‘Power to the People, Power to the Regions,” otherwise known as “Bayanihan Federalism,” is the title of the draft Constitution submitted by the 22-member Consultative Committee to President Duterte days before the President delivered his State of the Nation Address on July 23, 2018.
In the Preamble of the draft Constitution, our nation is referred to as the “Federal Republic of the Philippines.” The Federal Republic shall consist of 16 Federated Regions, the Bangsamoro and the Federated Region of the Cordilleras (Article XI, Section 1). Except for the Bangsamoro and the Federated Region of the Cordilleras, the legislature of each Federated Region shall be known as the Regional Assembly in which the legislative power is vested. The Regional Assembly shall be composed of duly elected members, half of the membership of which shall come from each province, highly urbanized city and independent chartered city, and half representing political parties through proportional representation. Each province, highly urbanized city and independent chartered city shall have one representative to be elected by provincial or city voters. The voters of the region shall elect the representatives from the political parties. The four political parties that obtained the highest number of votes shall be entitled to seats in the Assembly in proportion to the votes cast in their favor and following their closed list (Article XI, Section 5).
The executive power of the Federal Republic is vested in the president (Article VIII, Section 1), who has the same qualifications as in the 1987 Constitution but with the additional qualification that he/she must be “holder of a college degree or its equivalent on the day of the election” (Article VIII, Section 2). The vice president shall have the same qualifications as the president (Article VIII, Section 3). A significant change in the draft constitution is the term of office (Article VIII, Section 4[a], which is four years and reelection to one term, instead of the present six-year term without reelection. Likewise significant is that “the president and the vice president shall be elected as a team. A vote for the presidential candidate shall be counted as a vote for his vice presidential candidate” (Article VIII, Section 4[c]. The president and vice president shall be elected by direct vote of the people.
The Federal legislative power is vested in Congress, which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives. Every Federated Region shall be represented by at least two senators elected by the qualified voters in the Federated Region; provided, that each region shall have the same number of senators. The term of office of the senators shall be four years (Article XII, Section 4). No senator shall serve for more than two consecutive terms. The House of Representatives shall be composed of not more than 400 members. Sixty percent of the members of the House of Representatives shall be elected by plurality of votes where each single-member legislative electoral district shall have one seat in the House of Representatives. The remaining 40 percent of the members of the House of Representatives shall be voted nationwide through a system of proportional representation. Every voter shall vote for a registered political party with a closed list of nominees; political parties that obtain at least 5 percent of the valid votes cast under the proportional party representation system shall be considered elected and shall be allocated seats in proportion to the number of votes they received (Article VII, Section 5).
Article XII of the draft Constitution defines the Distribution of Powers between the Federal Government and the Federal Region. Under Section (1) thereof, the Federal Government shall have exclusive power over: (a) defense, security of land, sea and air territory; (b) foreign affairs; (c) international trade; (d) customs and tariffs; (e) citizenship, immigration and naturalization; (f) national socioeconomic planning; (g) monetary policy and federal fiscal policy, banking, currency; (h) competition and competition regulation bodies; (i) interregional infrastructure and public utilities, including telecommunications and broadband networks; (j) postal service;(k) time regulation, standards of weights and measures; (l) promotion and protection of human rights; (m) basic education; (n) science and technology; (o) tegulation and licensing of professions; (p) social security benefits; (q) federal crimes and justice system; (r) law and order; (s) civil, family, property and commercial laws, except as may be otherwise provided for in the Constitution; (t) prosecution of graft and corruption cases; (u) intellectual property; and (v) elections.
Under Article XII, Section 2, within their regional territory, the Federated Region shall have exclusive power over: (a) socioeconomic development planning; (b) creation of sources of revenue; (c) financial administration and management; (d) tourism, investment and trade development; (e) infrastructure, public utilities and public works; (f) economic zones; (g) land use and housing; (h) justice system; (i) local government units; (j) business permits and licenses; (k) municipal waters; (l) indigenous peoples’ rights and welfare; (m) culture and language development; (n) sports development; and (o) parks and recreation.
Powers not exclusively given to either the Federal Government or to the Federated Regions are shared powers. They fall within the relative competencies of the Federal Government and the Regional Government and can be exercised jointly or separately. In case of dispute or conflict in their exercise, the federal power shall prevail (Article XII, Section 4).
Article XIII of the draft Constitution defines the taxing powers of the Federal Government and the Federated Regions.
The Federal Government shall have the power to levy and collect all taxes, duties, fees, charges and other impositions except the power to tax granted to the federated regions. The Federated Regions shall have the power to levy and collect the following taxes, licenses and fees: (a) real property tax; (b) estate tax; (c) donor’s tax; (d) documentary stamp tax; (e) Professional Tax; (f) Franchise Tax; (g) Games and Amusement Tax; (h) Environmental Tax, Pollution Tax, and similar taxes; (i) Road Users Tax; (j) Vehicle Registration Fees; (k) Transport Franchise Fees; and (l) Local taxes and other taxes, which may be granted by federal law.
The Federated Regions shall be given a share of not less than 50 percent of all the collected income taxes excise taxes, value-added tax, and customs duties, which shall be equally divided among them and automatically released (Section 4). There shall be an Equalization Fund, which shall not be less than three percent of the annual General Appropriations Act. The Fund shall be distributed based on the needs of each region, with priority to those that require support to achieve financial viability and economic sustainability as determined by the Federal Intergovernmental Commission (Section 5).
The Executive and Legislative departments under a Federal System is difficult to comprehend. Add to this is an entire overhaul of the Judiciary (to be discussed in my next column), which is totally alien to our present judicial system.
I take some comfort in recent surveys that claim that 67 percent of Filipinos are against Charter change and 62 percent are not in favor of shifting from a unitary system of government to a federal one. Charter change also does not appear to be in the priority agenda of the Senate, which understandably is protecting its turf. And, finally, a draft is what it is—it is only a draft. And, hopefully, in the slim chance that it gets the required approval of Congress (voting separately), it will be rejected by the sovereign Filipino people, which has the final say on the matter.
Hope springs eternal!