Letter to the Editor - Federalism, Attitude, Cha-Cha

Where are we going with all of this? We have groups demanding President Arroyo to resign, other groups screaming for Cha-Cha - for federalism and a parliamentary form of government while others say absolutely no to a parliamentary form of government. How in the world can the average man on the street understand any of this with everyone screaming and apparently no one listening to the other guy?

I think a federal government would be a wonderful step forward for the Philippines if the system is fashioned after the United States system of federal government, states rights, etc. I truly do not believe a parliamentary system is in the best long-term interest of the Philippines. I could be wrong, I've been wrong many times in my life, but experience tells me a parliamentary form of government is not suitable for the Philippines.

What is federalism? It is a form of government in which power is divided between a central government and several formerly independent regional governments - the national government controls everything. The federal system allows regional governments to maintain partial autonomy after being subsumed into the larger central government. The central government is responsible for matters of mutual concern to all regions, such as foreign affairs, defense, and currency. Regional governments are entrusted with other matters, such as education.

In the United States the individual states surrender partial sovereignty but retain all rights and prerogatives not specifically assigned the federal government under the constitution. The authority of the central government and regional governments is specified in a written constitution. Conflicts of authority between the central and regional governments, is decided by a judicial authority, such as, the Supreme Court.

A federal system means each provincial government, i.e., each province becomes totally autonomous and then it must decide if it wants to become a part of a "united nation of provinces". As an autonomous region each province would provide its own police force, establish and maintain an education system, establish civil laws such as marriage and divorce, business operation, taxation, etc. Those are only a few examples.

Under this form of government attitudes must change, a "crab mentality" relative to all aspects of our lives must be abolished, we must work together for the betterment of all. Because of "autonomous" regions it is potentially much easier to uncover corrupt government officials, etc and take the appropriate corrective action. The regional political officials, e.g., Senators and Representatives, elected to represent each autonomous region at the national level would have every reason to do the very best job representing their region. In theory we would have higher qualifier leads if we use our intelligence when voting. These leaders answer directly to the people and are judged on performance.

Cha-Cha can be debated until the end of time but in the final cut it is up to the people to decide if there will be a change and what that change will be. In this case the people have the absolute - total power! As such, if you are not a registered voter I encourage you to register immediately because those are the people that will decide what the final cut will be.

Cliff Sheppard
B.F. Homes
Abuno, Pajac
Fifth Street, Block 5, Lot 24
Lapu-Lapu City 6015
Mactan Cebu