Implementation of Federalism: Commoners’ Level of Acceptance and

Perspective
Group 9

Adrian Pegalan
Ivan Requina
April Chrystle Sanaan
Ariel Pasco
Princess Janbel Apilan
ABM 12 ACC/OA 2018-2019

INTRODUCTION

In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, federations became a widely used constitutional
form. They were rare before the nineteenth century and it may be that they will become less
attractive in the twenty‐first century. But for now they are well approved. And this is surprising
because this era has also been an era of nationalism when the nation‐state, the sovereign political
organization of the folk, is also well approved. These two forms are in some ways contradictory:
nation‐states derive from, justify and separate out a single ethnic group, while federations may –
and often do – bring together political units with different ethnic bases. So a difficult problem for
interpreting federalism is to explain the modern approval of this pragmatic, instrumental
constitution in an era that embraces simultaneously the emotional and often irrational loyalties of
nationalism.(Riker,2017)
Federal systems around the world have evolved significantly in recent decades, with
increasing interactions and sharing of responsibility between different levels of government. In
tandem with these changes, reformers inspired by private-sector management practices have
sought to transform administrative states from rigid, rule-bound hierarchies to flexible
organizations focused on the efficient pursuit of public goals. These reforms have been motivated
by a principal-agent perspective that emphasizes the delegation of authority to administrative
agents and the measurement of administrative outcomes so that agents may be incentivized
to pursue the objectives of political principals (Lavertu, 2016). Federal law is now predominantly
statutory law, and the reach of federal statutes into areas of historic state control continues to
expand. But this "federal" law has an unmistakably state-centered component: With almost every
national statutory step, Congress gives states new governing opportunities or incorporates aspects
of state law-displacing state authority with one hand and giving it back with the other. (Schapiro,
2014)

It is all about income inequality. At least that’s what economists like to tell us, starting
from Malthus to Karl Marx and the scientific approach introduced by Simon Kuznets (Piketty
2014). This is the challenge to developed countries, Stiglitz argues, especially in the United States
(2012) and this is the main hurdle developing countries like the Philippines continue to face. While
the explanations given were economic, the solution can only be political as the question is about
institutions, and about the accountability and effectiveness of governance. For developed
countries, the question is whether its existing public institutions or the state as a whole can address
new challenges.

In the case of developing countries, the question is whether it has already evolved a state
that is not limited by societal and/or economic factors. It is from this perspective that the idea of
federalism, couched in the context of political and structural reform in the Philippines, is
approached in this paper. The point is that political systems and structures are significant in
establishing a state and ensuring functioning state institutions. This is a crucial issue in
understanding development in the country. Institutions are essential for ensuring the rule of law;
for a government to formulate and implement policies and programmes without bias to particular
interests. This is imperative especially considering the challenge of limited statehood in most
countries today. Risse (ed. 2011) argues that “limited” statehood “is not a historical accident or
some deplorable deficit of most Third World and transition countries that has to be overcome by
the relentless forces of economic and political modernization in an era of globalization”. It was
argued further that “limited statehood is here to stay” and thus the role of experts in governance is
to understand these new conditions and recommend the best way forward. It is interesting,
however, that the book also notes that the problem or the question is if current scholarship in the
social sciences, especially in political science, economics, and, we should add, even public
administration and, of course, law could address the challenges posed by limited statehood. What
should be noted apparently is that governance is a process that entails two dimensions, actors and
modes of coordinating social action—various institutionalized modes of social coordination to
produce and implement collectively binding rules, or to provide collective goods. Various
combinations of state and non-state actors “govern” in areas of limited statehood (ibid: 9, 11).
Essentially, this argument points to “social institutions” as an alternative to state institutions.

Fremework
Federalism theory. Of the various forms of multilevel governance considered in this
volume, powers, responsibilities and resources are most formally allocated between levels in
federations, or at least between those levels that are parties to the federal compact. From the
formation of modern federations, in the eighteenth century, their properties have involved a formal
power-sharing agreement between a federal government and constituent units such as States or
provinces, recorded in a written Constitution. An umpire is appointed – usually a superior court –
to resolve conflicts. Federations may have a parliamentary system, with power concentrated in a
fused executive and legislature, or a congressional system where power is separated between
legislature and executive. The older federations date from long before women were able to exercise
political influence and often have ‘rigid’ Constitutions that are difficult to change
(Haussman,2010).
Federations have several additional characteristic features. To begin with, the differing
government units that were party to federation have some guarantee of continued existence. Where
resources such as taxation powers are divided between government levels, the autonomy of
constituent governments is greater. But this can also cause imbalances between rich and poor parts
of the country and requires policies of fiscal equalisation from the centre, if there is to be equitable
access to services across the country (Requejo,2017).
In addition to fiscal equalisation, which determines the level of general purpose grants to
constituent units, federal governments also use their superior financial resources to make ‘special
purpose grants’ with conditions attached. Extensive use of conditional transfers, results in many
responsibilities becoming shared. Feminists are likely to support such use of financial power if it
is tied to, for example, the provision of women’s services or the application of gendered
performance indicators. Feminists who identify with a regionally-based nationalism, however,
may place greater trust in the ability of the government in which their community forms a majority
to deliver women-friendly outcomes (Requejo,2017).
Some scholars think federalism enhances citizenship because more public authorities,
governing the same number of people, provide more sites for participation and more opportunities
for representation. The idea that federalism offers the possibility of dual citizenship is usually
accompanied by the notion that the smaller scale of constituent units of government will promote
more socially inclusive participation, particularly by women with family responsibilities. While
the subsidiarity principle was articulated and given legal substance in Europe, it has been of much
broader influence. The idea that federalism multiplies the possibilities for political participation
overlooks two points: first that local or regional government may be weaker in federal systems;
second that women may not be more attracted to ‘local’ rather than ‘national’ levels of government.

Objectives
This study seeks to determine the commoner’s level of perspective on the implementation of
federalism in Ozamiz City
 METHODS

Research Design. This study utilized case study research design in order to shed light on
a phenomena by studying in-depth a single case example of the phenomena. The case can be an
individual person, an event, a group, or an institution.

Research Setting. The research was conducted in some areas of Ozamiz City.

Respondents. The main respondents were the Commoner’s in Ozamiz City Misamis
Occidental and there are 15 respondents include in the study.

Research Instruments. The research utilized questionnaire as medium in conducting the

Data Analysis. A qualitative method was used by the researcher in gathering necessary
information about the study. Through asking approval to the respondents to include them in the
study which they are the commoner’s in the city of Ozamiz.

Ethical Consideration. The researcher asked approval to the people who will become he
respondents of the study and assured that their identities will be kept confidential as far as this
study is concerned.

Data Analysis. All respondents agree to the implementation of federalism that were
identified.

PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA

Analysis of interview transcripts of Implementation of Federalism: Commoners’ Level of

Economic Development

The researchers found out that 7 out of 15 respondents answered that through federalism it can
lead to in increasing of economic growth. This is true for a variety of government objective
functions. The key point is that, when many districts exist, competition will drive the districts to
choose tax policies that maximize the private rate of return and hence the growth rate of the
economy. However, this competition for capital between district governments will force provision
of a consumptive public good to zero. A central government, in contrast, will choose to maximize
its own objective function, which will not coincide with the problem of choosing tax policy to
maximize growth. Restricting the tax instruments available to a central government may induce
higher economic growth, especially for high discount rates. In contrast, since a district government
will choose to maximize growth, restricting its access to tax instruments can never increase growth.
(Hatfield, 2016)

Local Government Power

Majority of the participants agree that federalism allows the local government to have the power
to manage over their resources. The regional government will then have the power and funds to
invest in innovations, technologies and infrastructures that would assist farmers in plowing,
planting, watering, fertilizing, harvesting and processing their own agricultural produce. “All these
can be remedied by a federal shift. If we only give the regional government the power to implement
programs and projects for its own agricultural sector, then we would see our farmers prospering
under federalism,” says Malaya.
Direct Distribution of Resources Locally
3 out of 15 respondents answered that federal system directly distribute resources in locality. The
primary of a constitutional amendment is to increase decentralization, greater local power and
access to resources. Federalism will hasten economic development since resource and financial
mobilization is upon each states’ or provinces’ discretion without significant constraint from
central government.

More of Job Opportunities

One importance of federalism is that allows fiscal autonomy for local governments. The positive
side of this particular aspect is that the country’s wealth will be more evenly distributed among the
state governments. Lots of people also go to Metro Manila to find stable jobs and establish
businesses. Federalism, if it leads to economic improvement for the autonomous regions, might
lead to more job opportunities and business investments outside Metro Manila.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The study provides evidence that, Facebook is an effective tool in tracing the Urot family
and genealogy. The respondents made their accounts on Facebook in order to keep in touch with
their families while they were near or far from them. Their accounts in Facebook are medium for
them to extend their connections toward their relatives. They also believe that Facebook is a perfect
avenue to strengthen family relations and embodying the spirit of family and cultural
preservations. With the revealed result, the researcher recommend that there should be a Facebook
page for the members of the Urot clan in order to monitor the activities that may come in the
context of family affairs. Research on tracing the significant Filipino people and their
achievements using Facebook has to be conducted.
References
Hatfield, J. W. (2006). Federalism, Taxation, and Economic Growth. Retrieved from
https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/working-papers/federalism-taxation-economic-
growth
Website
https://dilg.gov.ph/news/DILG-Federalism-will-give-regions-power-to-solve-own-agri-problems/NC-
2018-1290

https://www.slideshare.net/jobitonio/federalism-121745530