Videos
Committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes (February 1, 2018)
Senate’s public hearing conducted by the Committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes on the matter of amending or revising the 1987 Constitution, on 01 February 2018, Thursday, 2:00PM at the Senator Tanada Room, 2nd Floor , Senate of the Philippines, GSIS Financial Center, Pasay City. Focused on the following key issues:
1. Is there a need to amend or revise the Constitution? Why or why not?
2. If so, what parts of the Constitution should be amended or revised? Why?
3. Should the amendment or revision be proposed Constitutional Convention or by the Congress itself acting as a constituent assembly? Why?
4. If Congress convenes as a constituent assembly for the purpose of amending or revising the Constitution, should the Senate and the House of the Representatives vote jointly or separately?
5. If Congress pass a resolution limiting the power of the Constituent Assembly or Constitutional Convention, or are their powers plenary?
Autonomy&Federalism-Perspective from a former parliamentarian by Hon. Cesar A. Virata
Autonomy&Federalism | June 15, 2017 | UP Law, Diliman, Quezon City
Former Prime Minister Virata expressed his concern on the current progress of the shift of Federalism. He proposed a joint voting session for the houses of the congress, since if they would vote separately, a very few number of Senators (8) could derail the long-awaited shift to Federalism, which he considers as “complete governance”.
As a leading expert in finance, he argued that reducing the share of the Federal Government in the annual budget would be problematic, as the Federal States could only provide basic social services, with most of them still underdeveloped to cover more advanced and intensive delivery of social services. PM Virata also mentioned that even before the adoption of Federalism, the Federal Government should prepare a large contingency fund, as it would continue the provision of costly social services, like pensions from GSIS and SSS.
Forum on Autonomy and Federalism by Senator Pimentel | June 15, 2017 | Malcolm Hall of the UP-College of Law, Diliman, Quezon City
Senator Pimentel delivered his keynote speech entitled, “Federalizing the Philippines”. He began by posing the question, “Why is it necessary to go federal and why not just improve on the local government devolution powers which was done in 1990?” He then argued that the concentration of powers in the central government hampers the speedy development of the nation, citing the response during the Yolanda crisis as an example. He then suggested the adoption of a Federal System with presidential form, which according to him is “concrete, doable, and practical.” Before discussing the specific details of his proposed system, Sen. Pimentel urged the audience to familiarize themselves with the disputed territories within our country, as these would be important in creating the proposed federal states.
In adopting a Federal form of government, Sen. Pimentel reminded the audience that the nation would still be under one constitution, armed forces, national police, monetary system, flag, foreign policy, and one basic educational curriculum. The number of Senators, for Sen. Pimentel’s ideal version of Federalism, would also increase to 87 (6 senators per state, 6 for Metro Manila, 9 for OFWs), considering the increasing Filipino population. For the Judiciary, the structure of the Supreme Court would be retained, and courts should resolve cases following constitutional deadlines, ensuring the effective delivery of justice. The seats of power would also be spread around the nation, as the Federal Executive Department would remain in Metro Manila, while the Federal Legislative Department and Federal Supreme Court would be moved to Central Visayas and Northern Mindanao respectively.
Forum on Federalism, Autonomy, and Mindanao Peace Process | December 15, 2016, Club Filipino, Greenhills, San Juan City
The Forum on Federalism, Autonomy, and Mindanao Peace Process was convened in order to gather stand and responses from the Bangsamoro diaspora regarding the present call of the government to shift into federalism as form of government. It was well-attended by members of the Bangsamoro diaspora who are also leaders of the media, the academe, The Armed Forces, business, and politics.
The keynote speaker, Former Senate President Aquilino Pimentel, Jr. stressed on the current situation that most of the powers of the government are concentrated in Metro Manila, or as he called it, imperial Manila, despite having passed the Local Government Code. The fact that only the collections of the BIR are subject to sharing arrangement is a clear reluctance of the central government of Manila to let go of the powers it is hanging on to. With this observation, he suggested in creating 12 federal states—5 in Luzon, 4 in Visayas, and 3 in Mindanao.