Federalism within reach under Duterte

APALISOK

Political turncoatism used to be a term associated with treacherous shift of loyalties, but over the past decades, the exercise has become standard practice in Philippine politics. Presidential election year in and year out, we bear witness to political turncoatism en masse.

The first stage happens in Congress through coalitions brokered by party leaders to ensure they get the same largesse enjoyed in the previous administration.

This is followed in the local level by partisans who cannot gain access to valuable resources unless their patrons are allied with the sitting president.

Valuable resources can even take the form of a reprieve for politicians facing serious charges.

Last week’s show of force by the PDP-Laban was massive. Some 50,000 showed up to take their oaths as new party members before House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez. In an interview over dyAB before the event, Alvarez, who is party secretary general, revealed he will be leading similar party gatherings in other parts of the country indicating that the administration gears for a major exercise that requires a majority consensus.

As 4th District Congressman Benhur Salimbangon disclosed the other day, the consolidation of forces is simply a pasakalye to the campaign for a shift to a federal form of government.

To recall, President Duterte had stood on the platform of federalism during the campaign period.

Even before he got settled in Malacañang, PDP-Laban co-founder former Senate President Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr. indicated the timetable: initiate a constitutional convention during the first two years to amend the 1987 charter.

Once the amendment takes effect, implementation will follow and be completed in the remaining four years of the present regime.

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Of all political units in the country, I think Cebu province has had ample if not the most exposure in terms of public discussions on the federal system.

In 1991, then Cebu Governor Emilio “Lito” Osmeña beat the drums for a federal form of government when he launched the Local Autonomy Movement of the Philippines (Lamp). The following year, he ran for vice president in tandem with Fidel Ramos, but the former lost to Joseph Estrada.

Federalism was embedded in Promdi Party which Lito established as a platform for his failed presidential bid in 1998.

He proposed a United States of the Philippines as a way out of the central unitary system of government inherited from our colonial past. His one and consistent goal was to make way for an “independent Cebu.”

I recall that he did not only mention the United States as a federal model but also China which, he said, allows for different government structures.

If PDP-Laban exerts its political muscle in Congress and mobilizes the grassroots to create a “universal clamor” for the federal system, who would stand against it?

Advocates of the unitary system of government have been shooting down the proposal by harping on the “divisive and costly” line saying that the shift will require at least P40 billion.

They are mostly traditional politicians adept in the system of patronage.

Meanwhile, the political left and its allies have also been against federalization contending that it breeds political dynasties. Breaking the country into several “manageable” political subdivisions will only make it easier for wealthy clans and vested interests to capture seats of power, they claim.

In other words, the strongest argument in favor of the federal system, i.e., that it will level the political playing field, is the same contention against it.

But that was more than three decades ago, when things were entirely different. The country’s current population has ballooned into 101 million. More than half are young, educated and tech savvy.

Patronage politics may still be the name of the game, but with Duterte’s ascent to power, one can never second guess the outcome of political exercises.

With President Duterte at the helm and Mindanao behind him in this campaign, I think the shift to federalization is not only an idea whose time has come but also within reach.

Mindanao has had a long history of national neglect, an emotional issue even for local governments in the Visayas.

Under the present system, many LGUs do not have the incentive to become competitive because the taxes they pay to the national government end up in projects that do not enhance the countryside.

In fact, huge amounts of taxpayers’ money fatten the congressional pork barrel that go to the pockets of corrupt lawmakers and other government officials.