FEDERALISM DEBATES
together by a network of railways, highways, airlines and ports.
By Elfren S. Cruz (The Philippine Star) - October 25, 2017 - 4:00pm
The main task of a national government is to forge a national consensus on matters
affecting the nation. There are issues wherein a national consensus can be forged such as
currency controls; national defense; sovereignty over disputed territories in the South China
Sea; treaties with other countries; and customs tariffs.
But there are other issues where a national consensus is not possible or even
desirable. These may range from complex issues like land use policies where the
framework in Metro Manila will be vastly different than the Cordillera or the Caraga regions
to simple decisions like location of building sites for public school classrooms or clinics.
Within the present structure, there is recognition that there are decisions that
should be made on a regional basis like minimum wage levels which are done on a regional
basis. However, these regional oriented decisions are made by the national government and
not by representatives of the regional citizens.
Pierre E. Trudeau states: “Federalism is by its very essence a compromise and a
pact. It is a compromise in the sense that when national consensus on all things is not
desirable or cannot really obtain, the area of consensus is reduced in order that consensus
on some things can be reached. It is a pact or quasi treaty in the sense that the terms of that
compromise cannot be changed unilaterally.”
On separatism
The danger of separatism exists whether a nation has a unitary or federal form of
government. If the citizens of a certain region believe that it will be to their people’s benefit,
then there will be a movement for separatism. The Muslim groups in Mindanao have waged
a struggle for their own state for centuries. No amount of nationalism or appeal for national
unity will satisfy legitimate demands for separatism by a cohesive national minority which
may form the majority of a region’s population.
The only way to counter these movements for separatism is to ensure that there is
a more equitable progress among the regions. Presently, the economic obsession is
consumed by increasing national GDP growth rate without regard for regional GDP growth
rate. One way of offsetting the appeal of separatism is by investing time, energy and money
in the different regions and seek to equalize GDP growth rates among the different regions.
Resources must also be diverted into ensuring that the nation’s territory is bound
On nationalism
Nationalism means devotion to a nation. The word “nation’ actually refers to the
inhabitants of a country as well as the collective identities that could include shared history,
law, language, political rights, religion and traditions .
Most nations in Asia that were formed into states in the past century included
people who were set apart geographically (like Japan); historically (like China and Thailand);
linguistically (like Korea); racially or religious basis (like Pakistan and Indonesia).
The most common attribute among most Asian countries is that these nations were
actually formed by colonial masters and not through any national consensus. The Malay
inhabitants belong to one race but have been divided into three different countries because
of three different colonial masters. Malaysia became a British colony; Indonesia was a Dutch
colony; and the Philippines was a Spanish colony. The British invaded the Philippines. If they
had succeeded in taking this colony from Spain, Malaysia and the Philippines would now be
one country.
Nationalism seeks to preserve a nation’s culture. It seeks also to inculcate in its
inhabitants pride in the nation’s achievements. Because of our historical colonial past,
nationalism must be cultivated and nurtured. It does not matter whether the state is unitary
or federal. Nationalism cannot be coerced. If the elite classes of a nation do not have a sense
of nationalism, then the rest of the nation cannot be expected to develop that sense of pride.
Forms of federalism
Even among those who espouse federalism, there must be a debate on which form
is best suited for the country. If we look at federalism as a form of political partnership, there
is a spectrum of political systems which are extremely broad:
• Unions. There are political units established in a way that constituent units preserve
their respective identities primarily or exclusively through a general government
rather than through dual governments. In Lebanon, the Christian and Muslim
groups have a distinct separation of powers but have a united general government.
• Constitutionally Decentralized unions. These are basically unitary in form in the
sense that ultimate authority rests with the central government, but they
 incorporate constitutionally protected sub-national units of government which
have functional autonomy. An example is Japan.

• These are political units which combine a strong central government with strong
regional or state governments, each one possessing powers delegated to it by the
people through a constitution, each empowered to deal directly with the citizens
in the exercise of its legislative, administrative and taxing powers, and each directly
elected by its citizens. Some examples are the United States, Malaysia, Brazil, South
Africa, India and Germany.

There are other forms like confederations, associated states and leagues. There are
other forms which are hybrids of the different types of political partnerships.

There is an urgent need to have more public debates and dialogues on federalism
so that the people will be ready to make an informed and intelligent decision on such a critical
change in our system of government.