Oro City Council backs federalism
SEVERAL members of the Cagayan de Oro City Council have thrown their support for the proposed shift to a federal form of government as former Senator Aquino “Nene” Pimentel Jr. appeared before hundreds of Kagay-anons to talk about federalism Monday, October 10.
Led by Vice Mayor Joaquin Raineir Uy, many City Councilors attended the forum “Federalizing the Philippines” held in a hotel in Cagayan de Oro City.
Uy said he and his colleagues were supportive of the proposal to change the system of government to federalism.
City Councilor George Goking said it’s about time the country adopts this new system to decentralize the political power and for the country’s wealth to be equally distributed to the regions.
He said Metro Manila has remained the center of power and as a result, resources from other parts of the country were siphoned to the National Capital Region and what goes back to Mindanao and Visayas were only breadcrumbs.
“Federalism is the best for us. Countries with the same form of government are progressive,” he said.
Pimentel, founder of the political party Partido Demokratiko PilipinoLakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), said Filipinos should be properly informed on federalism before they accept this proposal.
“They (people) should discern first before approving it,” Pimentel told his audience.
He said he has been to many parts of the country explaining to people why the Philippines should adopt federalism.
But Pimentel noted pushing for federalism “should not be interpreted as a partisan [and political] approach to the solution of the problems of the nation.”
He said the change in system of government is not for the good of the party or to anyone else but for the entire Filipino people.
It can be recalled that President Rodrigo Duterte, who’s also a PDP-Laban official, has advocated for the shift to federalism even before he was elected as the country’s chief executive.
Pimentel, whose son Aquilino Martin III is currently the Senate President, said they will not copy any particular model but will incorporate the good features into the revised Constitution should the proposal gains the approval.