ADOPT A FEDERAL SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT

Federalism is defining as the allocation of power between the

national government and regional government. A system of
government in which the power is divided between a central authority
and constituent political units. Now, that we have a new government
and under it, is a batting for federalism. The President said the current
system has more disadvantages because all the income and revenues,
except from property tax, need to be turned over to the national
government. Moreover, President Duterte said under the unitary
system, every centavo, all of the funds are there. Its only the national
government that can handle the money for all of us.
According to Jose Abueva, former president of University of the
Philippines and a professor of public and administration we should take
federal kind of government. He said that the Philippines would take a
period of no less than 10 years to make a successful transition to
federalism, involving a period of consolidation of several regions and
intensive socioeconomic development in each of consolidated regions.
Advantages of federal government are the following: (1) It ensures that
government remains close to the people because the state
government argue that they are more in tune with the daily needs and
aspirations of people especially relevant to small and isolated places.
(2) It encourages development of the nation in a decentralized and
regional manner and allows for unique and innovative methods for
attacking social, economic and political problems. (3) It provides a
barrier to the dominance of the majority, while the disadvantages are
the following: (1) It can lead to duplication of government and
inefficient, over-lapping or contradictory policies in different parts of
the country. (2) It can lead to inequality between the states and lead to
unhealthy competition and rivalry between them. (3) It can lead to
over-government that will result to corruption. I have cited both faces
of federal government in order to inform all of you that federal
government is a good system of government and a good example of
successful federal kind of government is the United States of America.
Nevertheless, we need a system that can provide a common good for
all the Filipinos.
Benefits of Federalism:

 As a Protection Against Tyranny One of the most important

points of federalism in dividing the power between the national
government and state governments, and spreading the national
governments power among three branches that serve as a check
and balance on each other, is that it serves as a deterrent to
tyranny and runaway power. The protections we have in our
system against a tyrannical, runaway government are one of the
most important points to why the system was designed the way it
was.
Diffusing Power The form of federalism that we have in our
country, where power is shared with state governments, and
where the federal government is separated into three branches,
serves as a means to make sure that all power is not centralized
into a single person or group of people, since excessive power
among a single group tends to be corrupting.
Increasing Citizen Participation By not centralizing all power
into the hands of a national government, but sharing that power
with state governments, which are closer to the level of the
common citizen, our founders actually increased a citizens ability
to effect their government, government policy, and lawmaking.
More Efficient When some of the power of the government is
dispersed among the states, giving states the right to solve some
of their own problems, you allow for more efficiency within the
system. To try to have a national solution to all problems, which
could be refered to as a cookie-cutter method of law and policy
making, you end up with solutions that are more effective in
some states, and less effective in others. To allow states to create
solutions to their own problems, using policies and laws that work
best in their state, means that each state can come up with its
own solution, making government more efficient.
Conflict Management By allowing different communities and
states to create their own policies, they allow for people with
irreconcilable differences, or very strong disagreements, to live in
separate areas, and create their own solutions, or policies, that

would be totally disagreeable to the other people in other states

or regions of the country.
Innovation in Law and Policy is Encouraged By allowing for
many state governments, different sets of policies can be tried,
and the ones found most effective at solving its problems can
then be implemented in other states, or on the national level.
Imagine Christopher Columbus trying to get funding to voyage
across the Atlantic Ocean if there was a unified Europe back then,
with its head saying no! to him; instead, he had several
governments from which he could try to get his funding he got
turned down by several governments before Spain gave him the
okay. The same principle applies today with our many states
something that is rejected in one state can most likely be tried in
another state, with competition leading the way, based on
effectiveness of those laws.
State Governments Can be More Responsive to Citizen
Needs The closer a government entity is to its citizens, the
more likely it is the respond to the needs of citizens. States are
more likely to listen to citizen needs, and respond to them, than
the national government would be.
So, whatever it may be as long as it will benefit all the Filipinos
then it would be a better government even if it takes adopting
federalism in the system of our government. Furthermore, I can see no
reason why federalism would be no good in our system as federalist
form of government has several advantages, such as protecting us
from tyranny, dispersing power, increasing citizen participation, and
increasing effectiveness.

SOURCES (ADOPT A FEDERAL SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT):

Federalism: Its Advantages and Disadvantages. (February 11, 2007).
Retrieved from https://bpspolitics.wordpress.com/2007/02/11/97/

RYA N W I S E M A N . A D VA N TA G E S & D I S A D VA N TA G E S O F F E D E R A L I S M .
RETRIVED FROM
http://www.bloomp.net/articles/benefits_federalism.htm

http://www.manilatimes.net/federal-system-to-create-14-statesduterte/167226/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_reform_in_the_Philippines