Decentralization and Better Governance: Ateneo Policy Center and Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals Bring Federalism Forum to Naga City

The Ateneo Policy Center, in partnership with the Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals (BCBP), conducted the third leg of its federalism roadshow titled “A Forum on the Economic, Social and Political Viability of Federalism in the Philippines” last October 13, 2018 at the Aljosh Cafe in Naga City. The event was attended by members of the academe, the local media, and around 180 members of BCBP from various chapters in the Bicol Region.
                    
The first speaker, Atty. Susan Ubalde-Ordinario, a member of the Consultative Committee to Review the 1987 Constitution, presented the Bayanihan Draft Constitution and its rationale. She explained that as the “highest form of decentralization,” federalism would be the solution to the serious economic imbalance in the country and overconcentration of power in Manila.

Atty. Ordinario highlighted several key provisions of the Bayanihan Draft that would realize decentralization such as (1) the creation of a two-tier form of government composed of the federal government and 16 regional governments, (2) the creation of an equalization fund and a provision preempting regions to receive 50% or more of national taxes which will be equally divided among them, (3) the election of 2 senators per region for the senate, and finally (4) a self-executing anti-dynasty and anti-party-switching provisions.
 
Atty. Michael Ll. Henry Yusingco, Ll.M., Senior Research Fellow of the Ateneo Policy Center, differentiated charter change vs. legislative reform. According to Atty. Yusingco, the proposed federal charter is a grand bargain of reforms for the Philippines. However, there are three major obstacles to its realization namely (1) the patent disunity within the administration on the issue of federalism, (2) the toxic atmosphere surrounding the federalism discourse preventing intelligent discussion, and (3) the deep mistrust on members of the Congress who will oversee the legislation of the draft.

Atty. Yusingco suggested that a possible alternative to federalism is decentralization through legislative reform. He pointed out that the 1987 Charter already had tenets of federalism particularly on fiscal autonomy. This is implied in Article 10, Section 5 which gives LGUs the power to create their own sources of revenues. Yet, while the current constitution does not provide for regional governments, a law to revise and strengthen the regional governance structure could be explored. Thus, Atty. Yusingco encourages discernment in the upcoming 2019 elections especially with senators and congressmen being at the forefront of the debate.

The final speaker Dr. Ronald U. Mendoza, a senior economist and dean of the Ateneo School of Government, explained the economic and financial impact of federalism as well as the implications of the Supreme Court decision on the Mandanas case to realizing federalism. The Mandanas decision which delved on the computation of the Internal Review Allotment (IRA) of local government units (LGUs) revealed the PHP 1.3 trillion “backpay” or deficit to LGUs. He further noted that politicians who are now choosing between federalization or sticking with the Mandanas decision illustrates that the government’s eagerness to federalize is not motivated by a desire for better governance but by the idea of more money coming into the coffers of corrupt politicians. This will be a challenge especially in a Philippine electoral system that is not merit-based as indicated by the prevalence of political dynasties.
 
During the open forum and discussion, three main reactors were invited to share their views on the points raised by Atty. Ordinario, Atty. Yusingco, and Dean Mendoza.

Mr. Philip Imperial of the Metro Naga Chamber of Commerce and Industry remarked that the the system will depend on the people running the government and not from the structure. He also noted that if federalism is not the only way to decentralize, we should try to avoid the risk that the shift entails.

Mr. Alexander Dy, editor-in-chief of The Pillars publication of Ateneo de Naga University, pointed out that if there are no incentives to support the agricultural sector in the proposed federal structure, the federalism shift may just lead to the disenfranchisement of the many.

Finally, Mr. Alberto Bercasio from AXA Philippines said that rather than dividing, we should aspire for a more uniting constitution.

Attachments:

[Gallery] Decentralization and Better Governance: Ateneo Policy Center and BCBP Bring Federalism Forum to Naga City

Atty. Ordinario - Fed Structure and Powers 2018.10.04.pdf   

Atty. Ordinario-media briefing_roadshow (1).pdf  

Atty. Yusingco - Charter Change vs Legislative Reform.pdf