Cordillera to merge with Region 1, 2 as Federal State of Northern Luzon
>> Wednesday, September 28, 2016
Ifugao solon:
Cordillerans’ consensus needed
By Susan Aro and
Carlito Dar
LA
TRINIDAD, Benguet – The Cordillera will be merged with Regions 1 and 2 under
the proposed Federal State of Northern Luzon.
Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat Jr, an advocate
for Cordillera autonomy, bared this saying need for Cordillerans to have a
consensus and speak in one voice to move forward on what government set-up the
region should have.
“Cordillerans must have a common stand
through a collective consensus on what they really want, the present unitary or
federal form of government,” he said.
Given the timeline until 2021 for the
possible shift to federal government as being pushed by President
Duterte, he cited need to start discussing and to have more consultations as
inclusive as possible to consider all stakeholders so that nobody will be left
behind.
Efforts to move forward for an autonomous
region should be intensified in this administration, he said.
The call for autonomous region in the
Cordillera is overshadowed by the proposed Bangsamoro autonomous region due to
the issue on armed conflict. Cordillera autonomy was not prioritized in
the past administration and the impression is that the Cordillera region is not
united without a common stand, according to Baguilat.
The Cordillera region is still in its
temporary status until it becomes an autonomous as provided in the
Constitution. Its establishment as an administrative region is by virtue of
Executive Order 220.
Baguilat
suggested four options Cordillerans may choose from - to become part of the
proposed federal state of Northern Luzon, to become a separate state if it will
be considered in Congress, a special region in a federal state or status quo or
remain as administrative region.
As a separate state, Baguilat said they still
have to discuss with the Upper Congress for a separate state of Cordillera
region. But a federal state has to be fiscally stable with major industries to
sustain its economy which Baguilat believes the region can given its mineral
resources and vegetable industry.
A special region in a federal state is
possible as there are models around the world that have federal states with a
special autonomous region. But the repercussions would be problems on ancestral
domain and indigenous practice of which the federal state has control over the
utilization of natural resources, Baguilat said.
Should the shift to federal government push
through, Baguilat said an asymmetric form of federalism is being considered
such that the Cordillera region will become a special region not just due to
its ethnicity or cultural diversity but its economy and topography. It can deal
directly with the federal government and will have different levels of autonomy
from different states.
Meanwhile, Benguet Gov. Crescencio Pacalso
said, apparently the prospect for autonomy is nil as it is not an urgent bill.
But he agreed should the region pushes for
autonomy, the Cordillerans must have one voice.
In
Baguio, former Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said, “Good governance does not
depend on governors alone but also on the governed. If you want good governance
to prevail in this country the people must also act accordingly.”
Pimentel Jr. told this to participants of
the recent 1st Northern Luzon Federal
Forum initiated by Baguio Convenor of President Rodrigo Duterte’s Core or
Constitutional Reform towards Federalism recently at Teachers Camp.
Pimentel said although passage of the Local
Government Code and other legislation allowed the sharing of some power to
local government units, the present democratic system remains unitarian and
highly centralized as opposed to the federal form of government.
In support to Duterte’s call for a shift
to federal system of government, Pimentel said the proposal is a doable,
practical plan to speed up the development of the country and the people.
Pimentel said under their proposal,
there will be 11 federal states (or more) to be created and with Metro Manila
converted into federal administrative region, there will be 12 centers of
power, finance and development throughout the country.
For the Executive Branch, there will be
elected President and Vice President, federal state Governor and vice governor
and still with provincial governors, mayors and other LGU officials.
For the Legislative Branch, the two Houses of
Congress will be maintained but with the increasing population, the proposal
includes increasing the senators to six senators per state plus three
legislators to be elected by the people and three sectoral representatives.
For the Judiciary, Pimentel said speedy
delivery of justice will be assured under the federal state. With stricter
deadline for decisions, there will be SC branches in Luzon, Visayas and
Mindanao with five assigned justices in each branch.
Pimentel iterated that the proposed federal
state will be participatory governance with the people. Whatever mode to
be used in changing the Charter, whether Constitutional Convention,
Constitutional Assembly or People’s Initiative, the bottom line still is that
the change must be approved by the people in a plebiscite, he said.
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