EDITORIAL – Rody’s perfect world

What does a Rodrigo Duterte presidency look like?
Mayor Duterte, sounding more like the presidential bet that he denies himself to be, has revealed his idea of a perfect world, and it looks like this: a thriving federal form of government with 14 federal states, police forces for every federal state, a national police force supervising the federal police forces, and a National Armed Forces under the Federal Government.
That means no other armed group except the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) shall exist.
In a report by Philippine Star’s Edith Regalado, Mayor Rody’s picture of a perfect world means all other armed groups including, that of the communists and secessionists, would be disbanded for the country to achieve stability. That in effect tells us that he wants the New People’s Army, Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Moro National National Liberation Front, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Figters, Abu Sayyaf, and other armed groups to disband and only the legit remain.
He wants them all to lay down their arms if these groups agree to join his administration under a unity government.
It’s a tall order but nonetheless, he has spoken of one thing we have not even heard from other leaders. Not even from this present administration.
Mayor Duterte has started to make rounds around the country, not to tweet his presidential bid, but to campaign for a change to federalism. Many have cogitated that to be testing the waters.
A Duterte-led federal government is envisaged to prevent the creation of powerful and autonomous states, particularly in areas covered by the proposed Bangsamoro entity. Duterte believes stability in the country could only be attained if no other group aside from the PNP and the AFP would be allowed to carry firearms.
Putting things in perspective, the creation of federal states sounds like the best option to the Bangsamoro which has been clamouring for self-governance.
With the peace process in Mindanao in peril and the Bangsamoro Basic Law flirting rejection in Congress after the Mamasapano incident, Mayor Rody’s “perfect world” could be just what the doctor ordered for this country.