House to try out federal states in Congress

House of Representatives. Karen Boncocan/ INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

Majority Floor Leader Rodolfo Fariñas said the House leadership is mulling over increasing the number of deputy speakers in Congress as an initial test toward a federal form of government.

In an interview with reporters on Thursday, Ilocos Norte Rep. Fariñas raised this possibility of first trying out a federal form of government within the halls of Congress by dividing the 290 representatives into 12 states led by their respective deputy speakers.

Fariñas said the 260 lawmakers belonging to the majority coalition in the House of Representatives are amenable to the idea of dividing Congress into 12 states.

“Napag-usapan ng leaders (The leaders have talked about that) since thrust ng Duterte administration is into federalism, we look at the possible creation of the states na magiging (that will become) federal states. They came up with 12. So tiningnan namin (So we thought) perhaps you could try if it’s viable dito muna sa House (in the House first),” Fariñas said.

“We divide ourselves into 12, parang states na (like states) and then politically makikita natin ang (we will see the) grouping… That’s why the (deputy) speakers consulted with all the members. All parties were represented. At mukhang pabor naman sila na maganda naman (And it seems like they favor) that we do division of our political boundaries,” he added.

Fariñas said upon consultation with Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, the latter recommended to try out  three deputy speakers first representing the major island groups Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

The 12 states Fariñas mentioned would come from the existing regions that divide the country:

– Northern Luzon for Regions I, II and III and Cordillera Administrative Region

– Central Luzon

– Metro Manila

– Southern Tagalog

– Bicol

– Western Visayas

– Eastern Visayas

– Central Visayas

– Northern Mindanao

– Western Mindanao

– Southern Mindanao

– Bangsamoro

Fariñas said the Mimaropa region or Marinduque, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Palawan and Romblon provinces may be merged with the Visayas island group.

Fariñas said Mindanao lawmakers are proposing increasing the regions in Mindanao to five. Other solons also insist on maintaining the administrative regions.

Despite President Rodrigo Duterte’s call to abolish the party-list system in the new Constitution, Fariñas said party-list lawmakers representing the concerns of sectors and regional groups may also be considered in the mix of federal states within Congress.

The creation of federal states would increase the number of deputy speakers on top of the five deputy speakers chosen to represent the different political parties in Congress: Ilocos Sur Rep. Eric Singson from the administration party Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban); Batangas Rep. Raneo Abu from the Nacionalista Party (NP); Capiz Rep. Fredenil Castro from the National Unity Party (NUP); Marikina Rep. Romero Quimbo from the Liberal Party (LP) and Negros Occidental Rep. Mercedes Alvarez from the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC).

READ: Alvarez calls for constitutional commission to allay fears in Con-Ass

Duterte has called for a major constitutional revision to pave the way for a shift to a federal from a unitary form of government in his bid to decentralize the powers of the state to the provinces from the so-called “Imperial Manila.”

The President has also called for a Constituent Assembly as a mode of Charter change, under which it would be Congress convening itself into an assembly which would propose amendments to the Charter.

READ: It’s Con-ass, not Con-con

Fariñas opposed the minority bloc in Congress for pushing for another method—the Constitutional Convention, or the election of delegates who would revise the charter—saying this method was too costly and vulnerable to vested interests. RAM/rga

READ: Con-con delegates also vulnerable to vested interests, Alvarez warns | ‘More Filipinos to oppose Charter change through Con-Ass’