Federalism pushed anew

DAVAO CITY - President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is pushing for the establishment of a federal government ahead of the 2025 midterm polls and urged politicians, especially newly-sworn members of the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP), to uphold the ideology of the party in empowering local governments as decision-makers through the concept of federal governance.

Marcos chairs the PFP which was formed in 2018 as a national political party and is pushing for federalism in the country. He said PFP is making an effort to align political forces to strengthen and further promote its ideologies among political leaders.

He also expressed his aspiration for the government to focus more on governance rather than politics.

“We are attempting to transform the government, to transform the bureaucracy, to transform even the thinking of ordinary Filipino citizens and our politicians. Ibahin natin ang pag-iisip para naman ay makaramdam naman ‘yung ating mga kababayan ng pagbabago na talagang ang pamahalaan ay nandiyan para tulungan sila,” Marcos said during recent the oath-taking of the new PFP members in Malacañang.

“With the power centers being given to the local governments, to the legislative districts, and to those who are operating at the local level, and thereby bringing those power centers to many, many, many places, it makes for a more stable political structure and makes a more stable political life,” he said.

Marcos said there is a need to devolve power, discretion, and functions to the lowest level of governance and highlighted that bringing decision-making closer to the ground will streamline processes and prevent undue delays that are seemingly apparent in centralized decision-making.

“Kung kaya na nung governor, kung kaya na ng congressman, sila na mag-decide (dahil) sila naman nakakaalam,” he said.

During the run-up to the 2022 national election, the UniTeam Alliance was formed by the PFP, the Lakas-CMD, Hugpong ng Pagbabago, and the Partido ng Masang Pilipino, with guest candidates from other parties. Marcos won by a landslide in the general election.

Among those who took their oath as new members are: Rep. Ferdinand Alexander Marcos, 1st District, Ilocos Norte; Gov. Rogelio Neil Roque, Bukidnon; Gov. Marilou Cayco, Batanes; Gov. Christian Noveras, Aurora; Gov. Hermogenes Ebdane Jr., Zambales; Gov. Eduardo Gadiano, Occidental Mindoro; Gov. Ricarte Padilla, Camarines Norte; Gov. Edcel Greco Lagman, Albay; Gov. Erico Aristotle Aumentado, Bohol; Gov. Damian Mercado, Southern Leyte; Gov. Imelda Dimaporo, Lanao del Norte; Gov. Dorothy Gonzaga, Davao de Oro; Gov. Edwin Jubahib, Davao del Norte; Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr., Iloilo; Gov. Abdulraof Macacua, Maguindanao del Norte; Vice Gov. Katherine Agapay, Laguna; Secretary Lope Santos III, Lead Convenor, National Anti-Poverty Commission; Assistant Secretary Arlan Mangelen, Department of Agriculture; Girlie Amarillo, Officer-in-Charge, Office of the Deputy Director General-NAPC.

Sen. Francis Tolentino, South Cotabato Governor and League of Provinces of the Philippines National President Reynaldo Tamayo, and NAPC Media Coordination Consultant Antonio Chavez were also present.

PFP officers who also attended the event included Thompson Lantion, Secretary General; Pablo Dario Ocampo, Secretary General; Atty. George Briones, General Counsel; Atty. Richard Brett Uy, Deputy General Counsel; Atty. Rico Alday, Deputy General Counsel; Edgardo Acaba, National Auditor; Atty. Lino Dumas, National Legal Officer; and Manuel Andal, Vice President for Political.

Duterte

In 2018, then President Rodrigo Duterte also vowed to push for a change in the form of government - from presidential system to federal – and even threatened to make Mindanao a federal region if lawmakers fail to amend the Constitution to pave the way for a new government. He said the current unitary system has spelled so much trouble.

When he was mayor in Davao City, Duterte had been strongly campaigning for the establishment of a federal form of government and in many of his public appearances and speeches he said federalism is the next best thing for the country.

Also in the same year, the Department of the Interior and Local Government conducted a road show to raise public awareness on the proposed shift to a federal form of government. It held a forum for 2 days dubbed “Pederalismo para sa Tunay na Pagbabago.”

In the proposal of the Constitutional Commission as stated in Article XI, the federal republic will have 18 regions, 16 of which will be symmetrical. The Muslim and Cordillera regions will have asymmetrical setups due to provisions of their autonomy which recognizes ethnicity, culture, customs, traditions, language and distinct identities.

Federal state of ZamBaSulTa 

Muslim leaders and various stakeholders in Mindanao have been pushing for the separation of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi from the Muslim autonomous region and instead include the provinces in Zamboanga Peninsula to form part of a federated states should Congress approve the proposed federalism government.

The three neighboring provinces were originally part of Region 9 or Western Mindanao which comprises Zamboanga City, Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga del Norte, and now the addition of Zamboanga Sibugay.

In a consensus held in 2018, stakeholders from Zamboanga Peninsula, Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Maguindanao released a manifesto as a show of strong support to the proposal for the creation of ‘Federal State of ZamBaSulTa’.

Justifications 

Among the valid justifications for the proposed Federal State of ZamBaSulTa are economic viability and to ensure this is to group together Zamboanga Peninsula with Zamboanga City as the center, and Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi; historical reality as the shared history of the area and proposed federal state is a strong argument for its unity as one federal state.

This history stems from the once dominant force exerted by the Sulu Sultanate over these areas, including Southern Palawan and the islands of Sulu and South China Seas, but the consensus also maintained that this is not to say the Sultanate of Sulu will again lay claim to these areas, instead, the region is now witness to different operative local government units that wield the real power and that cannot be changed.

It also cited other justification for the union such as geographical proximity because the provinces and Zamboanga City are contiguous to each other by land, and Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi are situated next to each other like a chain of islands south of the Zamboanga Peninsula. And demographic and cultural identity because of similarity in culture and peoples – Muslim and Christian relationship, education and interfaith engagements have strengthened this identity in the region.

At least 5 influential Sulu sultans, Ibrahim Bahjin, Muizuddin Jainal Bahjin, Muedzul-Lail Tan Kiram, Mohammad Venizar Julkarnain Jainal Abirin and Phugdalun Kiram who are part of the Royal Council of the Sulu Sultanate, also attended the event organized by Sulu Governor Sakur Tan dubbed “The Bangsa Sug Consensus – ZamBaSulTa. A People of Significance.” - threw their all-out support for the proposal along with Muslim religious leaders led by the Grand Mufti, Abdulbaqi Abubakar. (Mindanao Examiner)