Federalism: Good or bad?

To understand what federalism is all about, and decide to vote or not for it as our system of government, I advise readers to get hold of a copy of “Q&A Primer on Federalism” written by Rene V. Sarmiento, professor of law at San Beda University and lecturer at the University of the Philippines Law Center, and a former COMELEC commissioner.

So much has been written about the issue, about eminent personalities expressing sureness about federalism making things better in our country, on one hand, and on the other, anxious about  the consequences of the shift to the system. 

Sarmiento hopes the primer will help citizens  have a “robust understanding” of federalism as it talks about its origin, of  the history of federalism in the Philippines and abroad, the models of federalism, the  discussion on it in the 1986 Constitutional Commission, and what they can do in the current national debate.

Basically, the shift to federalism means having two levels of government controlling the same territory, writes Sarmiento. “Federalism is the mixed or compound mode of government, (the central or ‘federal’ government) with regional governments (provincial, state, cantonal, territorial or other sub-unit governments in a single political system… (It is defined) as a form of government in which there is a division of powers between two levels of government of equal status.”

At present, what we have is a unitary system, where the national government is sovereign and the states are administrative arms of the central government, writes Sarmiento. As in the American federal system, the people retain their basic sovereignty and they delegate some powers to the national government and reserve other powers to the states. Individuals are citizens of both the general government and their respective states.”

But let’s focus on the advantages and disadvantages of federalism. Sarmiento bases his dissertation on the views of  former Sen. Aquilino Pimentel, R. Mendoza, Miral Jr. R.E.M. Jr., the late Supreme Court Chief Justice  Claudio Teehankee, and former CJ Reynato Puno.

Below are the advantages, Sarmiento says. 

• The sharing of powers in a federal system will ensure that the federal  states will have ample powers to develop their own social, economic, and political potentials. With adequate powers the federal states will be able to modernize themselves. As they modernize, the political stability of the whole country will be strengthened. 

• The creation of a BangsaMoro Federal State is the only constitutional and legal means of dissipating the causes of Muslim rebellions and of laying the foundations of a just and lasting peace in Mindanao. The adoption of the federal system will enable the BangsaMoro a fuller opportunity to promote their own identity and culture and their own economic development at their own pace without the need of seceding or declaring their independence from the republic.

• The concentration of power and resources in the president of the  Philippines over fiscal resources and appointments in the bureaucracy can be used to secure economic rents and accumulate wealth which can be easily abused, ushering in corruption.  When corruption reaches intolerable limits, political conflicts intensify and instability emerge.

• The Philippine experience under a unitary system of government limits  the space for local  governments to take initiatives and become self-reliant.

• In a unitary government, the people are ruled by dynasties, run by  economic elite, threatened by criminal syndicates. It is far more difficult to capture powers of government in a federal state than a unitary state.

*          *          *

But why are there many who opposed adoption of the federalist  system? Sarmiento, takes no sides, as he enumerates the disadvantages of federalism. Sarmiento cites the views of Davide, C. Habito, J. Butuyan, former Sen. Joey Lina and E. Magay-Inciong.

• Establishing a multilayer of government structure consisting of central  and  regional governments will be  costly, creating an enlarged and bloated bureaucracy.

• The Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) puts the additional cost in the range of  P44-72 billion, not even counting changes in the judiciary,  if there is a shift to a federal system.

• Federalism will strengthen political dynasties in the regional governments, perpetrate themselves in power and amass vast wealth  through corruption.

• Federalism will make the poor poorer because they will be burdened with taxes of all kinds to support and maintain the federal central government and regional governments.

• The principle of federalism – local autonomy,  subsidiarity and  decentralization – are already in the 1987 Constitution. What needs to be done is to operationalize these principles of federalism.

• The unitary system has carried this nation through tests of fire: the  Filipino – American War (1898-1902), World War II against Japan (1941-1944), rebellion, coup attempts and war in Marawi.

*      *      *

Copies of the primer are given free. Call [email protected].

Sarmiento is putting out another primer related to federalism. Read about it in my subsequent column.

*      *      *

The Commission on Population (POPCOM) denies the claim of pro-life groups  that are  circulating false information via social media that the contraceptive implant being distributed by the Department of Health (DOH) to women who want to space or limit child bearing causes abortion. 

 POPCOM, through POPCOM-NCR Regional Director Lydio Espanol, has issued a press statement saying that in November 2017, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a list of 51 contraceptives that were re-certified as safe and non-abortifacient, which included implant brands Implanon and Implanon NXT.

“This result is definitely contrary to the claim of pro-life groups that contraceptives are abortifacients. The announcement from FDA has become the basis of the Supreme Court to lift the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) that has kept the government from distributing and renewing permits for contraceptives.”

Contraceptive implant is considered a long-acting reversible contraceptive that is made up of a tiny, thin rod about the size of a matchstick. This is put underneath the skin in the arm and works for up to three years but can be taken out whenever the woman wants to give birth. Patients seeking implant insertion are given more information during counseling done by trained health service providers, says Espanol.

Espanol continues: “Since the demand has  gone high after the lifting of the TRO in 2017, the DOH has released around 200,000 units of contraceptive implants to local city health offices and accredited civil society organizations, and has trained and accredited new physicians for implant insertion and removal.”

Contraceptive implant is currently among the preferred family planning methods among women of reproductive age in Metro Manila, especially for  couples who would like to delay their pregnancy in the next three years without worrying about taking a contraceptive daily or on a monthly basis.

*       *      *

Email: [email protected]