The
League of Provinces of the Philippines, patnered
with the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), the German Technical
Cooperation (GTz), and Balay Mindanao Foundation to conduct
the Governors Forum on Federalism.
The forum brought together the governors in order to be
informed on what federalism is about.
Held last September 11 at the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel in
Cebu, the activity’s main objective was to bring together
the local chief executives and the key advocates of federalism
for a scholarly discussion on the basic tenets of federalism
including a study on its potentials in ensuring economic
equity and addressing peace and local ethnic aspirations
in the Philippines.
“Ultimately, after understanding what federalism is,
we hope to catalyze and encourage public debates in order
for all of us not just to arrive at informed choices, but
also to encourage the free flow of information,” said
League president and Misamis Occidental Gov. Loreto Leo
S. Ocampos.
Gov. Ocampos pointed out that it is the right time to start
the discussions on federalism as this has already been suggested
by civil society groups, some members of Congress –
both the Senate and House of Representatives, and even President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
LPP executive vice president and Palawan Gov. Joel T. Reyes,
however, underscored the fact that the local chief executives
were holding the forum to open the discussions on federalism.
“Hopefully this would lead to a more serious discussion
that would be prioritized in the House of Representatives
and also in the Senate. Hopefully we can rally the Filipino
nation in drafting a different form of government,”
he said.
“Ultimately, by holding this forum, the League of
Provinces of the Philippines and its partners hope that
the governors would able to lead in the discussions and
public debates on whether or not shifting the powers from
the center toward the federal states would greater and more
effective resource mobilization and accelerate development
in the countryside resulting in the empowerment of our constituents,”
Gov. Ocampos said.
He went on that, by the time the governors have sufficient
knowledge and information, and gathered the public pulse,
the League of Provinces of the Philippines will collectively
decide on what course of action to take.
“I am happy to inform you that there is a general
feeling of positive response to federalism, especially from
the governors coming from the Mindanao and Visayas regions.
However, there are no details yet as to its form, substance
and timelines,” he added.
At
the same time, Gov. Reyes said the LPP was also trying to
be cautious since majority of the governors belong to the
administration.
“Hopefully our friends (from the opposition) would
not once again paint this as another step and movement led
by the present administration, because it is not,”
he emphasized. (AJS)
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