a bogus federal form of government.

“We agreed not to endorse this House resolution and to inform the public about its defects and deficiencies. This version is a disaster to our democracy,” he said.

“There is a fatal omission on the part of the House version. There is no mention of the Bangsamoro problem. There is no mention of the Cordillera problem,” Puno said.

“Unless we are able to satisfy these identity-based demands, we’ll always be hounded by this peace and order problem. The worst-case scenario is they may even separate from us,” Puno warned.

I agree. The Philippines is heterogeneous. You go to Cebu, Bacolod, Iloilo, Ilocos, Bicol regions, the Muslim-dominant provinces, and Metro-Manila; the differences are palpable.

If any constitutional changes are to be made, they have to reflect the axiom of unity among diversity.

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