Federalism: Duterte beyond the Politics of Fear

Photo from http://philippinesdaily.org/duterte-hints-2016-presidential-run/

While I’m still undecided on who to vote for this coming May 9, it’s probably not Binay nor Roxas. I could go for Santiago, but I’m still waiting for her to jump off an airplane. So I’m left with the Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, and Senator Grace Poe.

Though I’m still undecided, I’ll give Duterte an edge over Poe. And it’s not the elimination of crime within 3-6 months. That’s too idealistic. I’ll give him the whole 6 years to eliminate all sorts of crime.  Some accuses him of promoting the politics of fear, just to win votes. I could say it’s valid. But every politician does the same. Binay is utilizing poverty porn. Roxas is utilizing the righteous path. What I like about Duterte, beyond the politics of fear, is his adherence on federalism.

Among all the Presidential candidates for this year’s election, it is only Duterte who advocates Federalism. Today, the Philippines follows a unitary form of government, the opposite of Federalism. In this unitary form of government, the power of the government is centralized. While there may be local government units, most of the decision making is done by the central government. All laws that apply from the northern part of the Philippines must be apply in the southern part, despite the differences in culture. This is the very reason why some regions are working on their autonomy, such in the case of Bangsamoro and Cordillera.

It must be noted that before the Spaniards arrived in this archipelago, and before the term “Felipinas” was coined, there’s no single government that rules from Batanes to Sulu. Even our encounter with Spaniards differ. Some defended the Spaniards from the British, such as the Kapampangans. Some collaborated with the British to defeat the Spaniards, but failed. We have a longer history of being separate ethno-linguistic groups than a single-state government. This makes the call for federalism valid.

But Filipinos in general are not culture-sensitive, and have a weak sense of history. So let’s check the economic side of Federalism. As of today, Manila and NCR is congested. People from country-side and provinces travel to Manila because of job-opportunities. Even most of the investments are in Manila, than in neighboring cities. The central and national officers are mostly in Manila. More people travels to Manila and NCR, but less people travels out of Manila, resulting to congestion. Some claim the Philippines is overpopulated, but the fact is, our urban centers are densely-populated, and resources are not distributed well. Most of the rural areas stays the same, less developed, with less resources. Development and progress focuses mostly in urban centers, under the unitary form of government that we have.

With Federalism, it would be easier for rural areas to be developed. It would be easier to transfer resources. Easier to lessen the effects of natural calamities, like the Yolanda Typhoon. No need for the approval of the national government before the relief goods from the international community are distributed to the victims.

As a Kapampangan, with an Aeta and Ilocano roots, Duterte might be the only chance I have for my people to have their self-autonomy.