Certain conditions must be met. If not, the process of transitioning to a federal form of government will just be another national exercise in futility – at the expense of our nation’s poor majority, national integrity, and sovereignty.

I am stressing this because, right now, the various initiatives being pushed in order to shift from the present unitary presidential form of government are led by politicians carrying the vested interests of the big political clans and dynasties that rule almost all provinces, cities, and towns.

This is not to imply the present form of government is better; it is just a bad as the intent of these dynasties turned “born again federalists,” who, likewise, control government.

Federalism will not automatically correct the skewed economic and political structure of the nation.

Millions of people continue to be marginalized, despite gainful economic activity.

The bloated service sector needs to be regulated and directed towards a real domestic industry. This goes against neoliberal thinking that believes the only industry worth developing are those that make us globally “competitive,” which has resulted in policies of liberalization, deregulation, privatization, and de-nationalization.

Real domestic industrialization means focusing on domestic needs: creating domestic jobs and raising domestic income. Such a focus would involve linking the agricultural and service sectors. Today, our national integrity and sovereignty are being surrendered by the removal of restrictions on foreign investment, which are crucial in ensuring foreign capital contributes to domestic development.

The government has turned over water services, energy management, transportation, communication, health, housing, education, and other vital services to the private sector, which makes their products unaffordable and inaccessible.

The government’s pursuit of market fundamentalism, or the free market, will keep the economy going backwards and the Filipino people poor. Industrial production will continue to be foreign-dominated, our mineral and agricultural materials will serve foreign economies, our citizens will continue going overseas to work, and unemployment and poverty will remain endemic – all the while, a few foreign investors, domestic conglomerates, and rich families will continue to grow rich and prosper.

The position by the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte has been to shun peace talks as a means of addressing the social roots of ongoing civil war in the country.

According to a 2017 Philippine Star report, Duterte’s cabinet is ruled by wealthy oligarchs with an estimated combined wealth of P3 billion.

Among them include:

• Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar, who is the heir of real estate magnate and former Senator Manuel Villar, with a reported net worth of P1.4 billion.
• Department of Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez was the former chief executive for Philippine Airlines and is reportedly worth P351 million.
• Former Department of Information and Communications Technology Secretary Rodolfo Salalima, who previously served chief legal counsel for Globe Telecom and is worth around P304 million.
• Former Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Gina Lopez is worth around P266 million.
• Department of Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi served as Philippine Ports Authority general manager before being appointed to the cabinet, where his net worth is estimated to be around P162 million.
• Former broadcaster and current Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar is worth around P152 million.
• National Economic and Development Authority Director-General Ernesto Pernia, who previously served as an economist and professor, is said to be worth around P105 million.

Obviously, it takes more than a shift to federalism to address decades of fundamental problems plaguing the country. On top of that, reactionary politicians and bureaucrats lead by two speakers, with big political dynasties riding-in-tandem, pushing for a federal constitution that would strip all remaining democratic and nationalist provisions enshrined in the 1987 Constitution.

Pursuing federalism under these conditions will only strengthen, not break up, the already-entrenched political dynasties of oligarchs and the big business interests of multinational companies, who have been long-plundering and ravaging our natural resources and docile labor.

What then are the conditions that should be met before any move to a federal state or other form of government?

First, institute the radical reorientation and redirection of the Philippine economy from an export-oriented, import-dependent, debt-driven, imperialist tool of neoliberal policies, which creates a cheap-wage economy, agricultural liberalization, minimal rural development, trade liberalization, a foreign investor-biased industry, and an over-reliance on global markets, towards one of industrialization; modernized agriculture; self-reliance; sovereignty; and responsiveness to the basic needs, interests, and aspirations of its people.

This can be done by strengthening the nationalist and democratic provisions in the existing Constitution and repealing all “anti-people” economic laws and the abolition of all unequal trade treaties and agreements.

Second, disband all political dynasties, along with feudal oligarchs haciendas and estates; and ban oligarch families and relatives from public service.

Third, institute genuine reforms to state bureaucracies by making government agencies and local government units (LGUs) more convenient and responsive to participatory governance; which includes the creation of the Office for Participatory Governance (OPG), under the Office of the Cabinet Secretary, as a genuine instrument for unifying (not dividing) and strengthening various people’s organizations and social movements, rather than limiting the Kilusang Pagbabago-Lead Organization, Inc. (KPLOI) and be a truly progressive mechanism to help agencies and LGUs become democratic and responsive to their marginalized sectors.

I can think of other points, but these three alone would be enough for the government to send a positive signal to our people that it is serious in its federal project. Without these, forget federalism for now, and focus instead on helping build people’s strength and initiative to push for and realize the necessity of socio-economic and political reforms before any talk of shift to federalism begins./WDJ