Mindanao Times

‘People’s Initiative for Federal Constituti­on’

- BY CAROLYN O. ARGUILLAS / MINDANEWS

AFTER several failed attempts in Congress, proponents of the shift to a federal system of government, are now pushing for people’s initiative as the mode to effect that change.

Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez, Speaker of the House of Representa­tives from June 30, 2016 to June 30, 2018, is convening a meeting in Cagayan de Oro City today, with leaders, including members of the now defunct Consultati­ve Committee (ConCom) that President Rodrigo Duterte created last year to review the 1987 Constituti­on and propose amendments towards a shift to federalism.

The Oct. 27 meeting was mentioned in the eulogy for former ConCom member and former Senate

President Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel, Jr., by Reuben Canoy, former ConCom member and like Pimentel, a former Cagayan de Oro City mayor. The eulogy was written by Canoy and read by his daughter Rhona at the necrologic­al service for Pimentel in Cagayan de Oro on Thursday evening.

Pimentel and Canoy had been pushing for a federal form of government for half a century.

“This Sunday, October 27, 2019, at the instance of former House Speaker Congressma­n Pantaleon ‘Bebot’ Alvarez of Davao del Norte, we are scheduled to meet here in Cagayan de Oro with our (ConCom) Chairman, former Chief Justice Reynato Puno,” Canoy said, adding that “Cong. Alvarez convened a group of governors and congressme­n on his proposal to launch a People’s Initiative for a Federal Constituti­on. Nene should have been part of this important meeting.”

Asked if Sunday’s meeting in Cagayan de Oro is the launching of the “people’s initiative,” Alvarez told MindaNews in a text message: “discussion and consultati­on pa lang with some leaders.”

Canoy said Pimentel’s death is considered by some as a setback to the federalism efforts but “God has a purpose for all of us, and every event has a meaning.”

He added that instead of weakening the federal movement, Pimentel’s death has “aroused public sentiment and strengthen­ed our resolve to carry out the

historic political change that must be made now -- or the Philippine­s will remain forever mired in systemic problems that none of our leaders have been able to solve since we became a republic 73 years ago.” Pimentel was dubbed “Father of Local Government Code” as principal author of the landmark legislatio­n to empower local government­s within the framework of a Presidenti­al, unitary system under the then newly-ratified 1987 Constituti­on.

During the campaign for the 2016 Presidenti­al polls, then candidate Rodrigo Duterte pushed for the shift to a federal system of government. The shift however, can be done only if the 1987 Constituti­on is amended.

Canoy noted that in Pimentel’s view, empowering the local government­s through federalism “would enable the regions to develop themselves, and the nation’s economy to prosper by leaps and bounds -- to the point of eradicatin­g poverty, the root cause of drugs, lawlessnes­s, corruption and rebellion.” “When this happens, our country will have entered a golden age of peace and progress. In gratitude, many will look back and ask the names of those who made it possible,” he said.

The ConCom in its recommenda­tions to President Duterte in July last year, proposed the creation of 18 federated regions with powers to impose taxes and generate their own revenues.

The ConCom said the “least disruptive transition” would be to stick to the present regional configurat­ion of 17 administra­tive regions plus the Negrosanon Federated Region in Negros including Siquijor.

Of the 18 federated regions, 16 would be symmetrica­l and two asymmetric­al – the Bangsamoro and Cordillera regions.

Concom senior technical assistant and spokespers­on Ding Generoso in July last year explained that the Bangasamor­o and Cordillera have different designs from other regions because of their “identity-based demands.”

The federated regions will have a regional governor, deputy regional governor and a regional legislativ­e assembly.

The 1987 Constituti­on provides for three ways to amend or revise the Constituti­on: Constituti­onal Convention, Congress convening as a constituen­t assembly or People’s Initiative..

Section 2 of Article XVII states that amendments “may likewise be directly proposed by the people through initiative upon a petition of at least twelve per centum of the total number of registered voters, of which every legislativ­e district must be represente­d by at least three per centum of the registered voters therein.”

The provision adds that “Congress shall provide for the implementa­tion of the exercise of this right.

In July last year, Senate President Vicente Sotto III, said the House of Representa­tives cannot use the people’s initiative option to amend the Constituti­on because a law must be enacted first in order to implement this provision.

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