Rody should run federal gov’t — Pimentel

President Duterte should not resign if ever a federal government is established so he can implement the shift properly and explain its advantages to the public, a former senator said yesterday.

Former Senate president Aquilino Pimentel Jr., an advocate of federalism, said the federal government should be run by someone who believes in the setup.

Duterte had earlier said he is willing to step down if the federal government is established under his term.

“He should not resign,” Pimentel told a press briefing at Malacañang. “He should stay on and implement it so that the people will see that ’hey, it’s good.’ It will take a man who believes in it to push it... If just about anyone implements it, they may not have a heart for it.”

The establishment of a federal form of government is one of the campaign promises of Duterte, who believes the setup would put an end to the decades-old conflict in Mindanao.

Pimentel is proposing the creation of 12 states – Northern Luzon, Central Luzon, the Cordilleras, Bicol, Southern Tagalog, Mimaropa, Eastern Visayas, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Southern Mindanao, Northern Mindanao and Bangsamoro. Metro Manila will serve as the capital of the federal state.

“Our proposal for the adoption of a federal system is designed to disperse power,” Pimentel said.

He said the Bangsamoro is “very important” because it would dissipate the causes of Muslim unrest and speed up the development of the country.