By Getsy Tiglao

The Pimentel family from Cagayan de Oro, starting with patriarch Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr., has long espoused the idea of creating a “Federal Republic of the Philippines” in order to devolve power away from Metro Manila and give long-ignored provinces a bigger chance to develop.

Since the 1980s, around the same time as his political party PDP-Laban was created, Pimentel has advocated for a change in the country’s political system from a unitary into a federal one which would give more power and authority to the regional states – 12 in all, under the “Nene model.”

But this was no mere political undertaking, Pimentel would always say; this was also an economic effort. “Under the unitary system that has characterized the government for centuries, we only had one center of power, finance, and development – Metro Manila,” he said in a speech in 2008.

“By creating 11 federal states and by converting Metro Manila as a federal administrative region, we immediately establish 12 centers of power, finance and development throughout the country,” he added.

His son Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, the current Senate president, has continued his father’s federalism advocacy, which gained tremendous ground after the election of Mindanaoan Rodrigo Duterte to the presidency. Duterte proved to be the catalyst for the radical changes that are needed in our outmoded system of government, imposed on us by the American colonizers.

Duterte shared Pimentel’s belief that “Imperial Manila” has long held sway over the country’s lopsided development with most of the economic resources and political attention being centered on Metro Manila. Under the federal system, a more equitable growth can be expected as the states get the lion’s share of the taxes, up to 80 percent versus 20 percent for the national government.

The states are expected to use this larger share of the resources to develop thier own industries and improve basic public services. Of this 80 percent revenue share of the states, 30 percent will be retained by the state government while 70 percent will go to the local governments, including cities, municipalities, and barangays.

Here are the 12 federal states proposed by the PDP-Laban, which is based on the model first suggested by Nene Pimentel:

• Northern Luzon State.
• Central Luzon State.
• Southern Tagalog State.
• Bicol State.
• Minparom State.
• Eastern Visayas State.
• Central Visayas State.
• Western Visayas State.
• Northern Mindanao State.
• Southern Mindanao State.
• Bangsamoro State.
• Metro Manila State or the Federal Administrative Region.

Minparom comprises Mindoro, Palawan, Romblon, and Marinduque provinces, known as Mimaropa in the current administrative grouping. Nene Pimentel placed these provinces in the Visayan states instead of Southern Tagalog in Luzon, because geographically they are off the seas of the Visayas. Politically and culturally, too, Minparom is more akin to its neighbors in the Visayas than Luzon.

The natural partner of a federal system is a parliamentary form of government. Countries which adopted a federal-parliamentary system have proven to be more stable, organized, and richer, too, such as Australia, Germany, Canada, Malaysia, Austria, and Belgium.

In contrast, countries which combined their federations with a presidential system have had spotty records. These include the US, Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, and Nigeria. Duterte has been quoted as saying he wants a hybrid system similar to France. Mixed systems are also the case in South Africa, Russia, and Switzerland.

The Philippines is at a critical juncture in our history. Whether or not we become a First World developed nation like the rest of our neighbors in Asia will depend on our politicians. More than ever, we need our legislators to be courageous, to take a historic leap towards a federal-parliamentary system.

Our elected leaders, especially the senators, should set aside their egos and think of the future of the country. We tried the unitary-presidential system for decades and it didn’t work. A federal system is best for countries with large populations, varied languages and religions, and other cultural and social differences.

We also need a unicameral parliament in order to ensure a more efficient legislative process and to reduce costs that come with two chambers, as we have now. We have to start thinking out of the box, so to speak, and try adopting this new system that will lead to faster lawmaking, eliminate deadlocks, and all those useless public hearings.

The people are tired of the constant fights between the Senate and the House – this is the real hell, the political system imposed by the 1987 charter that has us stuck in economic underdevelopment. Let’s try unity for a change and have a modern and progressive federal-parliamentary form of government.