Why Federalism is not advisable for the Philippines

I have noticed that one of the many undesirable prevailing characters the country has is the capacity of its people throwing away things instead of fixing them.  The past three presidents of the Republic of the Philippines have endured numerous protests demanding for their resignation simply because masses were left unsatisfied with how they run the country. In my opinion, yeah, go run the country yourself.

            This coming presidential election, one of the most talked about platforms of one presidential candidate is the implementation of federalism in the country. Sure they talked about how it would work, how it will solve the crisis down south or how it will strengthen the local governments and all that talk. It sure does have some promising probable effects on the country. But, will the desired possible effects be greater than the mess it will bring us? Certainly not.

            Let’s talk about what the federal form of government is about. Under this type, the country will be divided into several political components, which we may call regions or states. Now these independent states reign over local government. They will have the power and authority to decide for their own, with minimal or absolutely no interference from the national government. The power is solely concentrated on their hands to arbitrarily perform and implement what they think is best for their own regions. Crucial areas of development such as education, transportation, public safety and healthcare are dependent on what was agreed upon by the people running these local governments. With these, development programs, laws and budgets are subject to the local officers’ disposal.

Source: http://www.rri.wvu.edu/webbook/kazakevitch/newfig4-1a.gif

            Now, let’s tackle what might go wrong with this. Number one, if the local governments are left on their own, there is a possibility of uneven developments. Not all regions are created equal. Some are less developed than others, some are endowed with relatively better form of transportation, some does not even have decent access to drinking water, some are not as well gifted with natural resources and so on. With these scenarios, development would not come easily. Some regions are simply not ready to be independent even though others might be.

            Think of it as a genetic box diagram. There are many possible combinations that would lead to diverse arrays of results. If the region endowed with abundant resources such as skilled labor had the misfortune of having a leader that has no concrete plans and programs to utilize the labor pool, what would happen next? People would be unsatisfied with lack of opportunities; there goes the labor migration and brain drain. Another scenario, if a region happens to be blessed with a really decisive leader with definite plans for transportation systems, education advocacies and economic development, then the region might see an economic boom. The worst scenario however would be a bereft region with local officers equally bereft with leadership skills. There it is, the supposed development messed up due to lack of centrality and national framework.

            Number two - it is feasibly divisive. Though some might say that competition is healthy, it is inevitable to have rivalries sprung out from this. We do not want a country with self- entitled citizen claiming that “Oh we are better off because blah blah blah, it is your loss not ours”. We are Filipinos before we become Davaoenos, Cebuanos or Bicolanos. We do not want strife and discord to happen. If it is feasibly divisive in that sense, another is it may literally divide the Philippines. We are already a country with more than seven thousand islands. We cannot even protect our own territory with the recent government system. How can local government officers in a federal state protect their own regions if powerful forces also a. China can easily take away some of our island while in the current form of government? Just how?

            Finally, and the most confusing of all, is the overlapping jurisdiction. Can a federal form of government draw the line where national power stops and regional power begins? Up to what extent can the local politicians extend their authority? Take into consideration the possible effects of power encroachment due to differences in interests between local and national authorities. The ambiguities that inevitably result from federalism can cause more problems than it can cure. There would be confusion that may lead to conflict. In times of disasters and mishaps, unclear division of responsibilities might embark endless finger pointing between local and national departments. The list goes on.  

            I guess one of the main reasons that federalism is being offered a solution is due to the never-ending problems in Mindanao.  Perhaps, people are deluded with the idea that by adopting this form of government, insurgencies and political strife might be stifled and peace will be achieved. But let’s do a quick refresher and a back track. Separatists are not clamoring for an individual region or state in the south. They are demanding to be left on their own under a separate identity. Kaya nga separatist eh. They will not be satisfied with a region still subjected to the Philippine government. Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao has been established for so long under the national government and still strife is abundant. In short, federalism would not solve the problem. It might even worsen it.

            Now, let’s go to the solution. The current form of government needs not to be replaced with anew, foreign one. It just needs to be strengthened. Easier said than done? Maybe. But, like just any great nations, they built on what they had, strengthening their foundations, laying down core networks of efficient and effective leadership through centralized planning and execution. This is what needs to be done. Start with making efficient means to communicate with the central offices available. Let’s tear down excessive bureaucracy a.k.a red tapes and have the process easier.

            Let us not subject the country to never ending changes that will only bring about further delays to sustainable development and equitable social welfare distribution. We need to learn to accept the status quo and from there, build the foundation that would make this country great again.