Kenneth Christopher S. Murillo - DS 199.1 - 2013-45544 - Prof.

Simbulan
What the F?: Understanding Federalism in the Philippine Context
One of the most known promises of President Rodrigo Duterte, ever since his candidacy,
was Federalism. While Federalism is not a common concept or well-known to most Filipinos, it
is well accepted by some of his supporters, even regarding it as a definite answer in solving the
issues that our country faces nowadays. But, as the title of the forum goes, What the F? What
is Federalism even? Does this really hold the answers to our nations problems?
Federalism is characterized with having two levels of government in an area, the federal
government or the central /middle government and the regional governments, both constitute the
Federal system. The governments of each region are granted with the power of self-rule or
autonomy over its assigned area, however, the central government watches over the constituent
governments, thus, the principle of both self-rule and shared rule within the Federal system.
There are different models of Federalism, varying on how countries would contextualize or apply
it in their political system or what rules or policies they would consider that may help in
governing the interests of their country. For example, in Switzerland, there are three levels of the
government, the central, cantons and the smallest unit of government, the communes. The Swiss
federal government follows the principle of subsidiarity, wherein, nothing that can be done or
resolved by the smaller political level (communes, in this case is the lowest or smallest political
level) would be done or resolved by the higher political level (the central government, in this
case has the highest or biggest political level). If the commune cannot finish a task (reasons due
to the limit or extent of its power), the canton it belongs to has the duty to support its communes.
Likewise, if a canton cannot finish a task at the same reasons, it is the duty of the central
government to give aid or support. Each cantons and communes in Switzerland has clear and

extensive power as well as amount of resources that can supply their governed area its
necessities.
But, why the F, indeed? What are the merits of Federalism? What did Duterte see in
Federalism that made him think that it would give an answer to the persisting issues we have
nowadays? Federalism is applied to ensure unity and security of different regions or constituent
states. For example, State A faced a military threat, but because of the power Federalism
bestowed to regional governments, State A does not need to rely on the central government for
immediate decisions, nor State A needs to wait and rely on the resources the central government
would give, thus allowing them to exert immediate actions in case of emergencies. The fiscal
federalism allowed State A to use its own resources in accordance to its autonomous power to
give immediate actions as response to its governed areas distress. From our example, the
decentralization of power from the central government to its federal constituents gave way to a
more democratic and accountable government. The autonomous power of the regional
governments allows to create policies that would be compatible to their areas culture and
context, thus dividing the power into smaller units would not only maximize its benefits but also
may allow a greater participation of people to their local government units because the locals,
themselves, are the ones who know what their community needs.
How the F? What are the requirements to Federalism? How can we strengthen its
establishment and prevent it from breaking apart or being detrimental to the whole nation? First,
we need a firm constitution, which clearly divides the power and competencies of the national
government and its state governments. By firm, we mean that it should neither be easily
amended nor easily broken or evaded by those who would abuse their authority or violate the
terms as stated in the constitution, hence, we also emphasize clarity to avoid the ambiguity in

our laws which only serve as loopholes and would further result in the impunity of those who are
in power. A Judicial or Supreme Court that would strictly observe, implement, and protect this
constitution is needed to maintain the order as observed by the terms of the constitution. It is
important that the Supreme Court must not be overshadowed by the other branches of the
government or other entities that may use its power to gain impunity in violating the terms stated
in the constitution. In the central government, each state government must be well-represented,
to ensure that the central government would establish laws that would fit best the needs and the
context of each state government and no state government would be significantly harmed by
implemented laws. A well-represented state government would have the opportunity to access
basic services and necessities the central government may provide with ease, as well as having
an additional security in its resources and people by being in the realm or scope of concern or
responsibility of the central government. Lastly, there should be intergovernmental institutions or
agencies that would link the state governments to each other. It should be noted that it is also
important for each state government to develop a camaraderie and harmony with other state
governments, in a larger picture, this would develop a more cohesive and unified nation. State
governments may help each other in times of need, for example, if State A met a tragic disaster
(lets say a typhoon) that wiped majority of its resources, nearby States B and C may rush in to
State A to provide aid and necessities to State As people. B and C may apply their power and
resources for immediate solution to A without A suffering from waiting for the support of the
central government. In terms of trade, investments, disputes and diplomacy, the
intergovernmental institutions may act as a mediator to settle disputes and issues concerning two
or more state governments with civility and preserving peace and order.

Where and when the F? If we would consider the present context, is Federalism the
right way to go? Will it be beneficial or detrimental? Let us think about and recall the present
situation of Philippines. Business as usual, poverty is still in the rise, and same old issues still
persist, we do have small victories like the people who hold progressive views having a seat in
our government and these people are trying to use their power for the masses. Recently, Rafael
Ka Paeng Mariano hold community forums and even planned out programs and actions to
settle land disputes to make sure that no farmers would be displaced from their lands. Although,
this doesnt necessarily mean that the issues are already resolved with Ka Paeng being the
Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) secretary for the current administration or Judy
Taguiwalo for the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) as same our society
still faces the same issues. Analysing President Duterte, he does hold some progressive stances
like genuine agrarian reform however, we should also take note that some of his plans and
policies are not really directed towards the empowerment of the masses and transforming
towards better change. If you would look at President Dutertes 10-point economic plan, it is
directed towards foreign investors and huge local corporations, business as usual. Neoliberal
policies are maintained at their status quo, meaning, just like the past Aquinos administration,
foreign investments and making Philippines attractive to these big corporations will be
prioritized. Indeed, recently, Duterte released a statement in cutting off the oppressive ties
between the Imperialist US and Philippines (by stopping joint military exercises, and addressing
the dangers of US-PH relationship as well as the harm brought by the US presence in
Philippines, however, despite having an independent foreign policy that is helpful in supporting
the growth of our local economy and a president who is opposed to the occupation and
influences of US forces to the Philippines, such solution is hindered by the interests and

oppositions as expressed by huge capitalists and the Imperialist US. Even if we deem such
solutions to be highly effective in solving some of the issues we face nowadays, it would be hard
to actually implement it due to the desperate efforts by the elites to render such policies void or
useless. This is why there is a need of not only a progressive government, but also a firm support
and genuine participation of the masses.
The huge corporations, just like multinational corporations, exploit not only our natural
resources (via intensive extraction like mining and logging, bringing in pollutants and hazardous
chemicals and species like inorganic pesticides and invasive species) but also our labor market
by giving lower wages to employees while giving them longer hours of work. Because of
prioritizing the capitalist interests, development aggression is on the rise to grant ownership to
these capitalists and also to provide infrastructures to aid them in their businesses, at the cost of
displacing communities, causing poverty among families who lost not only their homes and
livelihood but also their rights for better opportunities and living conditions, worse, they lose
their basic human rights due to the violence, intimidation and manipulation exerted not only by
these corporations, but also the national government which legitimizes their deeds and grants
them impunity. Not to mention, since the government loves these corporations so much, they
eloped with the Public-Private Partnership (PPP), which allowed the private sector to meddle
with the basic social services that should be subsidized by the government (to give free services
such as education, transportation, housing, agricultural and health). These social services that
should be targeted towards the masses are commoditized with unreasonable prizes that it limits
the accessibility of the services. These services are concentrated in urban areas especially in the
National Capital Region (NCR) where trade and investment flourish, although very far to other
rural areas, thus, limiting further the accessibility of the services that should be available for all

Filipinos (hence, the term Manilacentrism, wherein, there is a great urban-rural divide because
job opportunities and services are only more accessible to areas within Manila or near-Manila).
Now, given the context Ive mentioned, if we would divide Philippines to different states and
bestow autonomous power to each state government, do you think each state government can
stand on its own? The forum expressed the regional inequality in terms of wealth with the fact
that NCR, CALABARZON and Central Luzon account for 62% of the countrys GDP, while the
rest of the regions can only contribute for the remaining percent. Most of the Mindanao regions
only have a small share of the national wealth because of its distance to the region (NCR) with
the most connection to the global economy. Therefore, there would be states that would
experience hardships due to the little or lack of government support for a healthy and active
economic activity within their regions. The Wealth Inequality within regions will only cripple the
weaker states as it is expected for them to rely on their resources, however, they do not have
much of it to address every issue, emergency situations, distress and daily necessities. Because of
wealth disparities, internal migration to urban areas will still happen, therefore, people would
still flock in urban areas and due to the false promise of opportunities in the urban areas (the
promise of easier access to more jobs is ironic to the still-high unemployment, underemployment
and poverty rate), poverty heightens. Another problem within the states would be the existing
corruption and anomalies in the government and the political dynasties. If we will not address
these issues first, it would continue to manifest in the state governments. Political dynasties can
now use their autonomous power to establish policies to retain their positions in government.
Corruption will not be resolved by merely dividing the country into states, instead, it would be
perpetuated within the state governments, likewise anomalies and shady transactions with private
entities will remain to flourish, benefitting the families within the elite or higher classes and

maintaining the oppression to the lower classes. Even the Supreme Court and the judiciary
branch of our government is weak against the interests of the elite class, the people who should
be held accountable to myriads of occurrences of human rights violations in our communities
(for example, the state terrorism against the Lumads) do not receive any punishment for their
crimes, meanwhile, Peoples Organizations leaders and members, and innocent civilians are
being arrested, detained or killed without due process. Our weak and swaying judicial branch
cannot protect a constitution that is meant for the masses nor would a government who
prioritizes the interests of the few could create a constitution that would be directed towards the
empowerment of the Filipino masses. Instead of Federalism, why not address the roots of our
persisting issues first? What is wrong with the past administrations is that they failed in
supporting the masses for a revolutionary change and they only maintained the status quo, which
is the domination of the elite classes (huge private entities and corporations, landlords, etc) and
the imperialist countries (like the imperialist US government) to fulfill their own interests. As
progressive some stances of Duterte can be, his administration still has the tendency to be just
like the past administrations because of some issues tthat were not properly addressed and the
government still serving the huge elites that binds the government to its influence, just like how a
puppetmaster would secure his/her puppet in place. Without addressing these issues first and
resolving them, Federalism is nothing but a futile action and would not really bring any
revolutionary change because, alone, it cannot give an answer to the qualms of our society. I can
even imagine the Imperialist, private and elite entities grinning widely amongst each other
because Federalism may actually turn into their favour as they watch Philippines chasing at its
own tail, again. If we truly want a revolutionary change, why not set aside the F and listen to
the other F? Yes, the Filipino masses, that is. Let us recall Paulo Freire as he mentioned that it

is the oppressed who can liberate the oppressed. Through the empowerment of the masses, we
can truly achieve liberation. This is an essential reminder not only to us who would be
conducting our social and development researches but also to our government entities and to
everyone. To whom should you serve?