Under the proposed system, the president will serve as both head of state and head of government.

The country will also keep the current set-up of the national government, where there are 3 main
branches: the executive, legislative, and judiciary.

However, instead of centralizing power with the national government, the country will now have
individual states with their own federal legislature and state governments.

Professor Edmund Tayao, a member of the advisory body, said half of the assembly will be composed of
legislators selected through a system of proportional representation or their political party.

The other half, he said, will be composed of representatives from legislative districts.

"The more important way to go about now is to look at the details, so that if enough details can be filled
in and the public can be well-informed of the details, how this plays right into the final analysis, then
hopefully it can allay the fears that are often raised by the opposition," Tayao said.

Lawyer Raul Lambino, a federalism advocate, said that under this model, national concerns would be
addressed by the federal government under the president.

These include national security, monetary policy, and foreign relations, among others.

Domestic or state issues, meanwhile, will be handled by state governments. These issues include
concerns about marital laws and the criminal justice system.

Countries that have a federal-presidential system of government include the United States, Mexico,
Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela and Nigeria, among others.

Former Chief Justice Reynato Puno, who chairs the committee, said the federal-presidential form of
government is the "best" in the world.

"Beyond the debate, the federal form of government in the United States is the best form of federal
government in the world," Puno told ANC Wednesday.

He added that the committee has yet to discuss the executive powers that would be exercised by the
president under the proposed form of government, but he assured that there would still be a system of
checks and balances.

"We will be examining different kinds of executive power that can be exercised by the President," he
said.
Duterte's consultative body has yet to discuss the details of the federal-presidential model, but Puno
said there is a need for a "strong center” under a federal Philippines.

"We need a president with such a plenitude of executive powers so he would not fail in leading our
people in their continuing odyssey to peace, progress, and prosperity," Puno told members of the
committee on Tuesday.

The Duterte administration is pushing for the shift to federalism saying this would help spur long-
stunted development in the provinces.

However, Congress may still either accept or dismiss the proposals.

"Well, lahat po ng isu-submit ng constitutional consultative commission sa amin ay pag-uusapan po

dito 'yan at pagdedebatehan," House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said.

In Federal State, there is a union of previously autonomous entities. Various arrangements are possible.
One arrangement may involve placing full authority in a central organ while another arrangement might
lodge authority in the individual entities to the detriment of the central organ. The central organ will
have personality in international law; but the extent of international personality of the competent
entities can be a problem.