Part 1
Under President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s watch, will federalism grow sturdy like a molave or remain as the mythical tikbalang in our imagination?
The former mayor from Davao sowed the seeds of federalism during his presidential campaign. With his landslide victory, his lieutenants are busy doing the groundwork for the big push for charter change.
In his first State-of-the-Nation Address, Duterte gave lawmakers advice on how to go about crafting the Federalist structure and even vowed to step down if it is adopted during his six-year term:
“You know my advice to you is maintain a federal system, a parliament, but be sure to have a president. Huwag… Hindi na ako niyan. I’m disqualified and by that time I would longer be here. But, I can commit today to the Republic of the Philippines and its people: If you hurry up the federal system of government and you can submit it to the Filipino people by the fourth, fifth year, proseso ‘yan e. You call for a referendum and after that call for a presidential election, I will go. Sibat na ako. But you just have a president. You copy the France system. Huwag mo hayaan yung puro na parliament. Delikado iyon.
…You can have a president, you can elect. Maybe [Sen.] Tito Sotto would be the lucky guy at that time. O, ‘di, limitahan mo lang. Ceremonial powers. Power to dissolve, power to accept the resolution or whatever, mandating you this, do that, or ceremonial powers except yung in times of need, if there’s a demand for action. You must have a president. Wala na ako niyan. I said if you can give me that document, I will urge you to conduct a—to order — to order, call for an election the following day, following week. And even if there is still two years, three years I will go….”
Duterte’s party, the PDP-Laban, has been the foremost proponent of Federalism which seeks to redistribute power and resources from “Imperial Manila” to regions left behind by rising economic growth, particularly resource-rich but underdeveloped Mindanao.
In a recent speech at conference of local government executives, Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III declared that Filipinos are “ready for federalism” and the “conditions are ripe” for changing the 1987 Constitution.
“We must act quickly. There is no time to lose,” said Pimentel, whose father, then Senate President Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr., first proposed the shift, 30 years ago, from a unitary/presidential to a federal/parliamentary system of government.
Charter change
The prospects for charter change in Duterte’s time is undoubtedly favorable, given the high popularity and trust ratings of the first president from Mindanao and his administration’s supermajority in both Houses of Congress.
The latest Pulse Asia survey, conducted from July 2-8, 2016, shows that 44 percent of Filipinos do not want charter change at this time, 37 percent are in favor, while 19 percent are undecided.
Compared to the November 14, 2015 survey, the numbers of those who oppose charter change have gone down, from 49 to 44 percent, while those supportive of the move have increased from 27 to 37 percent, Pulse Asia pointed out.
It also said that majority of Filipinos (73 percent) have “little” to “no knowledge” of the Constitution and that many are not aware (59 percent) of the plans to amend the constitution.
Initiatives to amend or change the 1987 charter failed during the presidencies of Fidel V. Ramos, Joseph Estrada, and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
The Philippines has had three constitutions since the anti-Spanish revolutionary forces led by Emilio Aguinaldo adopted the Malolos Constitution in 1899 that saw the birth of Asia’s First Republic.
The 1935 Constitution was crafted under the auspices of US colonial authorities; the 1973 Constitution was ratified during the martial law regime of President Ferdinand Marcos, while the 1987 Constitution was a by-product of the revolutionary government of President Corazon Aquino.
In an interview with a Japanese newspaper Manila Shimbun, Ramon Casiple, executive director of the Institute for Economic and Electoral Reform (IPER), said:
“The president wants to finish the whole thing in 4-5 years before he leaves office. The current deadline says by the end of the year there should be a draft because there is a proposal on the table to convene a constitutional commission which will actually formalize the draft.”
“The target is in two years time there should be an approved constitution so the ratification will be simultaneous with the 2019 general elections, and the transition will be from 2019 to 2022,” said Casiple who is a member of the Federalism study group of the PDP-Laban.
House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez has submitted a draft Executive Order to the Office of the President proposing the creation of a Constitutional Commission which will not only flesh out the Federalist structure but also “entirely overhaul” the current constitution.
The members of the Concom will be appointed by President Duterte and is expected to finish the draft in six months which will then be submitted for approval by Congress sitting as a Constituent Assembly, Alvarez said.
Continued tomorrow