Empowering the regions, the way forward
As far as anyone can remember, Metro Manila
had always been far ahead compared to any other region in socio-economic
development. To correct this imbalance, many have pursued the regional decentralization
of government, based on the social theory of “subsidiarity,” saying that
regional government systems are in the best position to handle regional
affairs.[i]
As the late Dr. Gonzalo M. Jurado noted, regional government
systems promote the dispersal of development 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 facilitating “friendly competition” (or advantage of competition among
regional centers to deliver the best services at the most reasonable prices).[ii] If I
may add, they also institutionalize the systematic “integration” of the
social and economic service functions of select government agencies,
consolidating their operations, administration, control and supervision under a
singular authority.[iii]
So how exactly should we pursue regional
decentralization? Based on what we already know, there are at least three (3)
ways to do this - by regional authority (RA), by autonomous region (AR), and by
sub-state (SS). RA is like SBMA, but for a much bigger area like Central Luzon,
and without the tax incentives usually granted in freeport and economic zones.
AR is like the BARMM and its predecessor ARMM. SS is like the component state
of Sabah, that by “accession” has joined the federal state of Malaysia.[iv]
Is there a national consensus on how to
pursue regional decentralization? Based on my personal obversation, there is none.
In Luzon, the people and their leaders
are apparently open to RA (as they already have the SBMA). However, they are
indifferent if not opposed to either the AR or the SS. Note that even the
Cordillera region did not create its own AR, even if so provided in the 1987
Constitution. In Mindanao on the other hand, I recall the words of our late
mentor, Fr. Romeo “Archie” J. Intengan, S.J. He once told me that as far as the
Muslim communities are concerned, anything less than “accession” to a federal
state would not be acceptable. Knowing that Fr. Archie spent a good part of his
life in the South during the martial law years, I take his subtle observations
as words of wisdom. In Visayas, it seems their sentiment is closer to Mindanao.
So how do we move forward if there is no consensus? Well, the
answer should be obvious. We should take the “bottom-up approach” and
let the people of the regions decide for themselves, rather than take the
“top-down approach” and impose on the regions uniform structures designed from
the top. We need to consider that there are many factors that influence the
success or failure of regional decentralization, including culture, demography,
geography, natural resources, public funds and even
insurgency.
While we have heard about the benefits of regional decentralization, people do ask – are there are pitfalls along the way? Yes, there are pitfalls ahead. Can we avoid them? Yes, of course, we can.
So what are these pitfalls? From my
engagement with people's organizations and concerned citizens, the major
concerns include the“Balkanization” of the nation (or the secession of
sub-states from the federal state), the huge cost of funding multiple
regional assemblies, double taxation that overburdens the taxpayers, and
a complicated legal system (with divergent legal frameworks across the
regions) that hamper doing business and job creation.
To prevent “Balkanization,” the federal
constitution may categorically prohibit secession, and to this end, vest solely
in the federal state the establishment of military (AFP) and police (PNP)
forces. Borrowing from the laws establishing freeports and economic zones, the
SS may have “internal security forces” which are actually government
security guards with the limited task of protecting persons and properties.
To avoid the huge cost of funding
multiple new regional assemblies, the present mayors and district
congressmen may be designated as ex-officio members of these
assemblies. Under the 1943 Constitution, local officials were made ex-officio
members of the national assembly.
To avoid double
taxation, we can temporarily retain the present public finance system where
only the national government collects the major taxes (on income, value added
and import duties), and thereafter allocate to the regions their fair and
equitable share in the collections.
To avoid a complicated
legal system, we can also temporarily prohibit the enactment by the SS of
laws on banking, insurance, commerce (on goods and
services), insolvency, intellectual property rights, professional practice,
immigration, naturalization.
Looking at all these limitations on the SS, are
we not rendering it inutile? No, we are not. They retain the government powers
most important to them, i.e. the power to approve plans, programs and projects,
and the power to allocate public funds.
So how do we move forward in empowering the regions? Check out the People's Draft (a crowd-sourced constitution), hashtag #PeoplesDraft. It is ready for discussion and deliberation on all points raised, and even more.
Demosthenes B. Donato
13 September 2019
Makati City, Philippines
[i]
Principle of Subsidiarity – “theory in sociology, that functions which
subordinate or local organizations perform effectively belong more properly to
them than to a dominant central organization;” Webster’s Third New
International Dictionary, (c) 2002, page 2279.
[ii]
Gonzalo M. Jurado, Notes on the Federal Structure for the Philippines, pages
2-4, 10 September 2012.
[iii]
Demosthenes B. Donato, Advantages and Disadvantages of Regional
Decentralization, 27 August 2016.
[iv]
Principle of Accession – “the act of becoming joined (as in a confederacy or
union);” Webster’s Third New International Dictionary Unabridged, (c) 2002,
page 11.
