SAN JUAN, Philippines — As the proclamation of incoming president-elect Rodrigo Duterte’s proclamation draws near, several of his supporters who share his vision of a federal form of government have also begun explaining its concept to the public.
Among them is former Senate President Aquiilino Pimentel Jr. who’s been pushing for federalism in the country since 1982.
Pimentel believes that this form of government will be realized under the Duterte administration.
And for this reason, Pimentel is determined to make the public understand federalism which the new leadership endorses.
In his proposal, Pimentel states that through the federalist system, each province, city, and municipality will be given the chance to develop their own area in order to attract more investments and gain profit.
“It will bring the matter of development to the hands of the people more directly,” Pimentel said. “In other words, power will now be transferred from the hands of highly centralized government, the Metro Manila, to the different federal states in a realistic manner so that it will benefit the ordinary man on the street.”
In his proposal, the Philippines will be divided into 11 federal states according to the boundaries of the regions which are familiar to the public.
Four federal states in Luzon, another four in Visayas and three in Mindanao.
Meanwhile, the National Capital Region will be converted into a federal capital just as Washington D.C. is in the United States of America.
Pimentel emphasized that under the federal government, the Philippines shall continue to elect a president and vice president with one constitution, one armed forces, one flag, one central bank, one monetary system, one foreign policy and one public educational system.
Also part of the proposal under the federal government is the preservation of the Lower House of Congress and the existence of 6 senators per federal state or a total of 66 senators.
The same also applies for the putting up of constitutional court branches in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao for the immediate implementation of justice
Thus, in order to accomplish all these, amendments to the Philippine constitution must be made through the Constitutional Convention which still depends on the political will of the leadership of Duterte.
In his final remarks, Pimentel reiterated that the federal form of government is the solution to insurgency and chaos in Mindanao which has been the problem of the country since.
(ROSALIE COZ/UNTV News)
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