To the general public, federalism is still a hazy concept which they have been hearing about but cannot, perhaps, concretely visualize. That is why, advocates of federalism, led by Senate President Koko Pimentel, Speaker of the House Pantaleon Alvarez, and the members of the 2005 Consultative Commission on Charter Change—led by Dr. Jose Abueva, Lito Lorenzana, and Raul Lambino —have started information dissemination campaigns by holding forums in Metro Manila and the provinces.


While the general idea that federalism represents genuine decentralization and empowerment of regions or states is fairly easy to understand, many ask, how will powers be distributed between the central government and the states or regions? In a federal form of government, states or regions will have the power of self-determination. They can decide for themselves, for example, if they will focus on ecotourism, agriculture, industrialization, trade, etc. They can also decide for themselves how to raise revenues to achieve the direction they wish to take. With the budget they will have, based on their resources, they will also determine for themselves what to give their constituents in terms of education, health services and social services. Thus, the powers of taxation and the functions of providing social services, education, health, environmental protection, etc. will belong to the states or regions. The general powers that will be left to the central government will be national security, coinage or currency, international and foreign relations, among a few. States will be able to develop themselves because they will now get to keep 80 percent of the revenues they collect while contributing only 20 percent to the federal or central government. This is a complete departure from the present system where all taxes collected from the regions, except local taxes from licenses and permits, go to the national government. The national government then gives back to the regions or provinces a pittance by way of internal revenue allotment which, based on last year’s allocation, was a mere 14 percent of the entire national budget.


How many states will there be? The answer depends on how the provinces or districts will be divided—as may be proposed by either a Constitutional Convention or a Constituent Assembly. There could be 10, 11 or a bit more. The aggrupation or composition of a state could depend on ethnicity, language, geographical proximity, religion, and other factors.


Some ask, what if the poor regions or provinces cannot yet stand on their own—what will happen to them? Federalization will be a work in progress for a significant period of time because no state or region will be forced to become a federal state unless its constituents desire so. The poor regions will continue to receive internal revenue allocations until they hold a plebiscite to determine if their people desire to already join as a federal state. What is important for people to remember is that no one will be caught unaware, or wake up and suddenly find himself in a federal system of government. The process of shifting to the federal form from the present unitary form will require constitutional reform or charter change. And constitutional reform is a constituent act—one that must have the consent of the citizens. Thus, a plebiscite needs to be conducted after a massive information drive.


Will we still have a president to elect should we shift to the federal form? It is possible. Or, we can have a prime minister who will head the government and a president who will head the state. Again, the choice is for the people to make when they vote in a plebiscite. The United States of America is the best example of a federal-presidential form. Most federal republics are headed by a prime minister; others have a monarch and a prime minister.


What is worth noticing is that the progressive countries of the world have all adopted federalism. Some of them are the United States of America, Germany, Canada, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Switzerland, Russia, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Spain, France, Denmark, Finland, Singapore and Malaysia.


Our unitary system of government, where power and financial resources are concentrated in the central government, has failed the Filipino people. It has spawned poverty, corruption and a host of other problems. Only those benefiting from the present system resist change.


Sources: 

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The basics of federalism by Rita Linda V. Jimeno, July 4, 2016 (<a href="https://goo.gl/CjezE1" target="_blank" class="news_link" title="Source">http://goo.gl/CjezE1</a>)
</li>
<li>
Photo credit: CNN Philippines
</li>
</ol>

The basics of federalism: The time to break loose from a shackling system