In 2008, 12 senators of the Republic of the Philippines, initiated by Hon. Aquilino Pimentel, Jr., introduced the Joint Resolution No. 10 which seeks to "convene the Congress into a constituent assembly" to change the constitution into something that allows a federal system of government. The proposal would transform regions into administrative divisions or 'states'. It died down and now it's back in the limelight, with Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte touring nationwide in support of a federal Philippines. Here are 5 reasons why a federal government in the Philippines is must right now:
1. Manila is so crowded and we don't like it.
Do you know why the Manila port is congested and traffic jams are everywhere in the Metro? Blame Manila's status as the imperial capital of the country. The unitary system of government which we now have ordains Manila as the country's “center of commerce and trade.” With this idea people have about the capital, people from other parts of the country see it as "a land of milk and honey" so they flock to the Imperial Center in the hope of living a prosperous life. If we have a federal government, the Philippines will have not only one, but 11 (according to JR #10) centers of trade and commerce. This will promote proper distribution of population to other "states" in the country. Who would not want a free-flowing EDSA because of lesser cars? Absolutely no one would.
Moreover, the unitary system of government did not only make Manila as the center of trade and industry, but also made it the “center of cultural and commercial life.” To make matters worse, President Quezon issued the Executive Order No. 134 in 1937 declaring Tagalog as the basis of Filipino language and dubbed other languages as mere dialects. It was the time when the ‘Tagalization’ of the Philippines began. According to Agoncillo, it is this “historical accident that makes the Tagalog[s] feel ‘superior’ to the rest of the Filipinos.” Federalism will help neutralize this kind of mindset by putting everyone on the same level as others, be it culturally, linguistically, or commercially.
2. Historically, the Philippines was originally an archipelago of independent territories.
Long before the Europeans first set foot on the Philippine soil, pre-colonial Filipinos already had governments which were federal in principle and never really had a concept of national unity. Are you familiar with Rajah Humabon and Rajah Sulayman? They were kings of Sugbu (Cebu) and Maynila (Manila), respectively. These two kings had their own territory and they didn’t have the right to subject each other – a kind of political dynamics which is federal in nature. (They wouldn’t want to mess with each other since they didn’t even understand each other. There were no Filipino lessons back then.) Aside from ‘rajahnates’, there were also sultanates in Muslim Mindanao. Did the King of Maynila have sovereignty over the Sultanates of Sulu and that of Maguindanao? No. Nowadays? Yes.
3. The Philippines was, and is an archipelago of diverse cultures.
If the eyes are the window to the soul, so is the language the window to one’s culture. The fact that the Philippines has “120 to 175 languages” goes to show that our cultures are more diverse than you ever thought. This means that unifications like ‘Filipino culture’, ‘Filipino trait’, etc. are just products of careless generalization. In fact, historian Teodoro Agoncillo enumerates 5 (five) major groups of people which are linguistically and culturally different – the Ilokanos, the Tagalogs, the Bikolanos, the Visayans, and the Mindanao Moros. If other countries which have a relatively homogeneous population have a federal system of government, why should we not have such kind of government?
4. A federal system of government is a more direct democracy.
Compared to the current system, a federal government represents better the voice of the masses. The Philippine senate, in contrast, is occupied mostly by people who are from Luzon. This consequently leads to “Luzon-centric” decisions when it comes to lawmaking. In a federal government like the United States, the people choose their own candidates to represent their state in the senate. When it comes to the government budget, a federal state or province reaps whatever it sows in its own land, handing only a fraction of the budget to the national government for foreign policy, national defense, etc. In this current system of government, the national government collects money from taxpayers and allocates a bigger portion of the budget to most parts of Luzon. Mayor Duterte puts it quite accurately: “80% of Mindanao’s money goes to Manila.” Federal system of government makes the masses feel that they are the ones making their own laws and that they could utilize their own taxes more.
5. We don’t want billions of pesos to be given to Bangsamoro. It’s unfair, right?
According to the Bangsamoro Basic Law:
i. Article XIV, Section 2.
“The Central Government shall provide for a Special Development Fund to the Bangsamoro for rehabilitation and development purposes upon the ratification of the Bangsamoro Basic Law. The amount equivalent to Seven Billion Pesos (PhP 7,000,000,000.00) shall be allocated for the first year following the ratification of this Basic Law. Beginning the second year, the Special Development Fund shall be in the amount of Ten Billion Pesos (PhP 10,000,000,000.00) which shall be paid out to the Bangsamoro Government over five (5) years, at the rate of Two Billion Pesos (PhP 2,000,000,000.00) per year. Such amount shall be regularly released at the beginning of each fiscal year to the Bangsamoro Government.”
ii. Article XVI, Section 13.
“To carry out the requirements of transition, including the organizational activities of the BTA (Bangsamoro Transition Authority), organization of the bureaucracy, hiring of personnel, and the exercise of functions and powers of the BTA, as provided in this Basic Law, the amount of One Billion Pesos (1,000,000,000.00) is hereby appropriated for the BTA, charged against the General Funds of the Central Government. In addition, the current year's appropriations for the ARMM shall also be transferred to the BTA for this purpose…”
“Government functions falling within the reserved powers of the Central Government in the Bangsamoro shall continue to be financed by the Central Government funds.”
That’s a lot of money. A staggering ₱18 billion (roughly USD 386 million) and counting (Some say ‘pork’ allocations for Bangsamoro amount to ₱70 billion. Yikes!) will be given to Bangsamoro State. During the Senate probe of the Mamasapano encounter, Sen. Ralph Recto asked Iqbal in Tagalog, “Isn’t that unfair to other provinces?” That is totally unfair. Instead of setting up a substate which is constitutionally problematic, why not change the whole government into a federal one? In this way, the national government will not have to look like a mother who provides her favorite son the best while the other children are begging desperately for her attention. They say moms know best, but I think federal moms know way, way better.
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