Powerpoint Presentation of Sen. Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. during the Committee hearing on Federalism last August 5, 2008
[A primer by Senator Aquilino Q. Pimentel Jr. on the federal system presented to the Integrated Bar of the Philippines at its annual convention, Tacloban City, April 27, 2002]
1. What is the present system of government that we have?
We have a unitary system of government where all major governmental powers are lodged in the central government.
2. Is the unitary system of government necessarily bad?
Not really. The question is not one of inherent badness or goodness of the system of government that we follow.
The question is: is there a better system? And the answer is "yes", there is a better one: the federal system.
3. Why is the federal system of government a better one than the present unitary system that we have?
Mainly for two reasons. The federal system has the structures needed to:
(a) hasten the economic development among the various regions of the country; and
(b) dissipate the causes of the recurrent armed Moro challenges against the government and, thereby, lay the basis for a just and lasting peace in Central and Southwestern Mindanao.
4. How will the federal system hasten the economic development of the country?
It will hasten the economic development of the country by allocating power heretofore concentrated in the central government to the regions that will now be converted into federal states.
With power in their hands, the federal states may now mobilize their resources for development without being hindered or controlled by the central government.
5. How many federal states are suggested for the country?
To provide a starting point for discussion, it is proposed that we should have 10 federal
states1.
There may be four federal states in Luzon:
(a) The federal state of Northern Luzon;
(b) The federal state of Central Luzon;
(c) The federal state of Southern Tagalog; and
(d) The federal state of Bicol.
There may be three federal states in the Visayas:
(a) The federal state of Eastern Visayas;
(b) The federal state of Central Visayas; and
(c) The federal state of Western Visayas.
There may be three federal states in Mindanao:
(a) The federal state of Northern Mindanao;
(b) The federal state of Southern Mindanao; and
(c) The federal state of the Bangsamoro.
(See proposed map of the Federal Republic as attached)
6. What is the intended result of the federal system power-sharing between the central government and the federal states?
The power-sharing under the federal system will:
(a) unleash the spirit of friendly competition for
development purposes among the various federal states composing the Republic;
(b) end the dependence of the regions, now federal states, on the central government for development purposes; and
(c) enable the federal states to exercise their power and utilize their resources for development purposes to the utmost without constraints aside from those imposed by the Federal Constitution.
7. How will government powers be apportioned between the central government and the federal states?
The Federal Constitution will define the powers reserved to the central government and those to be exercised by the federal states.
It may also provide for certain provisions to be exercised concurrently by the central government and the federal states.
That is why the Constitution has to be amended.
8. Briefly, what powers may be assigned to the central government?
The central government may exercise, among other things, powers2 relative to:
(a) foreign affairs;
(b) armed forces;
(c) monetary system;
(d) basic education;
(e) basic justice;
(f) citizenship, rights & duties;
(g) national suffrage;
(h) national taxation & customs;
(i) national public works, and
(j) postal & telecommunications.
9. What powers may be assigned to the federal states?
The federal states may exercise, among other things, powers3 over:
(a) Local development;
(b) Mineral resources;
(c) Marine and aquatic resources;
(d) Forest and other natural resources;
(e) Trade and commerce;
(f) Police;
(g) Local taxation; and
(h) Education.
10. May some powers of government be assigned to both the central government and the federal states?
Yes. Malaysia is an example where both the central government and the federal states are empowered to exercise certain powers in concurrent capacity.
The Malaysian constitution has a list of subjects that are placed under the concurrent powers of the central government and the federal states. Examples are: 1. social welfare; 2. public health; 3. personal law relating to marriage, family law and succession.
The first one to exercise a particular power that is classified as concurrent excludes the other.
11. Will the structures of local government units be changed if there is shift of our unitary system of government to the federal system?
Practicality demands that the structures of local government units be retained as they are.
The Federal Constitution, however, may allow their restructuring.
12. How will the federal system dissipate the causes of the recurrent Moro armed uprisings against the government and lay the basis for a just and lasting peace in Central and Southwestern Mindanao?
The federal system will achieve that purpose by providing the Moros with a federal state of their own, which we may call, the Bangsamoro federal state. Within the Bangsamoro federal state, the Moros may preserve, develop and promote their "differentness" as a people or culture, if you will, in the context of the country's Federal Constitution.
13. Why is giving the Moros ample space to preserve, develop and promote their "differentness" or culture as a people vital in the search for a just and lasting peace in Mindanao?
The reason is that the failures of the Spanish colonial government, the American commonwealth government, and our own government to put a decisive end to recurrent Moro armed uprisings through the centuries may be traced precisely to the insensitivity of the Christian majority to appreciate that the Moros have a different communal and societal view from the rest of us.
14. In dealing with the so-called Moro problem in Mindanao, what was the strategic objective of the Spanish colonial government?
Since their arrival in 1521, the Spanish colonial government had wanted to Christianize the Moros of Mindanao as a means of assimilating them into the country's cultural mainstream.
15. Tactically, how did the Spanish colonial government try to carry out their strategy of assimilating the Moros by Christianizing them?
By the use of force.
16. How did the Moros react to the use of force by the Spanish colonial government to Christianize them?
The Moros resisted also by force of arms. Philosophically, they have argued that Islam had antedated the arrival of Christianity in Mindanao by more than a hundred years. And they saw no reason why they should give up their culture (and religion) without a fight.
History records that the use of force by the Spanish colonial government to subjugate the Moros of Mindanao failed utterly to achieve that objective.
At the turn of the last century, the Americans took over from Spain as our colonial masters. By 1902, the Americans had established a civilian government for the country.
17. What was the over-all strategy adopted by the American colonial government in dealing with the Moros of Mindanao?
The American policy towards the Moros of Mindanao was practically a repeat of the Spanish over-all strategy minus the religious overtones.
As a secular power, the Americans did not overtly want to Christianize the Moros of Mindanao. They wanted to "civilize" the Moros by assimilating them or to use the then American favorite buzzword: "integrating" them into the cultural mainstream of the country.
18. How did the American colonial government deal tactically with the Moro-problem in Mindanao?
The Americans tried the "carrot-and-stick" approach to pacify the Moros of Mindanao.
The "carrot" consisted of their providing educational opportunities for the Moros and putting up developmental programs and projects particularly in the Mindanao provinces where the Moros predominated. For example, during the American occupation, Dansalan in Marawi was a thriving modern community.
The "stick" consisted of government armed responses to Moro "disturbances" in Mindanao.
19. What was the Moro reaction to the American strategic and tactical policy towards them?
Many Moros took advantage of the "carrot" offered by the Americans. For instance, many Moro students availed of the educational opportunities that the American colonial government offered.
Despite the benign face showed to them by the American colonial government, the Moros of Mindanao, however, did not completely submit to the colonizer's policy. They rose up in arms time and again against the colonial government, surprising American policy makers. Why, indeed, should the Moros of Mindanao resist the attempts of the American colonial government to integrate them into the country's mainstream? Wasn't that for their own good?
The American policy had thoroughly missed the critical importance, as our own government has done through the years, of the meaning that the Moros of Mindanao had attached to their religion and culture. These were not mere matters of convenience or simply factors of civilization. These were their very life. The Moros simply had to preserve and maintain their religion and culture. Or die trying.
20. What was the effect of the American policy of integration of the Moros of Mindanao?
The American policy of integration triggered recurrent Moro armed rebellions against the American colonial government during the Commonwealth period.
Just and lasting peace in Mindanao eluded the American colonial government4 as it did the Spanish era.
When the Americans left the country in 1946, the so-called Moro problem continued to confront us incessantly.
21. What was our own government's policy towards the Moros of Mindanao?
The government mainly followed the American policy of "integration" or assimilation of the Moros into the country's cultural mainstream.
22. What was the Moros' response to the government policy?
The Moros waged war against the government as they had done against the Spanish and American colonial governments.
To illustrate: in my own lifetime, there were five major Moro armed uprisings against the government.
* When I was not yet in school in the '30s, a Moro chieftain from Lanao by the name of Dimakaling led an armed rebellion against the American colonial government.
By the use of superior force, the Americans killed Dimakaling and hundreds of his followers in Lanao and quelled the Maranao-led rebellion. Quiet reigned in Moroland for sometime thereafter.
* Then, when I was in high school in the '50s, another Moro leader, this time from Sulu, Hadji Kamlon took up arms against our own
government.5
By the use of superior force, the government captured Kamlon, killed a lot of his followers and quieted the Tausug-led rebellion. Momentarily, there was some peace in Sulu.
* Years later, when I had become a lawyer in the 60s, still another Moro leader, this time from Cotabato and Maguindanao, Datu Udtog Matalam, rose up in rebellion against the government.
Again by the use of superior force, the government subdued Matalam and his followers and suppressed the Maguindanao-led rebellion against the government. For a time, quiet was restored once more on the Moro front.
* Then in early 1973, soon after the declaration of martial law, the longest lasting (30 years) Moro rebellion erupted under the leadership of Prof. Nur Misuari of the Moro National Liberation Front. The MNLF had support not only in Sulu but also in Lanao, Cotabato, Maguindanao, and Tawi-Tawi.
When the smoke of battle had cleared, it was estimated that some 80,000 people had died in the war and some 200,000 had evacuated from the combat zones in Mindanao to Sabah and other places.
In 1996, the government signed a peace pact with the MNLF in Jakarta, Indonesia.
23. Did the 1996 peace pact bring about peace in Mindanao?
No, it did not. It brought a cessation of hostilities for a while. The sad fact, however, is that, hardly had the ink dried on the signatures of Misuari and the government representative when another Moro-initiated rebellion exploded. This time, it was under the leadership of Salamat Hashim, chair of the Moro Islamic Liberation Force, of Maguindanao-Cotabato.
24. What was the government response to the armed challenge of the MILF?
The government under the presidency of Joseph Ejercito Estrada responded with the use of superior force and evicted Salamat from his headquarters in Camp Abubakkar in the hills of Maguindanao-Cotabato in July of 2001 and the MILF soldiers from the camps they had established in other parts of Central Mindanao.
25. What is the status of the MILF rebellion now?
When Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo assumed the presidency on January 20, 2001, she initiated negotiations for peace with the MILF.
Recently, however, the talks appear to have bogged down. The President has announced that she wanted the negotiations done through "back channels".
As of this writing, there is no official word at what stage the peace talks are in.
26. Will the MILF-Government peace talks bring about a just and lasting peace in Central and Southwestern Mindanao?
I would certainly hope so. But circumstances are such that it is hard to be optimistic about the outcome of the peace talks.
There is no evidence that the government has any strategic and comprehensive plan for a just and lasting peace in the areas of conflict to discuss with the MILF.
It looks like both the government and the MILF are merely "buying time" in their agreement to return to the bargaining table.
The government probably wants a respite from its battles with the MILF because having so many problems in its hands, it cannot afford to wage a full-scale war against the rebel band.
The MILF probably wants a respite from its battles with the government because it has to rebuild its arsenal and its armed capability that had been laid waste by the Estrada all-out war against them two years ago.
But even as the MILF and the government were going through the motions of talking peace, the government said that Misuari breached the peace pact he had signed with the government in Jakarta in 1996 by having MNLF partisans attack a government garrison in Sulu recently. The government troops retaliated with such a superior force that Misuari had to flee to Malaysia from which he was subsequently brought back to the country. He is now under detention on charges of rebellion in a military camp in Laguna.
27. What is the point of recalling the Moro armed uprisings of Dimakaling of Lanao, Kamlon of Sulu, Matalam of Cotabato, Misuari of Sulu, Salamat of Maguindanao-Cotabato and again, Misuari of Sulu?
The enumeration shows that: (a) the resentment of the Moros against the government cuts across tribal groups; (b) the use of force to quell the rebellions had only temporarily silenced the Moro rebel guns; and (c) the government has, thus far, been unable to find a formula for a just and lasting peace in the Central and Southwestern Mindanao that is acceptable to the Moros.
28. Is there a formula to establish a just and lasting peace in the Moro lands of Mindanao?
Yes. The formula for a just and lasting peace in the Moro lands of Mindanao is the adoption of the federal system of government.
29. Is the federal system of government acceptable to the Moros of Mindanao?
Yes. I have talked with Misuari, Salamat, Murad, Isnaji, Dimaporo and Alonto, many Moro intellectuals who are teaching in Universities throughout the land, Moro politicians of consequence and civic leaders. To a man, they agree with the observation that the adoption of the federal system may be the only legal, feasible and constitutional way of dissipating the causes of Moro unrest that challenge us even today.
30. How will the creation of the Bangsamoro federal state affect the secessionist aspirations and the revolutionary aims of the Moros?
The creation of the federal state of the Bangsa Moro will render irrelevant and unnecessary the secessionist aspirations and the revolutionary aims of the Moros of Central and Southwestern Mindanao for the reason that the Moros may preserve and develop their own culture in the Federal State of the Bangsamoro.
There will, thus, be no longer any reason for the Moros to secede and rebel against the government.
The pluses for the country are that the Republic will be kept intact and peace will finally reign in the island of Mindanao. With peace, Mindanao may be developed more fully.
31. May not giving the Moros a federal state of their own provide them a laboratory for fundamentalist extremism?
If unchecked by reasonable Constitutional constraints in the Federal Constitution, yes. But there are Constitutional ways of giving the Moro (or Muslim culture) a moderate face. Egypt has done it. Malaysia has done it. Indonesia has done it. Pakistan even now is trying to do it. Even India has done it in the predominantly Muslim states of the country.
One specific example is to prohibit by Constitutional fiat the imposition of cruel and unusual punishment.
32. How will the rights of non-Muslims residing in the Bangsamoro federal state be protected?
Their rights will be protected by the applicable provisions of the Constitution and shall enforced by the central government.
The Shari'ah as a means of settling disputes, for instance, may apply only to controversies involving Moros who adhere to Islam as a religion. If there is a controversy involving Moros and Christians or Moros and Lumads or Christians and Lumads, the national law, not the Shiari'ah, will apply.
33 Is the federal system incompatible with the parliamentary form of government?
No. The federal system has to do with the sharing of power between the central government and the federal state governments. The parliamentary form of government has to do with the merging of the powers of the executive and the legislative.
Examples exist: Australia, Germany, and Malaysia have federal systems and parliamentary forms of government.
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1 The number of federal states stated here is only a proposal. Ultimately, the Constitution will determine how many federal states the country should have.
2 The enumeration is merely instructive, not exclusive or exhaustive.
3 See comment in Footnote 1.
4 Historical records show that the Moros of Sulu, Lanao, Cotabato, Palawan and Agusan fought pitched battles against American troops from 1901 to 1941. Thousands were killed as a result thereof.
5 We had by that time regained our independence as a nation.