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Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and the Canadian Embassy in the Philippines co-hosted a forum on “International Perspetives on Federalism” at the Filipinas Heritage Library in Makati City on April 12, 2005 featuring as keynote speaker Honorable Bob Rae, P.C., O.C., Q.C., former Premier of Ontario, President and Chairman of the Forum of Federations and partner at Goodmans. Rae shared Canada’s experience and lessons on federalism. The conference was moderated by ANC’s Ricky Carandang and graced by Senator Aquilino Pimentel and Speaker of the House Jose De Venecia, Jr.. The latter, a champion of federalism in the Philippines, awarded Mr. Bob Rae the Congressional Medal of Achievement, the highest award given by the House of Representatives for his achievements in peace and development and advocacy for the federal idea. The Speaker was assisted by Congresswoman Silverio of Bulacan and former Cabinet Secretary Primicias Goco.

In his welcome remarks, Speaker De Venecia stated that federalism would encourage the people and the local governments to unleash their creative energies. Federalism would destroy the capital city syndrome and the psychological dependency of local governments on the center of government. Federalism would use to an advantage the country’s 85 million multi-ethnic peoples, with their hundreds of dialects, geographic divisions, while achieving economies of scale and consolidation of small cities and municipalities. He noted that Federalism has acted as a laboratory of democracies and that a Federation of East Asian countries would also complement the two pillars of federalism: North America and European Union. De Venecia acknowledged that the experiences of federal countries like Canada’s, was a source of great lessons and best practices in promoting and operating a federal system not only in the Philippines but in other countries as well.

In his speech, Mr. Bob Rae briefly described federalism as a democratic way of self-government, dispute settlement and a more transparent and more accountable form of governance. He supported the Speaker’s claim that there are a number of factors in the Philippines that makes the country ripe for federalism such as the ballooning population, ethnic and religious differences, and long coastline. He identified issues and trends that might emerge under a federal system of government, possible sources of federal, state, and local government revenue under a Federal form of government; the quality of public service; principles of good governance and issues of security and terrorism in the midst of globalization and regional integration. He stressed the need to raise the level of discussions on the federal idea so as to identify the strengths and weaknesses of such a system. The former Ontario Premier encouraged the 105 participants to take time to engage the country in informative discussions on federalism and to at the same time challenge the stakeholders to take action immediately. On the need to raise the level of consciousness of the people on the federal idea, Mr. Rae stressed the need for a non-partisan exercise to bring together all the elements in the process.

An impressive panel of reactors composed of Dr. Joe Abueva, Professor Emeritus of Political Science and Public Administration at the University of the Philippines and adviser to the Citizens’ Movement for a Federal Philippines; Ms. Noemi Saludo, past President of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce; Councilor Julian Coseteng of the 3rd District of Quezon City and former President of the National Movement of Young Legislators; former Representative Miguel Romero of the 2nd District of Negros Oriental and advocates for the national wealth sharing (of natural resources). The reactions centered on the issues of sharing of resources, models of fiscal federalism, revenue generation, the economic development stages of the country, debt servicing, secession, and constitutional processes of federalization, among others.

Mr. Bob Rae highlighted the importance of identifying the best practices of other federal states but adapting these to suit the local context and taking into account the values and development stages of the country. He stated that federalism promotes the creation of a culture of responsibility and accountability but that greater responsibility requires the appropriate resources. The threat of secession would disappear under a federal system since it would adequately address the issues and concerns raised by indigenous peoples and Muslims concerning their need for a sense of national belongingness and yet also cultural and religious identity, as well as the implementation of their own set of legal and educational systems.

An open forum following the discussion among the panel of reactors allowed Mr. Bob Rae to clarify some of his views. He underscored the need to have a strong national leadership and strong local government units. And as for how to federalize? Mr. Bob Rae asserted that the constitutional process must be decided by the people. What is vital is that the process be practical and visionary and yet generate enough momentum to move the idea to the next level within a given time frame.

In his closing remarks, Mr. Klaus Preschle, country representative of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, informed the participants of KAS’s efforts to the promote and educate the Filipino people about federalism and decentralized governance. He underscored the need for advocates of the federal system to tackle the fiscal model under federalism with the involvement of various stakeholders and reiterated the value of the Philippines drawing from the international community’s knowledge in forming its own model of federalism. Senator Nene Pimentel, another staunch advocate of federalism, gave the second set of closing remarks. Pimental acknowledged that federalism is a major part of the solution to the Mindanao problem, he pointed out that federalism is not a one-shot affair or a solution to all the country’s problems. He underlined the need to work hard for the good of the nation. He also underscored that federalism has to be negotiated with the utmost respect for the rights, traditions, identities, and beliefs of others. Such relationships should be discussed and addressed under the rule of law. He also noted that the Philippines should learn from the experiences of other models in order to create a Federal System that is truly Filipino.

Pictured Hon. Mr. Bob Rae, P.C., O.C., Q.C., former Premier of Ontario, President and Chairman of the Forum of Federations