AFFIRMATIVE SPEAKER

Necessity
Gail Sheehy once said and I quote, If we dont change, we dont grow. If we dont grow, we arent
really living. To our Dean Atty Torreon, worthy opponents, ladies and gentlemen good
evening

We submit that, The Philippines must adopt federalism for the following reasons:
1. A federal republic will build a just and enduring framework for peace and unity in ethnic, religious
and cultural diversity.
2. Federalism will improve governance through a new division and specialization of government
functions or decentralization.
3. Federalism will hasten the country's development.
For our first argument:
1. The federal republic will build a just and enduring framework for peace in Mindanao
through unity in our ethnic, religious, and cultural diversity, especially in relation to
Bangsamoro or Muslim Filipinos and the lumad or the Indigenous Peoples.This is
especially true in Mindanao where for generations, the Christian settlers have not found
just and lasting peace with Muslim residents.
This was affirmed by Paul Richard Abejuela Paraguya, executive director of the Balay Mindanaw Foundation,
Inc. (BMFI) and a leader of the Lihok Pideral Mindanaw movement on May 11,2011 in GINGOOG City, who
said that federalism is the solution to peace and the recurrent Moro armed uprisings against the government.
A shift to the federal form of government is the answer to the issue of autonomy raised by our Muslim brothers
and sisters in Mindanao. But we can only implement this through Charter Change, which is the long-term
solution to the peace problem in Mindanao, Committee chairperson Rep. Loreto Leo Ocampos (2nd District,
Misamis Occidental, LP).
The federal system will achieve the purpose by providing the Moros with a federal state of their own, which we
may call the Bangsamoro federal state. Within the Bangsamoro federal state, the Moros may preserve, develop
and promote their differentness as a people or culture, if you will, in the context of the countrys Federal
Constitution. Such avenue will also be made available to the Lumads of the country that has the inclination to
preserve their customs and traditions through incorporating them into the state constitutions that will be
formulated of the federal states that will be created, Lihok Pideral said in its position paper presented to the
Committee during the public consultation

Members of the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments have agreed that the federal form of
government is ripe for implementation in the country and is the needed vehicle for the long-term solution to the
so-called Mindanao conflict.
Ocampos said that while he is not undermining the efforts of the Executive Department, through the Office of
the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPPAP) in initiating peace through peaceful negotiations, this
kind of solution to the Mindanao conflict is a short term.
What is needed is a long-term solution to the conflict and that can only be done by amending the Constitution,
and this necessitates the need to adopt federalism in the Philippines.
For the second argument2. Federalism will improve governance through a new division and specialization of
government functions or decentralization. The .local autonomy principle in the 1987
Constitution and the Local Government Code of 1991 are supposed to promote
decentralization and actual devolution or transfer of powers and functions from the
National Government to the local governments.
This argument is supported by Jon Joaquin (2014) on his article Federalism in the Philippines which
states thatThe Federal Republic will improve governance by challenging and energizing state and local leaders,
entrepreneurs, and citizens around the country to take hold of their destiny. Federalism will release them from
the costly, time-consuming, stifling, and demoralizing effects of excessive central government controls and
regulation in our traditional unitary system. There will be a broad devolution of power, authority, and the
needed revenues and resources from the national government to the States. Local governments will be closer to
the people and have greater impact on their lives.
Jose V. Abueva (2002) in his article Transforming our Unitary System to a Federal System
President emeritus, University of the Philippines states that Federalism will improve governance by
empowering and challenging State and local leaders and entrepreneurs around the country. It will release them
from the present stifling central government control and regulation. It will compel them to assume greater
responsibility for leadership and delivery of services and business, and reduce their dependence on the national
government. As the people will be more involved in government decisions, they will demand superior
performance and public accountability of their political leaders and officials. At the same time, the people will be
more willing to pay taxes that will finance government programs and services for their direct benefit.
The decentralized decision making structure provides greater proximity to the people and forces the
governments to be more responsive to its citizens' (the business sectors) preferences. Economic development is
achieved through inter-sectoral dialogue and equitable distribution of wealth that render significant
improvements in local infrastructure. There would be more access to local resources, e.g. developing better
privileges to local contractors for infrastructure projects.

Meng Lu (2014) asserts that the main argument for why political decentralization can improve
governance and growth is straightforward: Local officials compete for mobile capital and labor, and this
competition disciplines government officials because bad behavior (such as corruption) can cause voters and
firms to move to another jurisdiction. The greater the mobility of firms and citizens, the stronger the
disciplining effect. And theres some rigorous recent academic research substantiating the hypothesis that
political competition can improve governance, including an excellent recent paper that examines recent data
from Vietnam and finds that economic growth, coupled with political decentralization and competition, has
indeed reduced local government corruption. And this argument necessitates our proposal at hand.
For our third argument3. Federalism will hasten the country's development. Improved governance at the national
level and in the States and localities will stimulate economic, social, cultural, and political
development. There will be inter-State and regional competition in attracting domestic and
foreign investments and industries, professionals and skilled workers, good teachers and
scholars, artists, and tourists. A renaissance of regional languages and cultures will enrich
the national language and culture. The Federal Government will help support the less
endowed and developed regions, and the poor and the needy across the land, thus
promoting a more equitable
development.
This was asserted by Sen. Koko Pimentel (2013) in his speech at the Xavier University stressing that Since planning and policy decision making will be given to the States, there will be less bureaucratic obstacles
to the implementation of economic programs and projects. There will also be inter-state and regional
competition in attracting domestic and foreign investments and industries. Resources will be better distributed
among the provinces/regions since government revenues will be devolved. States will have more funds for
infrastructure and other economic projects.
Federal grants and equalization funding from A Reader on Charter Change Congressional Planning and
Budget Department said that the federal government and the more prosperous states will help support the less
endowed and developed regions, and the poor and the needy across the land. This will result in more equitable
development. In terms of allocating the resources of the Republic, a formula is provided: 30% will go to the
Federal Government and 70% to the States. Of the 70% accruing to the States, 30% will go the State
governments and 70% to the provinces, cities, municipalities and barangays. In this formula, the shares of the
provinces, cities, municipalities and barangays will be bigger than what is currently provided for under the
local government code. This necessitates our argument that Federalism be adopted in the Philippines.