Federalism is dead politically’

Federalism is “politically dead,” according to a political science professor from the University of the Philippines-Diliman, who cited senators’ public noncommitment to Charter change and what seemed like President Duterte’s waning interest in his ambitious campaign pledge.

Speaking to reporters after a lecture at the Social Weather Stations, assistant professor Gene Pilapil said that although Congress might try to revive talks on federalism after the 2019 elections, he saw the midterms as a “dry run for the Sara Duterte machinery in 2022.”

The daughter of the President, who took President Duterte’s place as mayor of Davao City, formed a regional party — Hugpong ng Pagbabago — that had brokered alliances with politicians across the nation, including Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos and Sen. Cynthia Villar.

Although Mayor Duterte has eschewed a run for the Senate in 2019 — similar to her father’s repeated denials that he would seek the presidency—her party has made clear that it intends to employ resources and political capital in its endorsement of Senate candidates.

“Federalism is dead politically, and talk inside the Congress is that the President is not interested anymore,” Pilapil said.

He referred to President Duterte’s State of the Nation Address—where the President failed to discuss the details of a draft federal Constitution—as indicative of this.

“Duterte did not really actively endorse the consultative committee’s Constitution,” said Pilapil, referring to the group, headed by former Chief Justice Reynato Puno, that crafted the draft Charter.

Puno had publicly complained last week about the legislators’ inaction, accusing them of using lack of time to tackle federalism as a “mere cover-up.”

“What an excuse that they do not have the time to study the Constitution, [but] they have the time to study bills changing the name of streets?” Puno said at a talk before the Management Association of the Philippines.

Villar, an administration ally, had also previously told reporters that the Senate would not have time to tackle federalism before the midterm elections but stopped short of referring to the measure as “dead.”

According to Pilapil, however, the proposed shift in government “will not be passed.”

“The senators do not want Charter change, and [Speaker] Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has already said that they’re going to go for voting separately,” he said.

The political science professor said former Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez had proposed voting jointly earlier this year, which would have diluted the vote of senators who were vastly outnumbered in the House.