MANILA, Philippines -- A concurrent resolution proposing a shift to a federal form of government from the present presidential system has been filed at the House of Representatives.

House Concurrent Resolution 15 known as the “Concurrent Resolution to Amend the Constitution to Establish a Federal Form of Government through Constitutional Convention or by Convening Congress into a Constituent Assembly” was initiated by Bacolod Representative Monico Puentevella, an administration ally.

“The federalization of the Republic would speed up the development of the entire nation and help dissipate the causes of insurgency throughout the land, particularly the centuries-old Moro rebellions,” Puentevella said in his resolution.

A similar measure calling for a constituent assembly to propose the federal form of government was also filed at the Senate by Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and has been supported by 15 senators.

Unlike Pimentel’s measure, however, Puentevella’s resolution proposes for the convening of either a constituent assembly or a constitutional convention.

“Since People’s initiative remains a debatable constitutional issue, we will leave to the wisdom of the members of the chambers of both houses of Congress to choose between constitutional convention and constituent assembly as to the mode of revising the constitution, the resolution said.

Puentevella said that under the present presidential system, the country’s development was “centrally determined, planned, funded, and implemented by the national government in Manila.”

“The concentration of such enormous powers in Manila has created only one center and development in the country, resulting in a highly centralized system of government,” the resolution said.

This “lopsided’ arrangement has spawned a host of problems, including massive nationwide poverty, to runaway insurgencies and rebellions that has fed on the societal inequalities in the nation.