Republic of the Philippines

Province of Northern Samar

University of Eastern Philippines
College of Law

Unitary Government

vs.

Federal Government

EKidavit

To the respected honourable judges, the herein proponent respectfully

submits this ekidavit.

PREFATORY STATEMENT

“The concept of a federal government for the Philippines was

proposed as early as the Philippine Revolution with Filipino revolutionaries
Emilio Aguinaldo and Apolinario Mabini suggesting dividing the islands
into three federal states. One of the first proponents of federalism in the
Philippines in the 21st century is University of the Philippines professor
Jose Abueva who argued that a federal form of government is necessary to
more efficiently cater to the needs of the country despite its diversity,” that is
according to en.wikipedia.org.

To date, President Rodrigo Duterte and his camp are in the move to
changing the Constitution from unitary form of government to a federal one.
President Duterte has been saying over the media that federalism will
facilitate better delivery of services to the people. He also said that the
current system is antiquated where distribution of public funds is
disproportionately biased towards Manila. As one of his initiatives, he
signed the Executive Order No. 10 creating a consultative committee to
review the 1987 Constitution.

Despite the greater propensity of the present administration towards

federalism, the proponent humbly submits to a unitary form of government.
This position will be elucidated further in the succeeding discussions.

1
 ISSUES

1. How will the laws be enforced?

In federalism, different laws shall be enforced by each of the states

while in unitary, there will be uniformity of laws.

2. What about the legislature, executive, and the judiciary?

In federalism, there will be two (2) legislatures, executives, and

judiciaries in the national and State governments while in unitary, there will
be a single supreme will from which radiates all political power.

3. How about the system of taxation?

In federalism, local government has a bigger percentage share from

the national taxes while in unitary, local government gets only a minimal
share.

4. Will federalism bring peace to Mindanao?

In federalism, the bangsamoro and other minorities will be given

separate states while in unitary, there will be autonomous regions but limited
only.

DISCUSSION / ARGUMENTS

1. How will the laws be enforced?

In federalism, different laws shall be enforced by each of the states

while in unitary, there will be uniformity of laws.
In federalism, the states are subject to several sets of laws. According
to the article entitled Federalism’s Implications on our Legal and Judicial
Systems, authored by Tony Laviña and Johanna Lorenzo which was
published at www.rappler.com; “while still sharing the same citizenship and
a common set of national or federal officials, Filipinos could be subjected to
different laws (and, to a certain extent, moral codes), depending on which
state/region they are residing or conducting their activities in.”
2
 The above-named authors also stated, “Assuming, for purposes of this
piece, that the Bill of Rights enshrined in Article III of the 1987 Constitution
will subsist in the shift to federalism, there remain a number of possible
variations in the civil, criminal, and administrative laws that each
state/regional legislature can formulate on its own.”

In unitary, there is an identical or similar set of laws being enforced in

the entire country. There is codification of some branches of laws both
substantive and adjective. The uniform laws are widely accepted among
local jurisdictions that have authority over such matters.

Uniformity is desirable and practicable. In a small country like the

Philippines, there must be uniformity of laws, one in which everyone should
readily know the law or be able to quickly find it by turning to a code. This
will avoid the hassles on the enforcement and implementation that may be
brought about by confusion and divisiveness among the citizens.

If there will be variations of laws, citizens may be forced to move

from place to place to find where the laws are favourable to them; this is
impracticable.

Unitary system is better because there is uniformity of laws. The vice

of law uniformity is most excellently stated by Justice Cardozo of the New
York Court of Appeals as follows: “Better that they (lawyers and judges)
should stray as they are straying in the wilderness of precedents with all the
snares and entanglements of dicta, than that they should lose the divine
impulse to move onward in the slow and toilsome process of renewing the
foundations and the structure of justice upon Earth.”

2. What about the legislature, executive, and the judiciary?

In federalism, there will be two (2) executives, legislatures and

judiciaries in the national and state governments while in unitary, there will
be a single supreme will from which radiates all political power.

3
 For federalism, I would like to take account of the proposed revisions
for the New Constitution under the New Federal Republic of the Philippines
included in the “Joint Resolution to Convene the Congress into a Constituent
Assembly for the Purpose of Revising the Constitution to Establish a Federal
System of Government.”

According to the proposal, there shall be a Federal Legislative

Department consisting of the Senate and House of Representatives. The
Senate shall have seventy-five (75) members. Each state shall elect six (6)
senators. Citizens overseas shall be represented by nine (9) senators. The
senators shall have a term of six (6) years eligible for two (2) consecutive
terms.

The House of Representatives shall be composed of not more than

three hundred fifty (350) members. The three hundred (300) shall be elected
by the legislative districts while the remaining fifty (50) shall be chosen
through the party-list system. The congressmen shall serve for a maximum
of four (4) consecutive three (3)-year terms.

The Federal Congress has exclusive jurisdiction over: national

security and defense; the sole power to declare war; foreign relations
including the ratification of treaties; foreign trade but states may enter into
trade relations with other countries as specified under the powers of State
Legislatures; customs and quarantine; the Federal currency fiscal and
monetary system, taxation, budget and audit; immigration, emigration and
extradition; interstate commerce and trade; Federal public works and
infrastructure; Federal postal and telecommunications; Federal air, sea, and
land transportation; intellectual property and copyright; meteorology and
standards of weight and measures; grants-in-aid to states; Federal census and
statistics; Federal loans to or from the Republic; Federal penal system;
cloning, genetic research, and engineering; settlement of territorial and
other disputes among states; and offenses defined in the Revised Penal Code
and laws passed by Congress.

Congress shall hold office and its sessions in Tagbilaran City, State of
Central Visayas. The Congress or any of its committees may hold public
hearings in aid of legislation or conduct investigations pursuant to its power.

There shall be a unicameral legislature for every State. Every State

Legislature shall be composed of three representatives for each province and
each city located within the territorial boundaries of the State who shall be
elected by the members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan and Sangguniang
Panlungsod from among their members. In addition, three representatives
4
coming from the sectors of the farmers, fisherfolk and the senior citizens
shall be nominated and appointed.

The State Legislatures shall have the exclusive jurisdiction, among

others, to enact laws relative to public health, sanitation, hospitals,
dispensaries and drug rehabilitation, institutions and facilities excepting
those established by the Federal Congress or which it may establish in any
part of the Republic (at least, one-fourth of the share of the State from the
revenues of the Republic shall be set aside to fund a universal health
program for the benefit of the State population); laws relative to agriculture,
agricultural lands including the sale, lease, use and management of pasture
lands excepting lands covered by the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform
Program and those that have previously been proclaimed as reservations for
any purpose under the provisions of the Constitution and existing laws; land
use and development, including urban land reform, Cadastral or land surveys
of any kind; imposing taxes and duties - except those that are reserved to the
Federal Congress - all kinds of agricultural income, businesses of all types;
the generation, consumption and distribution of electricity, oil, gas and other
energy products; luxuries, entertainments and amusements, previously
proclaimed as reservations for any purpose by the Federal Congress;
fisheries, aqua-or-marine culture, swamps or marshlands excepting the areas
within fifteen kilometers from the shore lines at low tide of the provinces,
cities and municipalities that under the jurisdiction of the local governments
under existing legislation; public works and infrastructures, airports, ship
ports, wharves, levees, drainage systems and the like excepting those
initiated by the Federal government; Roads, bridges, municipal tramways,
inland waterways, ferries, and other means of travel or transportation and the
vehicles that use the infrastructure built by any State within its boundaries;
State public corporations and quasi-public corporations; trade, industry and
tourism (the trade relations that States may establish with other countries
shall not include conventional armaments, bullets or missiles of any type or
nuclear biological or chemical materials weapons or materials, any war
material, toxic, noxious or poisonous materials or resources that in the
national interest are declared non-commercial and may not be bought
from or traded with other nations); bankruptcy and insolvency; trust and
trustees; compelling the attendance of State, local government officials, or
persons doing business in the State and their giving testimony,
evidence or producing documents before the State Legislature or any
of its committees (the attendance of the persons summoned under giving the
required testimony cannot be prevented by any Federal or State Executive
Department officials including the officers and members of the Armed
Forces or the Police); payment of the share of State of the national public
debt that was used to fund projects or programs for the development of the
nation as determined by the Commission on Loans as hereinafter provided;
and the Courts for the governance according to the customs and traditions of
the indigenous populations of the States concerned including but not
limited to the indigenous populations of the Cordilleras in the State of
5
Northern Luzon and the Autonomous Region in the State of the
Bangsamoro.

The executive power is vested on the President. There shall be a Vice-

President with the same qualifications with the President. The President and
the Vice-President shall perform such functions and discharge such duties as
are lodged with their offices by the Constitution.

The State Executive power is vested on the Governor. The Governor

shall have his office at the State capital. There shall be a Vice-Governor who
shall have the same qualifications as that of the Governor. Both shall serve
for not more than three consecutive terms of four (4) years.

The State Governor shall execute the laws passed by the Federal
Congress and the State Legislature. He shall nominate and with the consent
of the State Legislature or any of its duly authorized committee, appoint the
heads of the departments of the State government and the officers of the
State Police from the rank of Police Inspector. He shall also appoint the
officials and employees of the State government pursuant to law enacted by
the State Legislature concerned.

In the judiciary, the Supreme Court shall exercise the powers and
discharge the functions vested upon it by the Constitution. It shall continue
to hold office in Manila in the Federal Administrative Region until it is
transferred to the City of Cagayan de Oro within ten (10) years from the date
of the approval of the revision.

The Supreme Court shall assign a division of the Intermediate

Appellate Court (IAC) to hold office permanently in every state. The
divisions of the IAC shall only take cognizance of the cases arising from
within the territorial boundaries of the States to which these are assigned.
Such divisions may also be directed by the Supreme Court to handle other
cases or assist other IAC divisions as the need arises.

The Sandiganbayan shall continue to exercise the powers and

discharge the functions vested upon it by the Constitution. The Supreme
Court shall assign a division of the Sandiganbayan to hold office in the
Federal Administrative Region (Metro Manila); the State of Northern Luzon;
the State of Minparom; the State of Central Visayas; and the State of
Northern Mindanao.

6
 The judges of the Regional Trial Courts, the City or Municipal Courts
may not be reassigned to any other place without their consent. The Judicial
and Bar Council shall be abolished.

The members of the Supreme Court and judges of the lower courts
shall be appointed by the President and approved by the Commission on
Appointments. The salaries of the Chief Justice and the Associate Justices of
the Supreme Court, the justices of the IAC and the Sandiganbayan and the
judges of the lower courts shall be fixed by law. Their salaries shall not be
subject to income tax or otherwise decreased.

For unitary, let us revisit the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines.

Pertinent provisions of the said Constitution from Article VI to Article VIII
is hereby adopted in toto for reference, comparison and emphasis.

ARTICLE VI
The Legislative Department

SECTION 1. The legislative power shall be vested in the Congress of the

Philippines which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives,
except to the extent reserved to the people by the provision on initiative and
referendum.
SECTION 2. The Senate shall be composed of twenty-four Senators who
shall be elected at large by the qualified voters of the Philippines, as may
be provided by law.
SECTION 4. The term of office of the Senators shall be six years and shall
commence, unless otherwise provided by law, at noon on the thirtieth day
of June next following their election.
No Senator shall serve for more than two consecutive terms.
xxx
SECTION 5. (1) The House of Representatives shall be composed of not
more than two hundred and fifty members, unless otherwise fixed by law,
who shall be elected from legislative districts apportioned among the
provinces, cities, and the Metropolitan Manila area. xxx
(2) The party-list representatives shall constitute twenty per centum of the
total number of representatives including those under the party list.
xxx
SECTION 7. The Members of the House of Representatives shall be elected
for a term of three years which shall begin, unless otherwise provided by
law, at noon on the thirtieth day of June next following their election.
No member of the House of Representatives shall serve for more than three
consecutive terms. xxx
SECTION 23. (1) The Congress, by a vote of two-thirds of both Houses in
joint session assembled, voting separately, shall have the sole power to
declare the existence of a state of war.

7
(2) In times of war or other national emergency, the Congress may, by law,
authorize the President, for a limited period and subject to such restrictions
as it may prescribe, to exercise powers necessary and proper to carry out a
declared national policy. Unless sooner withdrawn by resolution of the
Congress, such powers shall cease upon the next adjournment thereof.
SECTION 24. All appropriation, revenue or tariff bills, bills authorizing
increase of the public debt, bills of local application, and private bills shall
originate exclusively in the House of Representatives, but the Senate may
propose or concur with amendments.

ARTICLE VII
Executive Department

SECTION 1. The executive power shall be vested in the President of the

Philippines.
SECTION 3. There shall be a Vice-President who shall have the same
qualifications and term of office and be elected with and in the same
manner as the President. He may be removed from office in the same
manner as the President.
The Vice-President may be appointed as a Member of the Cabinet. Such
appointment requires no confirmation.
SECTION 4. The President and the Vice-President shall be elected by direct
vote of the people for a term of six years which shall begin at noon on the
thirtieth day of June next following the day of the election and shall end at
noon of the same date six years thereafter. The President shall not be
eligible for any reelection. No person who has succeeded as President and
has served as such for more than four years shall be qualified for election
to the same office at any time.
No Vice-President shall serve for more than two consecutive terms.
xxx
SECTION 16. The President shall nominate and, with the consent of the
Commission on Appointments, appoint the heads of the executive
departments, ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, or officers
of the armed forces from the rank of colonel or naval captain, and other
officers whose appointments are vested in him in this Constitution. He shall
also appoint all other officers of the Government whose appointments are
not otherwise provided for by law, and those whom he may be authorized
by law to appoint. The Congress may, by law, vest the appointment of other
officers lower in rank in the President alone, in the courts, or in the heads
of departments, agencies, commissions, or boards.
The President shall have the power to make appointments during the recess
of the Congress, whether voluntary or compulsory, but such appointments
shall be effective only until after disapproval by the Commission on
Appointments or until the next adjournment of the Congress.
SECTION 17. The President shall have control of all the executive
departments, bureaus, and offices. He shall ensure that the laws be
faithfully executed.
SECTION 18. The President shall be the Commander-in-Chief of all armed
forces of the Philippines and whenever it becomes necessary, he may call
8
out such armed forces to prevent or suppress lawless violence, invasion or
rebellion.
xxx
SECTION 20. The President may contract or guarantee foreign loans on
behalf of the Republic of the Philippines with the prior concurrence of the
Monetary Board, and subject to such limitations as may be provided by
law.
xxx

ARTICLE VIII
Judicial Department

SECTION 1. The judicial power shall be vested in one Supreme Court and
in such lower courts as may be established by law.
Judicial power includes the duty of the courts of justice to settle actual
controversies involving rights which are legally demandable and
enforceable, and to determine whether or not there has been a grave abuse
of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of any
branch or instrumentality of the Government.
SECTION 3. The Judiciary shall enjoy fiscal autonomy. Appropriations for
the Judiciary may not be reduced by the legislature below the amount
appropriated for the previous year and, after approval, shall be
automatically and regularly released.
SECTION 5. The Supreme Court shall have the following powers:
(1) Exercise original jurisdiction over cases affecting ambassadors, other
public ministers and consuls, and over petitions for certiorari, prohibition,
mandamus, quo warranto, and habeas corpus.
(2) Review, revise, reverse, modify, or affirm on appeal or certiorari, as the
law or the Rules of Court may provide, final judgments and orders of lower
courts in:
(a) All cases in which the constitutionality or validity of any treaty,
international or executive agreement, law, presidential decree,
proclamation, order, instruction, ordinance, or regulation is in question.
(b) All cases involving the legality of any tax, impost, assessment, or toll, or
any penalty imposed in relation thereto.
(c) All cases in which the jurisdiction of any lower court is in issue.
(d) All criminal cases in which the penalty imposed is reclusion perpetua or
higher.
(e) All cases in which only an error or question of law is involved.
(3) Assign temporarily judges of lower courts to other stations as public
interest may require. Such temporary assignment shall not exceed six
months without the consent of the judge concerned.
(4) Order a change of venue or place of trial to avoid a miscarriage of
justice.
(5) Promulgate rules concerning the protection and enforcement of
constitutional rights, pleading, practice, and procedure in all courts, the
admission to the practice of law, the Integrated Bar, and legal assistance to
the underprivileged. Such rules shall provide a simplified and inexpensive
procedure for the speedy disposition of cases, shall be uniform for all
9
 courts of the same grade, and shall not diminish, increase, or modify
substantive rights. Rules of procedure of special courts and quasi-judicial
bodies shall remain effective unless disapproved by the Supreme Court.
(6) Appoint all officials and employees of the Judiciary in accordance with
the Civil Service Law.
SECTION 6. The Supreme Court shall have administrative supervision over
all courts and the personnel thereof.
SECTION 8. (1) A Judicial and Bar Council is hereby created under the
supervision of the Supreme Court composed of the Chief Justice as ex
officio Chairman, the Secretary of Justice, and a representative of the
Congress as ex officio Members, a representative of the Integrated Bar, a
professor of law, a retired Member of the Supreme Court, and a
representative of the private sector.
xxx
SECTION 9. The Members of the Supreme Court and judges of lower
courts shall be appointed by the President from a list of at least three
nominees prepared by the Judicial and Bar Council for every vacancy.
Such appointments need no confirmation.
For the lower courts, the President shall issue the appointments within
ninety days from the submission of the list.
SECTION 10. The salary of the Chief Justice and of the Associate Justices
of the Supreme Court, and of judges of lower courts shall be fixed by law.
During their continuance in office, their salary shall not be decreased.

In comparison, Federal form of government will be very expensive for

the Philippines considering that there will be more senators and
congressmen; the proposed constitution appoints executive officials both in
the national and state levels; and the judiciary would now include
Intermediate Appellate Courts in all states.

As can be gleaned in the above-cited provisions of the 1987

Constitution, there is only one set of executive, legislative and judicial
officials who will run the entire nation in a unitary setting. In a small country
like the Philippines, there is no need for numerous officials in order to run
the entire government machinery efficiently.
As posted at www.rappler.com, Christian Monsod, one of the framers
of the 1987 Constitution said that; “The problem is not the Constitution but
the legislators who slept on the job for thirty (30) years to fully implement
it.” For this particular issue, I agree that there is no need to change the
Constitution or form of government. The existing unitary form of
government still prevails. What should be done is to replace the corrupt
officials with highly efficient public servants in order to attain progress.

3. How about the system of taxation?

10
 In federalism, local government has a bigger percentage share from
the national taxes while in unitary, local government gets only a minimal
share.

Under the New Federal Republic of the Philippines, the sharing of

taxes between the national government and the state will be twenty percent
(20%) will accrue to the Federal government and eighty percent (80%) will
go the state. The thirty percent (30%) of the share of the state will pertain to
the state concerned while the seventy percent (70%) will be distributed to
the provincies, cities, municipalities and barangays according to the formula
in the Local Government Code of 1991.

Every province, city, municipality and barangay shall have the power
to create its own sources of revenues and to levy taxes, fees and charges
which shall accrue exclusively to the local government unit (LGU)
concerned.

Similarly, under the existing unitary form of our government, the

Local Government Code of 1991 empowers the LGUs to create its own
sources of revenue and to levy taxes, fees and charges which shall accrue
exclusively to the local government unit concerned.

The present Local Government Code provides a share of forty percent

(40%) to the LGUs from the national sources of revenue.

Under the unitary system where the bulk of the taxation is centralized,
it is understandable and practicable if only a minimal percentage of the
national taxation goes to the LGUs. It is because the national government is
tasked with major concerns and problems like national peace and security;
foreign relations and payment of foreign loans.
What is needed in our present setting is a broader approach which
involves increasing public understanding of local government services; a
strong community mandate; efficient and effective performance of services
and strong partnership with the central government.

4. Will federalism bring peace to Mindanao?

In federalism, the Bangsamoro and other minorities will be given

separate states while in unitary, there will be autonomous regions but limited
only.

11
 According to the supporters of federalism, federalism is the answer to
the unending Moro rebellion. In order to oppose this point, let us first go
back to the brief history of the Moro conflict.

In Mindanao Conflict: In Search of Peace and Human Rights published

by HURIGHTS OSAKA (www.hurights.org.jp), “the current armed
conflict started in late 1960s, when a Muslim armed group (Moro
National Liberation Front or MNLF) started to advocate for a “Moro
homeland.” The Philippine government responded through military
means, resulting in numerous deaths among, and displacement of, the
civilian population (Muslims as well as Christians). In the 1970s, the
Philippine government initiated peace talks and obtained a peace
agreement with the then main Muslim armed opposition group
(MNLF) to stop the conflict and address the problems. But armed
confrontations broke out every now and then, between the Philippine
military and the MNLF and also with another Muslim armed
opposition group (Moro Islamic Liberation Front or MILF).”

According to the article entitled ARCHIVES: Autonomy and

Federalism as a Solution to the Mindanao Conflict, authored by Dean
Benedicto Bacani (iag.org.ph), “the argument that we are shifting to a
federal system, in recognition of the Philippines being a state composed of
different nations exemplified most strongly by the ancestral domain claims
of the Moro people and other indigenous groups does not resonate as much
as the economic, development and political grounds for the shift to a federal
system.”

The answer to the long-running Moro rebellion in Mindanao is not to

shift from a unitary government to a federal government. Education is the
lasting solution to this conflict. Government Chief Negotiator Mirriam
Coronel-Ferrer, a political science teacher at the University of the
Philippines who is a traditional hotbed of activism and suspected recruitment
ground for revolutionary causes, said that a negotiated political settlement is
only a short-term solution. Moreover, some political leaders expressed fears
that after a peace agreement is signed, new rebel groups would emerge and
make new demands. Peace deal would not guarantee that similar uprisings
would not erupt in the future. (inquirer.net)

Ferrer added that what we should do is to construct more school

buildings and hire more teachers so that the youth will spend more time
learning from teachers rather than listening to the ideals of antigovernment
armed groups (like MILF, MNLF, CPA-NPA, Maute Group, and Abu

12
Sayaff). Peace negotiations should be complemented by education.
(inquirer.net)

CONCLUSION

Long-standing unitary regimes are associated with better governance.

In a study by the Boston University entitled, Are Federal Systems Better
than Unitary Systems?, It was found out that fifty (50) years of fully unitary
rule (1951-2000) were associated with an improvement of 0.15 points on the
seven-point scale of both corruption control and bureaucratic quality, fifteen
percent (15%) more telephone mainlines, a five percent (5%) reduction in
import duties as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product, fifteen percent
(15%) more trade openness, an increase of 0.23 in the index of regulatory
quality ( a little less than one-third of a standard deviation), more than a
seven percent improvement in per capita income and greater than a seven
percent reduction in both infant deaths and illiteracy. (www.bu.edu)

Included in the dependent variables used by the study are the

indicators on economic development and human development. The variables
and indicators were based from the World Bank. (www.bu.edu)

“Results for various indicators of economic development are much

stronger. Unitarism is associated (at the ninety-five percent level of
confidence or better) with better telecommunications infrastructure, lower
import duties, greater trade openness, higher regulatory quality, and higher
levels of per capita GDP, across both full and reduced-form models. It is
significant at the ninety percent confidence level in the reduced form model
for investment rating.” (www.bu.edu)

“Results for our three measures of human development are also

encouraging. Unitarism is significantly associated with lower infant
mortality and illiteracy rates. Results for life expectancy are strongly
significant in the reduced form but not in the full model.” (www.bu.edu)

Wherefore, based on the above premise and the results of the

discussions, the proponent submits to a unitary form of government.

LYDIA C. TINGKINGCO
13
Proponent
LLB – 4th year (irregular)
Student No. 082447
Lavezares N. Samar

14