(Final)
REVIEW of ebbing ferment for federalist initiatives may be abbreviated as follows: 1) Drive for increased sharing of national appropriations and fair access to “territorial” resources 2) Fueled resentments pushing decentralization from a Tagalog “Imperial Manila’, for hastened economic development at the provincial/local level. However, any political science student is mindful, both objectives attainable, and faster effected via legislation, and this presidency. Rather than an expensive, circuitous, politicized, fluid process of total Charter revision. Constitutional Convention? Constituent Assembly? Congress voting separately or jointly? “Imperial Manila”, must be tamed by over 2/3rds of the Lower House. As residents of provincial districts and representatives of local interest! What of Governors, Municipal Mayors, VMs, and Councilors league? What is neutering them all? Today’s punching bag is “Imperial Manila”. In federalism, “Imperial Cebu” and the like? Another approach is, Congress revisit RA 7160 Local Government Code. Pass stronger legislation for said purposes. Also, empowering Regional Development Councils to chart sub-national infra, investment, economic etc. projects. Amend percentages for Internal Revenue Allotments (IRA), with congressional initiative, or intervention. What is fair between national and local government? A 55%-45% sharing, respectively? A 50%-50% allotment? Add, “Automatic Retention” provision on IRA from national taxes at LGU level? Enforce Supreme Court’s “Mandanas Doctrine” of May 2019 based on Art X Sec. 6, 1987 Constitution. LGUs’ share from National Government rises with customs duties, VAT, excise tax, documentary taxes in the new computation of IRA, with “automatic release”. Above approaches are safer for an archipelagic topography. History warns, federated sovereignties, and republics, are disruptive of national unity, and inures the ever-present danger of territorial balkanization and dis-integration of unions, when sub-national identities, regional ethnicities, are politically punctuated. Plus foreign interests fanning the flames of self-determination.
