Federalism, Charter Change, and the

Mindanao Conflict
Rizal G. Buendia, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Political Science Department
De La Salle University



Outline
What is charter change (cha-cha)?
Why change the charter/constitution?
What is good governance?
Federal system
Mindanao and the Bangsamoro
The future
What is charter change
Making changes in the 1987 Constitution
according to Article XVII (Amendments or
Revisions)
Ways of proposing an amendment or change in the
Constitution

Constitutional convention
The Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of all its
Members, call a constitutional convention, or by a
majority of all its Members, submit to the electorate the
question of calling such a convention. (Sec. 3, Art. 17)

The Congress upon a vote of of all its members
(Sec. 1[1], Art. 17).

What is charter change
Making changes in the 1987 Constitution according to
Article XVII (Amendments or Revisions)

Ways of proposing an amendment or change in the
Constitution

Peoples Initiative
Petition of at least 12% of the total number of registered
voters, of which every legislative district must be
represented by at least 3% of the registered voters
therein. (Sec. 2, Art. 17)

Why change the Constitution?
Strengthen the nation-state
Local government and people
empowerment and local development
Professionalize political parties
Strengthen the bureaucracy
Better system in addressing peoples
problems

What is Governance?
Exercise of political, economic, and
administrative authority by the state, private
sector, and civil society in managing the countrys
affairs

It requires the empowerment of people, social
institutions, countering corruption, reducing the
concentration of power and wealth in our political
elite, military, and national police
What is Governance?
It is concerned with the redistribution of power,
wealth, and opportunities in society

It is marked by citizens informed participation
in politics and government decision-making;
commitment, responsiveness, transparency, and
accountability of the government and its leaders
and officials in a democratic order.
Good governance framework
Good governance
Regional & local self-rule, institutionalized
people-power vis--vis government and the
elite/ruling families
Unified executive-legislative powers in
Parliament, accountable government
Accountable majority party rule in
Parliament and State Assemblies
Responsible political/civic participation in
governance
The Flow of Power in Three
Systems of Government
Federalism: Principle
Governmental powers and responsibilities may be
divided between the federal (national) government
and the state (regional and local) governments.

State governments cannot handle satisfactorily are
entrusted to the federal government and the
federal governments authority is limited to those
matters.

Realized through a federal constitution, which
defines functions and powers of the federal and
state governments.
Federalism
The division of power between the National
and State levels of government
NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
STATE GOVERNMENT
STATE CHARTERS
What is a Federal System?
there are at least two levels of government
that can make decisions independent of
each other
the levels of government have a protected
right to exist
United States, Canada, Australia, India,
Germany, and Switzerland
What is a federal system?
Involves the establishment of relatively small,
coexisting political units that are
geographically within the boundaries of
economic interaction and territorial reach of
the central government.

The central government is not allowed to
extend beyond constitutionally defined
limits; activities and functions are carried out
by separate state-provincial units that co-exist.


In a Federal System:
The sub national (state) governments
exist partly by Constitution
by habits, preferences, and dispositions of
citizens
Actual distribution of political power in society
Characteristics
Separation of powers, in which neither
partner owes its legal existence to the
other.
System of checks and balances, in which
neither partner can dictate the policy
decisions of the other.
Federal-State cooperation
Drawing of boundaries between
governmental activities of the states and the
nation;
Establishing and maintaining the identity of
state and national governments;
Politically integrating the nation and the
states. (Kenneth Vines, The Federal
Setting of State Politics, 1976: 4)

Criteria in defining IGR
Economic
efficiency
Equity
Political
accountability
Administrative
effectiveness
Power, Jurisdictions, Functions
Federal government can retain exclusive powers
and functions over the following areas:

National security and external defense
Foreign relations
Currency/Monetary system
External trade/commerce
Citizenship
Power, Jurisdictions, Functions
Federal government can retain exclusive powers
and functions over the following areas:

Civil rights/political rights/human rights
Immigration, emigration, extradition
National elections
Supreme Court Decision
Protection of intellectual property, property
rights, and copyrights


Power, Jurisdictions, Functions
State governments can have jurisdiction over
the following areas:

State/local elections
Regional trial courts/Metropolitan trial
courts
Licensure of public utilities
Administration and enforcement of State
laws and programs
Power, Jurisdictions, Functions
State governments can have jurisdiction
over the following areas:

State socio-economic planning
State finance taxation, customs, budget
and audit
Grants-in-Aid to local governments
Police, public safety, law and order
State and local infrastructure


Power, Jurisdictions, Functions
Functions and powers in the following areas, may be
the concurrent jurisdiction of the federal state
governments:

Health
Education
Social welfare
Cultural development
Sports development
Power, Jurisdictions, Functions
Functions and powers in the following areas
may be the concurrent jurisdiction of the
federal state governments:

Environmental protection
Energy
Tourism
Roads and Highways



Types of Federalism
Dual Federalism- both governments are
sovereign within their own sphere.
Also known as layer cake federalism.
It is a view that holds the Constitution is a
compact among sovereign states, so that the
powers of the national governments and the
states are clearly differentiated.

Types of Federalism
Cooperative Federalism- Acknowledges the
increasing overlap between state and national
functions and rejects the idea of separate spheres,
or layers, for the states and the national
government.
marble-cake federalism
Shared costs and administration
States follow federal guidelines




Types of Federalism
Dual Federalism- both governments are sovereign
within their own sphere.
Also known as layer cake federalism.
Cooperative Federalism- Various levels of
government work together to deliver public
services.
Also called marble cake federalism.
Shared costs and administration
States follow federal guidelines


Types of Federalism


Federal Systems
Advantages Disadvantages
Permits diversity and
diffusion of power
Local governments
can handle local
problems better
More access points
for political
participation
Makes national unity
difficult to achieve and
maintain
State governments
may resist national
policies
May permit economic
inequality and racial
discrimination
Federal Systems
Advantages Disadvantages
Protects individual
rights against
concentrated
government power
Fosters
experimentation and
innovation
Suits a large country
with a diverse
population
Law enforcement and
justice are uneven


Smaller units may lack
expertise and money

May promote local
dominance by special
interests
Mindanao and the Bangsamoro
Regional Division
The six regions are:
ORANGE Zamboanga Peninsula (Region IX)
MAGENTA Northern Mindanao (Region X)
RED Davao Region (Region XI)
BLUE SOCCSKSARGEN (Region XII)
YELLOW Caraga (Region XIII)
GREEN Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
(ARMM)
Mindanao
Administrative
region
Population
density (/km)
Population 2010
Census Area (km)
Zamboanga
Peninsula 202.54 3,407,353 16,823
Northern
Mindanao 213.5 4,297,323 20,132
Davao Region 220.74 4,468,563 20,244
SOCCSKSARGEN 182.92 4,109,571 22,466
Caraga 113.14 2,429,224 21,471
ARMM* 120.71 3,256,140 26,974
Mindanao (Group) 198.1 25,375,527 128,110
Area (sq. km)
Zamboanga
Peninsula
13%
Northern
Mindanao
16%
Davao
Region
16%
SOCCSKSAR
GEN
17%
Caraga
17%
ARMM*
21%
Population 2010 Census
Zamboanga
Peninsula
15%
Northern
Mindanao
20%
Davao Region
20%
SOCCSKSARGE
N
19%
Caraga
11%
ARMM*
15%
The Bangsamoro
Bangsamoro ("the Moro
People")
13-ethnolinguistic Muslim
tribes in the Philippines
Comprising about 5% of
the Philippine population
and around 20% of the
population in Mindanao.

WHO ARE THE MUSLIMS IN THE
PHILIPPINES?
consist of 13 ethno-linguistic groups
distributed according to their respective geographical
locations. The first three are the largest groups.
Maranao - Lanao del Sur
Maguindanao - Maguindanao Province and Cotabato
Tausug - Sulu
Sama
Yakan
Sangil
Palawani
Molbog

The number of Balik-Islam (reverts to Islam) is a surging
phenomenon in the Phiilippines.

Kolibugan
Jama Mapun
Iranun
Kaagan
Badjao
2005 Philippine Human Development Report

Human Development Index in ARMM:
Lowest 10 provinces
1997 2000 2003
Province HDI Province HDI Province HDI
Sulu 0.336 Sulu 0.351 Sulu 0.31
Lanao del Sur 0.415 Tawi-Tawi 0.390 Maguindanao 0.36
Maguindanao 0.416 Basilan 0.425 Tawi-Tawi 0.36
Tawi-Tawi 0.430 Maguindanao 0.461 Basilan 0.41
Basilan 0.439 Ifugao 0.461 Masbate 0.44
Ifugao 0.452 Lanao del Sur 0.464 Zamboanga del Norte 0.45
Lanao del Norte 0.470 Agusan del Sur 0.482 Sarangani 0.45
Agusan del Sur 0.482 Samar 0.511 Western Samar 0.47
Samar 0.493 Lanao del Norte 0.512 Eastern Samar 0.47
Sarangani 0.494 Sarangani 0.516 Lanao del Sur 0.48
2005 Philippine Human Development Report
Poverty Incidence in ARMM
REGION 1997 2000 2003
% Rank % Rank % Rank
NCR 8.50 15 11.50 15 7.30 15
5-Bicol 57.00 2 61.90 2 47.90 4
8-Eastern Visayas 48.50 6 51.10 6 43.40 6
9-Western Mindanao 45.50 7 53.00 7 49.40 2
10-Northern Mindanao 52.70 4 52.20 4 44.30 5
12-Central Mindanao 55.80 3 58.10 3 38.40 7
CARAGA --- --- ---
CAR 50.10 5 43.80 5 31.20 9
ARMM 62.50 1 71.30 1 53.10 1
Simple & functional literacy rate
88% can read and write
75% are functionally
literate
Simple Literacy Rate
Functional Literacy Rate
Mindanao
75.36
88.12
Visayas
80.5
91.97
95.14
Luzon
85.99
Sources: MCW & NCRFW
Life Expectancy, 2000


66.7
65.5
63
Luzon Visayas Mindanao
Life expectancy is an estimate of the average number of additional years a
person can expect to live, based on the age-specific death rates for a given year.
Mindanao has the shortest life expectancy
Child Labor as a way of dealing with
poverty in Mindanao
7

out of 10 Mindanao households have working
children within 5-17 years old, surpassing the
national average of 6 out of 10. (Oct 2001)

The phenomenon of child
labor and child prostitution
points to the problem of
extreme poverty

Despite laws against child
labor, many children have
remained in the labor market.
Sources: MCW & NCRFW
Factors that led to decline
Elements of the Radicalization of the
Bangsamoro

Objections to Federalism

Fragmentation
Social Cleavages
Regionalism
Warlordism
Regional I nequality
National Security
Bureaucracy
No precedence like RP in other countries
No guarantee



Hopes of Federalism


Fights excessive centralization
Empowers people and builds on the principle of subsidiarity
Democratizes power and resources
Extinguishes external threats
Remembers all parts as equal regardless of ethnicity,
language, religion, gender
Alleviates people from poverty, inequity, and environmental
collapse
Liberates people from political instability and war
Integrates the nation by respecting cultural diversity
Seeks self-reliance
Maintains flexibility




The Future: Issues and Questions
Optimum balance of
power between the
central and state
(regional)
governments?
Jurisdiction and
separation of powers
which level of
government should be
doing what?
The Future: Issues and Questions
Parallel activities
going on at different
levels of government
simultaneously
At which level of
government should
take which actions on
specific policy
matters?
The Future: Issues and Questions
Can social equity
be served by
enforcing
national
standards?