Mayor Sara not sold on federalism

DAVAO CITY – Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said the country may not yet be ready for federalism, the new form of government that her father President Rodrigo Roa Duterte is trying to install.

"It is in my opinion that the political climate of our country is not ready for federalism," Carpio said.

She explained that the Philippines continues to be a “country of warlords, and that is the truth.”

As such, Carpio pointed out that her father’s campaign for a federal system of government may not prosper.

"Ang akong problem is the other parts of the country that are not ready for federalism because as I said, our country is a country of warlords, and that is the truth," she said.

"Dili ready ang ubang lugar nga maging independent and in a federal form of government kung dili pud sila ready mupili ug correct na tao nga mag lead sa ilahang state (other areas cannot be ready to be independent and federalized if they are not ready to choose the right people to lead them)," she added.

But she underscored that her apprehension about federalism was just her “opinion,” as she pointed out that Davao City would respect any decision on whether the country should adopt a federal system of government or not.

"I am just a mayor and that is my opinion," she said.

Last year, the Commission on Audit (COA) said a huge chunk of Davao City's funds, dating back 2009 to 2014, were sourced from internal revenue allocations (IRAs) provided by the national government.

“Davao City, being one of the largest cities in the Philippines in terms of land area, has more extensive revenueraising power on real property taxes,” the IRA report said.

“Ironically, the performance of Davao City in RPT revenue collection had been erratic for the five year period,” it added.

"In fact, kung dunay federalism, it will be Davao City who will benefit the most in this form of government because makita nato diri sa Davao City na daghan tag nabuhat bisag IRA-dependent ta (we see how we in Davao City are able to do a lot of things because of our funding)," she said.