The "F" Word

I'm a Federalist. I believe that the centralized system we have now in the Philippines should be changed. Geographically, it's inefficient for a central government to impose it's will on thousands of islands scattered across an archipelago. The people who can best determine what should be done and how tax money should be spent in a province, city or barangay are the inhabitants of said political subdivisions themselves. I think it's a bad idea to collect most of the tax money the country produces, put it in a single pot and dole it out based on mere metrics such as population and land area. Such a method is grossly unresponsive to the specific needs that a political subdivision may have.

Culturally, it's difficult. The Philippines is composed of different ethnic groups, many of which have their own language and aspirations. The Muslims are in a perpetual hurry to leave it seems and there's growing resentment towards the inefficiency and callousness ofManila.

But we should avoid using the "F" word.

"Federalism" is a dangerous word. Federalism is the idea of two governments sharing power over an area and its people; specifically a national government and a local government. Immediately, we think of the United States since it is the most prominent example of this set up There's a central government and a local government of each individual state.

The key here is the idea of individual states. Should the government of the Philippines adopt a system wherein it is divided into several independent states but under a national government? Many dream it were so but if the whole Bangsamoro abomination teaches us anything, it's that there's a big danger to the whole idea and that's Secession. What's to stop people from simply leaving? Even a battered wife may eventually leave if pushed to her absolute limit. Either that or she kills her husband. So would the long-abused groups of Filipinos simply opt to leave or attempt rebellion against their government?  Anything is possible.

But we should avoid using the "F" word.

We should avoid it because of the images it may conjure up. I'm a Federalist, not a Secessionist. I don't blame people who want to secede but I believe a literal break up into many completely independent parts would be a disaster and leaves us weak and vulnerable, especially in international politics. The word "federalism" can be used to scare people into thinking that it means the final dissolution of the Philippines. Anarchy? Possible.

So to avoid fear-mongering, I propose a simple solution. We use the "D" word instead. Decentralization has a much more pleasant ring to it. The constitution itself uses this word so it has the advantage of a thin veneer of legitimacy. In fact, the Constitution commands Congress to pursue a policy of decentralization. Sadly, it seems Congress stopped with the woefully inadequate Local Government Code which does its job organizing Local Government Units but doesn't do much in the way of providing meaningful independence. Congress' idea of decentralization seems to be to decentralize more and more responsibilities and plain old bull dung onto the beleaguered LGU but none of the means or power to carry any of it out. Example: You command the Local Government Units to provide "reproductive health" stuff (whatever claptrap the RH Law decrees) but how? They still have to beg the national government for money or "request" generous projects *wink wink* from the elected crooks.

Decentralization... sounds much better, yeah? Of course we still pursue federalism but we shouldn't call it that so as not to scare the little children with the boogieman of Secession. Besides, decentralization is a broad enough term to cover everything a Federalist would want. Economic independence alone is a good start and it doesn't necessarily require a separate state.

I humbly suggest that fellow Federalists avoid using the "F" word. Our goal would be better served if we use the "D" word instead. Language is important in politics and words have powerful meanings. Decentralization is safer and more palatable for modern audiences. It sounds good. It feels good.

Soon, everyone will want the D.