THERE has not much discussion on the issue of federalism for months now. The last major discussion on this matter was in September and October last year when the Consultative Committee created by President Duterte to study the issue came up with a proposed draft of a constitution providing for 18 regions, each with a regional governor with a cabinet, regional agencies, a regional legislative assembly, and a regional supreme court. All this would be added to the established national institutions and local government units.
Immediate criticism of the proposal came from two national officials – Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia – focusing on the tremendous cost of the plan. It would require the spending of P156 to P253 billion for additional buildings, offices, and salaries, they said, although the Consultative Committee said it would cost only P13 billion.
Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said that there was no more time for Congress to convene as a Constituent Assembly and so federalism will have to be left to the next Congress, which will be elected on Monday, May 13.
Last week, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte Carpio, daughter of President Duterte, came out with a surprising declaration that she was opposed to federalism. Wider political and fiscal autonomy in areas now controlled by political clans could spell trouble for the country, she said. Senate President Vicente Sotto III was the first to comment, saying he respects Mayor Sara’s stand on federalism.
President Duterte himself has not commented on the matter. He was similarly quiet when two of his top cabinet members questioned last October the high cost of establishing a federal government for the country. He has also not officially endorsed the Consultative Committee’s draft to Congress.
At the beginning of his term, the President pushed for two related advocacies – a Bangsamoro Autonomous Region and federalism. He pushed for the Bangsamoro region to correct, he said, a historic injustice to the Moro people of Mindanao. He also pushed for federalism, but not with the same vigor and intensity. Many officials believe he was pushing for federalism as a backup to give the Moro people autonomy – just in case the Bangsamoro law failed to make it in Congress.
The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BAMM) is now an established fact and it is beginning to function well with funding from the national government. The historical injustice that had long troubled President Duterte is on the way to being redressed.
There may be no need to reorganize the entire Philippine government into a federal system.
