DAVAO City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano said Wednesday they are pushing for the decentralization of government power to spur development in the countryside and address Metro Manila’s traffic congestion.
Cayetano said that for the longest time, the drive for development had mainly been focused on the National Capital Region while the other regions were left to fend for themselves.
“This is not only unsustainable, it’s also inequitable. It’s time to think out of the box and overhaul this unequal development paradigm,” Cayetano said.
He made his statement even as Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab, a stalwart of the ruling Liberal Party, on Wednesday confirmed his support for Duterte’s presidential bid.
But Ungab appealed to his critics that his act of leaving the administration party should not be viewed as “turncoatism.”
Ungab, head of the House committee on appropriations, said Duterte was a longtime friend and political ally, so his move to support him was expected.
“I need not jump ship. I have been a long-time friend and ally of Mayor Duterte,” Ungab said.
Cayetano said the Philippines’ NCR-centric economic growth was contributing to the worsening traffic situation.
“NCR is perceived by many as the only place where there are real economic opportunities,” Cayetano said.
“Thus, people unnecessarily flock to the region, creating problems such as traffic, unemployment and housing woes. But if development is spread evenly to the regions, we can solve these problems.”
Cayetano said his call for Decentralization was perfectly aligned with Duterte’s advocacy for federalism.
“This is one of the reasons why there is a strong clamor for a Duterte presidency,” he said.
“The mayor not only symbolizes order; he also stands for the empowerment of regions which have long been neglected by the national government.”
Cayetano said decentralization would change how the budget was allocated across the country’s 18 regions and 81 provinces.
He is pushing to allocate P1 billion per region to institutionalize a capital-lending scheme for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
He is also calling for the creation of a Philippine Decentralization Committee that will enhance the delivery of services in the countryside and study the relocation of several government agencies to different parts of the country.