Towards a Federal-Parliamentary Philippines an Analysis of the Viability and the Challenges of the Proposed Constitutional Reforms Particularly on the Federal-Parliamentary Shift

Abstract

Nineteen years after the authoritarian rule of former President Ferdinand Marcos and the supposed restoration of democracy in the Philippine politics, there still exists the problem of how to effectively consolidate democracy that rests not only on the structures and the institutions of Philippine political system, but on the people as well. Attempts to instigate reforms on the institutions and the structure of the Philippine political administrative have been made with the purpose of coming up with a government structure that would efficiently cater and respond to the needs of the people and would give them greater degree of participation in the administration of the affairs that concern them, thus fulfilling the promise that democracy brings -a government of the people, by the people and for the people. Two of the reforms put forward in the issues of charter change focus on changing the current structure of the Philippine government and involves a shift from the presidential to a parliamentary form of government and the dismantling of the unitary system of government that would pave way for the adoption of the federal system of government. These structural reforms, apparently, are made to make the democratic institutions work to provide the people a government and also policies that are pro-people, thus establishing that the political institutions of a country has a great impact in the promotion of democratic consolidation and in the enhancement of effective governance. There exists, however, an issue on the appropriateness of the proposed system of governance, parliamentarism and federalism, that would replace the current unitary-presidential systems of government that the Philippines has long adopted. This study attempts to contribute to other literature and studies made to look into the viability of the proposed systems of governance by identifying the strengths and the flaws of the proposed systems, so as to see the practicability and/ or the impracticability of applying it in the Philippines. It has been found out that one of the main causes of inefficiencies in the government stems from the relation of the executive and the legislative branches of the government, where the former has been vested with much greater powers and authorities than the latter. Another problem focuses on the ineffective delivery of basic services and the solution of local level problems that were instigated by the protracted time spent on getting the resources from the central government, where almost all resources and decision-making are concentrated. The institutional reforms, which include a shift from the presidential to a parliamentary form of government, and the dismantling of the unitary system of government for a federal one, aim to if not completely put a stop to the problems mentioned above, at least reduce the impact of those to the society and in the administration of the government. On a personal basis, the researcher believes that given the merits and demerits of the presidential and the parliamentary government, it will not be appropriate for the parliamentary system of government to be adopted in the Philippines. Although the parliamentary system is a better system of government than the presidential system that the Philippines has long been using since the birth of the Philippine Republic, the parliamentary government, with its dynamic processes of holding the officials accountable and replacing them, will only provide confusion and further instability to the Philippines, that is currently experiencing political and economic problems. On the other hand, with the advantages and the disadvantages of both the unitary and the federal system of governments, the researcher regarded federalism as a better system for the Philippines than its current unitary system, especially when it comes to making the government and its institutions respond effectively to the needs of the people on local basis. Under the federal system of governance, laws and policies are enacted in such ways that would require more participation from the citizens in policymaking and in governance as a whole, giving the people a more "hands-on" position in plotting their political, social and economic growth. The study reflects that although the proposed systems, parliamentary and federal system of governments, exhibit good qualities that the Philippines is in dire need of, like the system of accountability and of empowering the local government units through decentralizing powers from the central government to the local governments, there are certain barriers that would defeat the idea of adopting the proposed systems in the country. First is the wariness of the Filipino people when a major change in the institutions of the government is proposed. The people seemed to be aversive to change, as if afraid that changes in the form of government will bring another authoritarian rule that would snatch democracy from the hands of the people again. Another barrier to be considered is the current political and economic conditions in the Philippines that prove to be too unpredictable and unstable to guarantee an environment that would be strong enough for the dynamism that the proposed systems would bring. Considering the barriers, the researcher contends that there must be an initial transition period first, if and when it is decided that the proposals will be adopted, before the full implementation of whatever changes is decided. This is to ensure the people of not only the changes that will occur, but also their crucial role in the new systems as well. The researcher acknowledged that the adoption of the proposed systems of government will ensure a better government and a better Philippines. There are no certainties, but risks must be taken and the choice is no one but ours to make.