Experts urge deeper study on federal shift

State think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) recently urged policymakers to pursue a comprehensive study before embarking on the proposed shift to a federal form of government.

PIDS recently sponsored a forum called “Critical Perspectives on Federalism for Regional Development” that aims to gather different analyses and insights on federalism from the country’s most prominent scholars and experts of political science, public administration, governance, and public finance.

“It is worth recalling our history to remind us why we are all here today. Since the Spanish period, Manila has served as the country’s seat of economic and political power. Some Filipinos, especially those living in the Visayas and Mindanao, have blamed such concentration of power as the main driver of the uneven development in the country today, and have called for a more even sharing of power, resources and governmental responsibilities,” PIDS President Gilberto Llanto said.

Llanto stressed that it is important for the Philippines to carefully examine the possible implications of shifting to federalism using a multidisciplinary lens and to take into account the country’s political, economic, social, and historical context.

“A very important challenge before us in the policy research and academic community is to clarify the policy discourse on federalism.

There is not only one model of federalism that countries with a federal structure of government have followed,” he said. “It can be assumed that the federal states that we have today had agreed to adopt a particular federalist structure that would best address their deeply-cherished goals, challenges, and experiences,” he added.

The forum presentations covered topics ranging from allocation of functional responsibilities, taxing powers and management of financial resources, delineation of territorial boundary of states, treatment of local government units, to political stability of the proposed shift to federalism and its relationship and effects to political parties and political dynasties in the country.

There were also sessions that delved on concepts of centralization versus decentralization in both the administrative and political spheres including comparisons and key lessons from countries that adopted a federal form of government such as Germany and the United States.

“While federalism will eventually be a political process, it should first be anchored on a non-partisan, objective, and scientific study to achieve its goals and desired outcomes,” PIDS Vice President Marife Ballesteros added.

Ballesteros expressed the need for the Philippine government to design its own decentralized form of government.

“We (can) learn lessons from other federal systems but we cannot just copy from them. The design has to be creative, contextual, and uniquely Filipino,” she urged.

Secretary Datu Abul Hj. Khayr Alonto of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) recommended the immediate adoption of federalism to resolve the conflict in Mindanao.

“Having witnessed and endured the turbulent years of strife in Mindanao along with my fellow brothers and sisters, I have come to realize that the only way to permanently put the regime of fragmentation and violence in Mindanao to rest is to pursue initiatives that will transcend beyond any affiliation or interest,” he said.

In his closing remarks, Alonto said Mindanaoans favor federalism over decentralization because “anything delegated can be withdrawn but anything shared cannot be dismantled.”

“Mindanao is ready for federalism and we can do it, we will do it,” Alonto declared.

The MinDA chief also said that the shift to federalism will be a great opportunity to highlight the Bangsamoro agenda.

Kenneth Beldua, who represented Zamboanga City Maria Isabelle Climaco, in his speech underscored the importance of probing deeper into the proposed change in government system to “avoid the mistakes and pitfalls in older federations”.

RIZA LOZADA