THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE IS ALREADY ENOUGH

By Bayawanon

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte is espousing Federalism for the sake of decentralization, devolution, and autonomy of the future or the soon to be created the Philippine States, that is good for the said steps would make the newly created states more self-supporting and can exist without too much aid from the national or central government.

The BIG PROBLEM is this, decentralization, devolution and autonomy can already be found in the Local Government Code of the Philippines which was exhaustively passed by the Philippine Congress through the very brilliant former Senator Aquilino "Nene" Pimentel Jr. So why still insist that FEDERALISM be adopted as the new system of government when the Philippines is actually and technically FEDERALIZED unitary-presidential system of government of the Philippines?

Decentralization is the act of the central government to diffuse its powers and give it to the local government units, happily it is happening now in the countryside by way of the Local Government Code of the Philippines.

Devolution is the act of the national government to delegate its powers to the local government units like its police powers, the power of taxation and its power of eminent domain. Luckily, this is happening too via the Local Government Code again.

Autonomy is the act of the government to give the semblance of self-rule to some groups of ethnic minorities, by giving them a government outside independence which would fit to their cultures, heritage, and traditions. This is also happening now in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao or ARRM since it is mandated by the 1987 Constitution that the same be established and that the same was properly consummated by way of the Local Government of Code.

Another semblance of federalism in our present unitary-presidential system of government is the existence of the ADMINISTRATIVE REGIONS of the Philippines wherein the country is divided administratively into seventeen parts for purposes of economic development and purposes of a swift allocation of basic goods and services to the administrative regions and the provinces, cities, municipalities, and barangays under them.

So why federalize the Philippines when the same is actually federalized because of the Local Government Code? Will we federalize our own country just for us to spend money and actually divide the same?

To me federalism is good but it is very costly, hence it is only good for rich countries. Imagine our country to be divided into different states, with each state having its own executive officer in the person of the state president or governor, having its own senate and house of representatives, having its own cabinet, having its own judiciary and having its own tax system, that would tantamount into bloating the bureaucracy. Bloating the bureaucracy means big government and big government means BIG NATIONAL SPENDING.

Another point is this, if FEDERALISM would push through, this can be a big step or even a gargantuan leap for the autonomous regions to successfully grab independence because they, in a process could have their own government, territory, sovereignty, and people, hence it is a big threat for the Philippines in losing the Muslim Mindanao.

By virtue of the following premises and arguments, I hope and pray that every one of us shall forget FEDERALISM and instead be contented for the present set-up of governance in our country which is the unitary-presidential form of government which is actually federalized by way of the Local Government Code of 1991. So be it.