Advantages and Disadvantages of Regional Decentralization

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

OF REGIONAL DECENTRALIZATION

  

Advantages of Decentralized Systems

 

Decentralized Systems disperse development throughout the regions by securing the benefits of “location” (or advantage of proximity to the regional center), by attracting the forces of “agglomeration” (or advantage of concentration in the regional center where there are already large concentrations of people and investments), and by promoting “friendly competition” (or advantage of competition among regional centers to deliver the best services at the most reasonable prices).[i]

 

These systems also institutionalize the systematic integration of the social and economic service functions of the covered line departments and their attached agencies and instrumentalities, by consolidating the operational and administrative control and supervision of the regional offices of the said line departments, agencies and instrumentalities under the regional governing body.[ii]

 

Disadvantages of Federal System and Autonomous Region

 

One disadvantage of the federal system is that it allows the proliferation of divergent or conflicting legal systems among the component states. Notably, complicated legal systems increase the cost of doing business and hinder job-creation.

 

Nonetheless, this economic disadvantage may be avoided if the state legislatures will be prohibited from enacting legislation on banking, insurance, commerce (on goods and services), insolvency, intellectual property rights, professional practice, immigration, naturalization, income tax, value added tax, import tax and export tax, unless otherwise provided by the federal legislature.

 

Another disadvantage of the federal system, which also applies to the autonomous region, is that it creates another layer of partisan politics at the regional level. This may lead to wastage of resources for the government, the political parties and the constituent communities.

 

This political disadvantage may however be avoided if instead of electing another set of regional politicians, the present city mayors, municipal mayors and/or district congressmen will simply be designated as the ex-officio members of the regional legislature or assembly.

 

Another potential disadvantage of the federal system is that it may lead to the “Balkanization” or fragmentation of the country through the forcible secession of the component states.

 

This potentional disadvantage may however be addressed by keeping the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)[iii] and the Philippine National Police (PNP)[iv] under the federal state, and allowing the component states to establish only limited security forces solely for the protection of their public officials and government properties.[v]

 

Alternative forms of Decentralized Systems

 

The alternative forms of Decentralized Systems are as follows:

 

REGIONAL AUTHORITY (National Government Agency under a Unitary State)

• A national government agency under the control and supervision of the President

• Created by Executive Order or Congressional Statute

• Does NOT require a plebiscite for its creation

• Does NOT require any substantial supplemental budget for the establishment and operation of the new regional governing body, because it merely consolidates the existing regional offices of the covered line departments; any additional budget is for the chief executive and secretariat only

• Adopts consolidated regional budgeting, instead of segregated national budgeting, for the covered line departments

• Empowered to issue rules and regulations to implement national laws

• Centralized law making (by Congress) with full decentralized law implementation (by the regional authority)

AUTONOMOUS REGION (Local Government Unit under a Unitary State)

• A local government unit under the supervision of the President

• Created by Congressional Statute

• Requires a plebiscite for its creation

• Requires a substantial supplemental budget for the establishment, election and operation of the new regional governing body, UNLESS the body is composed only of the existing city mayors and municipal mayors and/or district congressmen in ex-officio capacity

• Adopts consolidated regional budgeting, instead of segregated national budgeting, for the covered line departments

• Empowered to enact ordinances, but subject to the national laws

• A certain degree of decentralized law making (by the regional assembly) with full decentralized law implementation (by the regional government unit)

SUB-STATE (Component State under a Federal State)

• A component state with a certain degree of sovereignty that forms part of a federal state

• Created by Constitutional Amendment / Revision

• Requires a plebiscite for its creation

• Requires a substantial supplemental budget for the establishment, election and operation of the new regional governing body, UNLESS the body is composed only of the existing city mayors and municipal mayors and/or district congressmen in ex-officio capacity

• Adopts consolidated regional budgeting, instead of segregated national budgeting, for the covered line departments

• Empowered to enact state laws, but subject to the federal laws

• Full decentralized law making (by the state assembly) with full decentralized law implementation (by the state government)

 

This material was written ex-gratia by Demosthenes B. Donato

for Tanggulang Demokrasya (Tan Dem), Inc.

All intellectual property rights are granted to the public domain.

06 May 2017 Makati City, Philippines.

 

 

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this material are those of the author

and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of TanDem.

 

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[i]  See Gonzalo M. Jurado, Notes on the Federal Structure for the Philippines, pages 2-4, 10 September 2012.

[ii]  See Demosthenes B. Donato, The Semi-Federal Alternative, page 2, 01 October 2002 (revised 17 January 2008).

[iii] 1987 Constitution, Article II Declaration of Principles and State Policies, Section 3 which provides that: “Civilian authority is, at all times, supreme over the military. The Armed Forces of the Philippines is the protector of the people and the State. Its goal is to secure the sovereignty of the State and the integrity of the national territory.” 

Id, Article X Local Government, Section 21 which provides that: “The preservation of peace and order within the regions shall be the responsibility of the local police agencies which shall be organized, maintained, supervised, and utilized in accordance with applicable laws. The defense and security of the regions shall be the responsibility of the National Government.”

See Republic Act No. 6374, as amended by Republic Act No. 9054, also known as An Act Providing for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Article XIII Public Order and Security, Section 11 which provides that: “The defense and security of the autonomous region shall be the responsibility of the central government or national government. Towards this end, there is hereby created a Regional Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines for the autonomous region, which shall be organized, maintained, and utilized in accordance with national laws. The central government or national government shall have the authority to station and deploy in the autonomous region such elements of the Armed Forces as may be necessary to carry out that responsibility. Qualified inhabitants of the autonomous region shall be given preference for assignments in the said regional command.”

[iv] 1987 Constitution, Article XVI General Provisions, Section 6 which provides that: “The State shall establish and maintain one police force, which shall be national in scope and civilian in character, to be administered and controlled by a national police commission. The authority of local executives over the police units in their jurisdiction shall be provided by law.”

 

Id, Article X Local Government, Section 21 which provides that: “The preservation of peace and order within the regions shall be the responsibility of the local police agencies which shall be organized, maintained, supervised, and utilized in accordance with applicable laws. The defense and security of the regions shall be the responsibility of the National Government.”

 

See Republic Act No. 6374, as amended by Republic Act No. 9054, also known as An Act Providing for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Article XIII Public Order and Security, Section 2 which provides that:

“There is hereby created a Philippine National Police Regional Command for the autonomous region, hereafter called the Special Regional Security Force (SRSF) or Regional Police Force, in short.”

[v] See Republic Act No. 7227, as amended, also known as the Bases Conversion and Development Act, Section 12(h) which provides that: “The defense of the zone and the security of its perimeters shall be the responsibility of the National Government in coordination with the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority. The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority shall provide and establish its own internal security and firefighting forces...”

 

See Republic Act No. 7916, as amended, also known as the Special Economic Zone Act, Section 9 which provides that: “The defense of the ECOZONE and the security of its perimeter fence shall be the responsibility of the national government in coordination with the PEZA.  Military forces sent by the national government for the purpose of defense shall not interfere in the internal affairs of any of the ECOZONE and expenditure for these military forces shall be borne by the national government. The PEZA may provide and establish the ECOZONES’ internal security and firefighting forces.”