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FEDERALISM AND
MINDANAO PEACE
ATTY. BENNY BACANI
INSTITUTE FOR AUTONOMY AND
GOVERNANCE
FEDERALISM: A
WORKING
DEFINITION
A state in which there is a constitutionally
guaranteed division of powers and competencies
between the central government and the
constituent federal units (regions, states, etc.)
The principle of combined self-rule and shared
rule.
In practice, there is no single model of federalism
and a wide variety of its political institutions.
FEDERALISM:
HISTORICAL
DRIVERS
Federal systems have typically emerged in response to at least two
important historical realities:
1) the need for greater unity and security by constituent states in
the face of serious military threats, especially external ones.
2) the need to sustain both the integration and diversification of
polities divided by deep ethnic, religious, linguistic differences,
especially when such divisions assume separatist forms.
In this regard, it is instructive that the six longstanding
democracies in the world with the highest index of linguistic or
ethnic diversity are all federal states: India, Canada, Belgium,
Switzerland , Spain, and the United Sates.
FEDERALISM:
OPPORTUNITIES AND
RISKS
POLICY OPTIONS ON
THE BBL
Option A
Option Z
Passage of the
BBL endorsed by
the BTC and the
OP (Aquino
Administration)
Federalism as the
only solution
Peace Agreements
and BBL as moot
and academic
OPTION A (PASSAGE
OF THE BBL)
Perceptions of
Exclusivity
Unconstitutionality
Unimplementability due to conflicting interpretations
Resulting in
Weak Political Support
Weak Legal and Constitutional Base
OPTION Z (FEDERALISM AS
THE ONLY SOLUTION)
PRESIDENTS
INAUGURAL ADDRESS
PEACE AGREEMENTS
AND POLICY REFORMS
Political roadmaps in
Peace Agreements are
essentially a set of
Political, Legal and
Constitutional Reforms.
FEDERAL OR AUTONOMY?
Unitary (1987 Constitution)
Federal
Autonomous Regional
Government as a form of
LGU
Federal State
Administrative
Decentralization
Decentralization of Powers
SYMMETRIC
FEDERALISM
ASYMMETRIC
FEDERALISM
Asymmetric federalism or
asymmetrical federalism is found in a
federation or confederation in which
different constituent states possess
different powers: one or more of the
states has considerably more
autonomy than the other substates,
although they have the same
constitutional status.
Institute for Autonomy & Governance
www.iag.org.ph
MOVING FORWARD
Recognition of the broader arena in the legislation towards
implementation of the peace agreements
Federalism and charter change are opportunities to entrench
peace agreements in the countrys fundamental law and
statutes.
Congress must engage into a dialogue with stakeholders to
insure that peace agreements are implemented with or
without charter change or shift to a federal system.