Importance Of Federalism In The Philippines

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Federalism is a topic one might be familiar as one of the advocacies of the current Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. In all cases and in the most succinct way, a federal political system is a political system in which there is equality of status between its constituent levels of government (Law, 2013). It has been deemed magnificently controversial, looming both threats of empowered regionalism and division and promises of nationwide development and solidarity. Regardless of the sentiments (whether positive or negative) towards the political system, this paper aims to analyze the possibility of Philippine Federalism though the structural-functionalism approach. Federalism in the Philippines can theoretically empower the regions to strive …show more content…

These powers are endowed solely to the appropriated authorities. A manifest function of exclusive powers to the federal government will be security. A federal system has risks of a slow, unreliable, or disunited effort against foreign or domestic adversities. By warranting immediate and exclusive powers, the federal government can be an efficient, reliable, and united force in response to matters against national interests (i.e. national defense, peace, justiec and order, sovereignty, unity). The manifest function of regionally exclusive powers will be a safeguard of autonomy. Federalism exists to grant an extent of autonomy to different peoples and ensure freedoms regarding different groups. Latent function, however, may be federationwide profit and control (for federally exclusive powers) and local self-interests and development (for locally exclsuive powers). Examples of Federally exclusive powers are: (1) National security, defense, declaration of war; (2) Foreign relations; (3) Currency/ Monetary system; (4) External trade/ Commerce; (5) Citizenship; (6) Civil Rights/ Political Rights/ Human Rights; (7) Immigration, emigration, extradition; inter-State migration, inter-State quarantine; (8) Suffrage; (9) Federal Civil Service; (10) Justice (a) Supreme Court, (b) Court of Appeals, (c) Constitutional Tribunal; (11) Legal Codes; (12) Inter-state trade and commerce; (13) Postal and telecommunications; (14) Transportation promotion and regulation of air, sea, land transportation; (15) National socio-economic planning; (16) National finance(a) taxation, (b) customs, (c) national budget, (d) audit); (17) Regulation of the press and media; (18) Social Security(a) unemployment, (b) sickness, (c) old age; (19) Protection of intellectual property, property rights, and copyrights; (20) Meteorology and standard; (21) Standards of weights and

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