Federalism 101 goes to Cebu city

From Baguio City last August to Cebu this October, the Ateneo Policy Center, the public policy think-tank of the Ateneo School of Government, in partnership with Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, University of San Carlos and Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. organized a forum titled “Federalism 101: Examining the Economic, Social, and Political Viability of Federalism in the Philippines” on 23rd of October 2017 at Marriott Hotel, Cebu City. The forum is part of an ongoing initiative to provide platforms for discourse on the proposed shift towards federalism in the Philippines, through the analyses and perspectives of experts and practitioners.

Atty. Joan S. Largo, Dean of the School of Law and Governance of University of San Carlos, welcomed the participants and guest speakers by stressing the importance of discussions like this forum. She mentioned that there has been several failed experiments of governance as seen in other countries. Concerned about the Philippines, she said that this proposed change may be a “point of no return” for the country. Hence, thorough discourse and consultations are needed.

Opening the first session of the forum, Dr. Alex B. Brillantes, Jr., Professor of the University of the Philippines National College of Public Administration and Governance, noted that administrative viability should be taken hand in hand with economic, social, and political viability of this proposal. He cautioned about possible implementation challenges that might confront a radical change such as a change in system of government. He suggested that the country should “build on hard earned gains of the past 25 years” through the Local Government Code.

Coming from a legal perspective, Atty. Michael Henry LL. Yusingco, non-resident Research Fellow of the Ateneo School of Government, talked about how the Constitution has been an essential instrument in determining the Philippines’s system of government. He also discussed the process of Charter Change by which revisions to the Constitution are proposed to reflect a federal system. Because the Constitution is the people’s social contract, there should be a “shared understanding and shared commitment” amongst the people in pushing for this change.

Dr Paul D. Hutchcroft, Professor of Political and Social Change at the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs of Australian National University, discussed the foundational principles of reform that are needed to be tackled first, before engaging with a political reform such as federalism. Contrary to the usual arguments supporting federalism and further decentralization in the Philippines, he argued that “Philippines is one of the most decentralized polities in Southeast Asia.” He introduced the paradox of decentralization, wherein the central government needs to have sufficient capacity to supervise the regions. Lastly, he posed the question lifted from a conference organized by UP, “If federalism is the answer, what then is the question?”

To close the session, Mr. Leon G. Flores III, Executive Director of Aksyong Kabayanihan para sa Organisadong Pagbabago (ANGKOP), facilitated the open forum where the participants had the opportunity to ask the speakers.

The second session focused on one of the actual proposals for federalism drafted by the PDP Laban Federalism Institute headed by its Executive Director, Mr. Jonathan E. Malaya. Malaya, a recently appointed Assistant Secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, discussed the need for structural change in the country’s government and bureaucracy to improve the delivery of services and establish accountability. One of the most significant changes is the establishment of a bicameral Parliament, which shall elect a Prime Minister to share executive powers with the President. Although there will be regional governments, he stressed that these regions will not have absolute autonomy. Moreover, he mentioned that among the new provisions in the proposal is a self-executing anti-dynasty provision, which will bar relatives up to the second degree of consanguinity from running simultaneously in a locale.

To respond to the proposal presented by Asec. Malaya, there were two reactors both from University of San Carlos. First, Mr. Fernando “Perry” C. Fajardo, from the Department of Economics and Department of Political Science, posed the question, “is the present disparity really caused by the current system of government?” He said that there is a need for more evidence-based researches about federalism and other proposed reforms. Second, Atty. Archill Niña F. Capistrano, from the Department of Political Science and School of Law and Governance, became critical on how the reforms were packaged. Although she is pro-federalism, she asks whether federalism is the only answer to the problems in bureaucracy, political dynasties, and accountability.

As the forum concluded, participants from the academe, government, business, and civil society may have diverse views on whether federalism is the change that the country needs at this particular point of history, but certainly, they were informed about the actual developments on the proposal.