Ateneo Policy Center and Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals team up to organize federalism discussions in six cities

Building on the previous forums organized by the Ateneo Policy Center, a six-city roadshow on federalism was launched in partnership with the Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals (BCBP).  The first of the series titled “A Forum on the Economic, Social and Political Viability of Federalism in the Philippines” was held on September 1, 2018 at Kalayaan Hall, Club Filipino, Greenhills, San Juan City. The event was attended by around 500 members of BCBP from various chapters in Metro Manila.
 
The first speaker, retired Navy Commodore Rex Robles, is a member of the Consultative Committee that drafted the Bayanihan Federalism Charter. He explained the important features of the proposed draft. 

In his talk, he emphasized that the purpose of federalizing is to devolve power and resources from the central government to the peripheries and to streamline the bureaucratic processes in the existing structure. He also highlighted the anti-political dynasty provision in the draft which will prevent the concentration of power to selected families.

 
Meanwhile, Dr. Ronald Mendoza, the Dean of the Ateneo School of Government shared that the bigger ambition and desire to be better should drive our nation to push for reforms that will help us develop faster and more inclusive. 

Dean Mendoza also presented the four emerging positions in the proposed structural reforms through Federalism: 1) There’s nothing wrong with the 1987 Constitution and reforms can be pursued even with this existing Constitution; 2) Broad structural reform is necessary and Federalism is what our country needs now; 3) A surgical approach in the reform of the 1987 Constitution is sufficient; and 4) Broad structural reform and federalism are necessary but not now given the trust deficit.
 
The last speaker, Atty. Alex Lacson of the Pilipino Movement for Transformational Leadership (PMTL), discussed fifteen (15) arguments against the proposed Charter Change/Federalism.

The arguments backed by facts and evidence gathered represent the position of sixteen (16) groups of evangelical and protestant churches. The group firmly believes that Federalism is not the solution. A full implementation of the 1987 Constitution is what the country needs, especially its provisions on social justice, local autonomy, and regulation of political dynasties.
 
Mr. Jose Avellana, a faculty of the Ateneo Graduate School of Business (AGSB) and former President of the BCBP, facilitated the open forum and discussion. Three main reactors were invited to express their opinions on the points shared by the main speakers. 

Dr. Francisco Magno of the Jesse Robredo Institute of Governance expressed that regional governance is needed but posed a question on the additional budget required by the reform that would bring additional burden to tax payers.
 
John Patrick Pineda, a representative of the Youth and the Secretary-General of the Youth for Human Rights and Democracy, gave full emphasis on the length of time it would entail to fully implement the reform. 

He said that decentralization is not a one- time project, it’s a long process that usually requires up to 10 years before the real impact will be eventually realized.
 
Finally, Augusto Antonio Serafica Jr., the current BCBP President and CEO of the Premiere Horizon Alliance Corporation, highlighted three words: more, better, and future. 

He cited as an example the pareto principle where we focus on a minority of inputs that create more valuable outputs. In the end, he left the audience with a question, “Federalism, makakatulong ba sa pangarap o makakadagdag sa pahirap?”