The Importance Of Federalism In The Philippines

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“There’s no such thing as a genius in politics, or at least I have never met one. There are only human beings, some better than others, who rise or fall in the challenges they meet.” said Jean Chretien, Canada’s 20th prime minister. Having said that, who can see and predict what are the things that should be done in order for the Philippines to meet it’s long-ago dream to be a developed country? Federalism is eminent and notorious among the citizens of the Philippines. With accordance to this, President Rodrigo Duterte said in an interview with Asian Dragon magazine (2014) that he agreed to push and impel for federalism after meeting with former governor Lito Osmeña, former senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr., and Radio Mindanao Network owner Reuben Canoy, who also account that it is a time for the Philippines to embrace and espous a new form of government. Moreover, in an article published by Rappler, at least 6 lawmakers in the 17th Congress have passed bills or resolutions calling for either a Constitutional Convention or a Constituent Assembly to change the 1987 Constitution (Cepeda, 2016). Why? For Duterte and the advocates of federalism, this form of government would budge and remove the centralization of power, control, as well as wealth at the known and epithet regal Manila and allow the rest of the provinces to form as well as expect states (2017). But, what do federalism really dictates? Oftentimes, federalism is linked to division, central and local government, as well