Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte Jr. on Sunday urged the Department of Interior and Local Government to include federalism in the topics to be discussed during the national assembly of barangay officials scheduled on October 9 to unofficially kick off the information drive on the proposed shift to new system of government.
The theme of this year’s barangay general assembly focuses on “real change,” which makes the subject of federalism via Charter Change highly appropriate for discussion among barangay officials, Villafuerte said.
“The proposed shift to a federal system of government through Cha-Cha is the game changer that would bring about the real change that would uplift Filipinos by making economic growth beneficial to all and not just a few. Thus, federalism fits the theme of ‘tunay na pagbabago’ or real change in this year’s barangay assembly,” he said.
Villafuerte stressed that knowledge about federalism would serve barangay officials well in educating their constituents ahead of the upcoming deliberations in Congress on the proposed shift.
This year’s national barangay assembly on October 9 will discuss compelling national issues, including the campaign against illegal drugs, peace and order, disaster preparedness and solid waste management, according to the DILG.
Villafuerte recalled that a similar drive to amend the Constitution through a People’s Initiative was carried out at the local government level in 2006, but this failed to take off because of public suspicions that Malacañang was pushing for a term extension for then President Gloria Arroyo in supporting the campaign.
“But today, the situation is different. President Duterte has long been advocating the shift to the federal system, which was one of his campaign platforms in the recent national elections. Now is the best time to initiate proposed constitutional amendments that would pave the way for federalism and other reforms because the President won’t be suspected of having any hidden agenda,” Villafuerte said.
“The information campaign must be two-pronged: it should educate the people about the advantages of the federal system and determine, at the same time, what setup they would prefer in adopting this kind of system,” he added.