Mindanao journalist united in challenging the Philippine government to further explain the context of the proposed federalism to the majority of Filipinos, after series of previous surveys shows the lack of awareness from Mindanaoans about it.
This was discussed during the two-day seminar-workshop entitled “Understanding Federalism in the Philippine Context” for Mindanao media practitioners on October and 9 at the VIP Hotel in Cagayan De Oro City.
The event was organized by the Philippine Press Institute (PPI) in partnership with the Pimentel Institute for Leadership and Governance (PILG) with the support of Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF), wherein a thorough discussion on the proposed government was presented by different speakers and reactors.
Federalism has been occasionally discussed by President Rodrigo Duterte since he assumed in office in 2016.
During the talks, details such as sharing of powers between the national and regional government, taxation, and transition have not been fully explained, causing a major stir on its mechanism.
Details about the readiness of the Philippines to have federated regions and its implications on various facets such as judiciary, health care system, and natural capital, among others were both asked by the participants and resource persons during the seminar.
Majority of the thirty participants who attended the seminar-workshop agreed that there are gaps in communicating federalism to the public because of the weak communication planning of the government.
Political strategist Malou Tiquia, founder and chief executive officer of Publicus Asia, Inc., said that the present government failed to define federalism and explain its implications on the lives of the common Filipinos.
“On one hand, they said it’s going to be costly. Talking about cost but what about its benefits?” Tiquia said.
She also said that federalism cannot address all the problems of the society for most of those proposing it are more concerned on its economic and political powers that it will benefit.
Seasoned journalist Butch Enerio, correspondent of SunStar Cagayan de Oro, acknowledged the importance of understanding the basic information about federalism in the local media.
“We need to be updated as well. You see there are various types of federalism. Journalists must study federalism so there will be minimal errors once we convey the information to the public,” Enerio said.
Former journalist and now executive director of the Center for International Law, Atty. Romel Bagares on his reaction to the salient provisions of the draft charter, observed the absence of mutual communication between the government and the public.
“Right now, 75% of Filipinos are not aware of federalism. There’s an absence of mutual communication. Federalism was designed to unite and not to divide,” Bagares said.
Another challenge that he sees is the funding source of the implementation of federalism that according to the Department of Finance (DOF) would cost P300 billion while Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) pegged it at P15 billion.
Rodolfo Vicerra, an expert on congressional planning and budgeting explained the comparison between the draft by the Constitutional Commission (ConCom) and the present 1987 Constitution.
He said said there are minimal changes in the provisions of the 1987 Constitution that were found in the ConCom draft.
“Maybe if you could multiply the Ombudsman into different regions mapapadali ang investigation sa mga cases against erring officials, but right now under the unitary system, it is now monopoly of the Ombudsman,” said Vicerra citing weak points on Accountability of Public Officers.
Mindanao journalists believed that the government should study the proposal well, identify the model of federalism suited to the Philippines, explain in details its aspects, and not rush things /RLL.
