Rochelle Marie P.

Maestre BSOA-1

English 1 Prof. Eleazar Garpa

FEDERAL SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT

INTRODUCTION

Federalism provides more power to local governments including the power to establish

courts, implement business regulations and impose taxes.

It is a political organization in which the activities of government are divided in between

regional governments and a central government in such a way that each kind of

government has some activities on which it makes final decision.

The basic idea behind federalism can be very simply stated. It is that relations between

states should be conducted under the rule of law. Conflict and disagreement should be

resolved through peaceful means rather than through war.

FEDERAL SYSTEM FOR OUR COUNTRY

The Philippines' present unitary and centralized form of government is a remnant of its

colonial past. It continues to be used as a tool for domination and control; the basic issue

of inequality still remains to be unsolved. It has become inutile, unresponsive and

irrelevant, underdevelopment, poverty and unresponsive governance. These are the

specters that continue to haunt and threatened the Filipino people as a nation.
To sustain the country's integrity and sovereignty, the centralized government needs to be

corrected via a structural change. In a federal system, powers shall be transferred from

the central government in Manila to the regions. Contrary to fears that this will

didmember the country, the federal system will foster closer dialogue and interaction

between the people and the regional leaders because the center of the power is physically

closer and accesible to people.

A Federal form of government emphasizes local initiatiave over national intervention in

domestic affaris. This form of government encourages local people to take active

participation in the local level.

THE GAINS OF BUSINESS IN A FEDERAL SYSTEM

The new system should give due condesideration to sustainable and equitable socio-

economic development through the promotion of inter-state and intra-regional

cooperation. This policies on trade and investment will be re-evaluated and planned

according to the region;s capacity to produce as well as the demand in the local, national

and international market.

A federal form of government results in greater autonomy to revise taxation policies.

Since local governments are semi-autonomous entities within the state framework,

review of rates is faster and more reflective of cost of service that a particular region

provides. And even though tax rates in general are linked to a broader political process, a

federal system would devise and take into consideration the fairer calculation of rates

beneficial to all parties involved within the region. The right of the federal government to
levy taxes shall, contain in their own limit, which cannot be exceeded without the end

proposed and extension of the revenue.

FEDERALISM AS A PEACE OPTION

Our collective quest for peace is anchored the results of the talks between the government

and people in Mindanao.

One of the most important developments contributing to the shift in the world political

paradigm from a centralized government to federalism has been the demonstrated utility

of federal arrangements in peace-making. In a world well advanced in its movement

toward federalism as the new paradigm for interstate and intergroup relations, we must

expect it also to offer considerable promise for peace-making. As federalists, we work

hard to find ever better ways to utilize and apply federalism to the cause of peace.

There is a certain justification for this seeming truth in that "federal" is a loaded term, one

that, more than simply describing arrangements and institutions, has to do with serious

principles, real attitudes, binding relationships, specific expectations with regard to

mutual trust, in short, the will to federate. Even if the discussion of federalist political

culture is relatively not new on the political science agenda, the sense that federalism can

only succeed where such political culture exists sufficiently also figures into this

equation. Even less expressed is the expectation that federalism has at least one of its

major roots in the idea of federal liberty, that is to say, liberty to do that which is mutually

agreed upon in the founding compact or its subsequent constitutional modifications.

Without federal liberty as an accepted principle neither freedom nor responsibility can

develop properly.
One of the ways to overcome the deficiency seems to be by widening the sphere to be

encompassed by the solution. This is necessary for federal peace-making to take place, in

some cases from the very first. For example, efforts to bring together two separate units

are inevitably problematic not only because it is easy for every issue to turn into a zero-

sum game with one side winning and the other losing, but it also is difficult to transform

develop or transform issues into ones in which both sides win. It is true that in some cases

when both sides are losing sufficiently, widening the sphere helps them come together to

control their losses.

No matter what form federalism takes, how federal institutions are designed, and what

federal principles are emphasized, it is generally clear by now that where there is a

positive attitude toward federalism and a will to build a federal system, where the

political society involved rests on sufficient trust, sufficiently widespread to allow the

many leaps of faith that must be taken to make federalism work, where political culture is

either favorable or at least open to federal arrangements, where all of this leads to a wider

understanding of liberty as federal liberty, then federalism has a good chance of

succeeding when used for peace-making. It may have almost as good a chance if most of

those elements are present and some chance even if one or two of them is. But it seems

quite clear that without any, the chances of success are extremely limited.

FEDERALISM AND RIGHT TO SELF-DETERMINATION

Asserting and reclaiming their self-determination is essential among Lumad and

Bangsamoro peoples.
The Lumad peoples have persistently expressed their own preference for self-

determination, having seen that their absorption into the unitary political system has

brought about the establishment and solidification of a threat to their very own existence

and the integrity of their distinct cultures.

The Bangsamoro have their own distinct identity and vested interest that must be

respected and cannot be satisfied by a continued subscription to political uniformity. With

the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the central government has allowed, albeit

grudgingly, a departure from the stranglehold of central authority. The passage of the

Local Government Code in 1991 further chips away powers from central authority; the

local government units from the regional autonomy to the barangay are able to exercise

greater self-determination.

The right to decide and choose that is best for one's self is a sacred right that cannot be

taken away from any individual and citizen. Those deprived of this right are also unable

to fulfill their aspirations for the future.

Under a federal set up, greater powers will be devolved to the local citizenry, making

grassroots participation more meaningful and broaden the powers of the citizens over the

state.

Self-determination comes in many forms. In the political sphere, it comes in the form of

semi-independent units. In the Philippines: sitio, barangay, municipality, province,

regional autonomy, nation. Self-determination grows with increased political autonomy

or the ability to stand on one's own feet. In the political history of the world, greatest

autonomy to political units is experienced by the states of a federal state.

government and the state/local government. Since the states will have their own

legislatures, real decision-making is brought closer home to the people. This is the

immediate consequence of the political re-structuring. But, in fact, the citizens can push

further to ensure that in the federal constitution and the state laws, greater people

participation in the decision-making process is institutionalized.

THE NEW HOPE FOR MINDANAO AND THE

PHILIPPINES

Indeed the federal system is worth looking into as a more ideal set-up for Mindanao and

the Philippines. More importantly, it is one system that may be able to effectively address

the current and peculiar situation of Mindanao not only as a victim of neglect but also as
a unique island-region that harbor three peoples of diverse backgrounds, customs, culture,

traditions, and social systems. More specifically, it is a political option that may help

prevent a stalemate that can lead to another Mindanao war.

Clearly, what Mindanao needs is unity in diversity not integration, not assimilation or at

least harmony in diversity. Admittedly, a federal system is friendlier to this idea than the

unitary and centralized system that we have.

CONCLUSION:

Federalism is doing well not only in the United States but also in our close neighbor in

southeastern Asia, Malaysia whose people can be comparable to the Filipinos in culture,

outlook and ways of looking at government. Federalism can assure for us an authentic

and really working local autonomy, not the same old pretension of devolution today,
where major and even tactical decisions are all done in the imperialistic Metro Manila.

The southern regions today are still marginalized considering that most of the powerful

officials are from Luzon.

Once we are under a federal system, all component states collect their own taxes and

contribute only a small fraction of their revenues to the federal or central government for

only three centralized functions, National Defense, including the National Police, Justice

and Foreign Affairs. All the rest shall be left to each state, including health, education,

labor and employment, trade, transportation, communication, agriculture, agrarian

reform, justice environment, natural resources. The states will manage mining and forest

matters and shall control all natural resources. Each state will have its own unicameral

congress and a separate court of appeals. There will be only one centralized Supreme

Court and one federal senate with three senators from each state.

RESOURCES:

· The Manila Times: Policy on Federalism a must (September 23, 2017)

· Rethinking the option of federalism in the Philippines by Gaudioso C. Sosmena,

Jr.
· Philippine Star: Duterte renews call for shift to federalism by Alexis Romulo