THE shift to the federal system from the current unitary type of state would correct the instability among the three branches of government, former Chief Justice Reynato Puno said on Thursday.
Puno said the 82-year-old unitary government may have brought gains to the country but he stressed the need to push for a federal state in a bid to serve a "more appropriate balance of power" between the executive, judiciary and legislative branches of government.
He said it was compelling to move toward federalism, especially now that the apparent power inequality "has resulted in a lot of conflicts."
He said the country should do away with adopting the "American model," which gave "too much emphasis on the independence of the three branches of government, instead of interdependence on certain areas of governance."
"Indeed, this outdated, if not erroneous, allocation of powers has earned us a lot of democratic deficits. And this has resulted in the continuing categorization of the Philippines as a failing democracy," Puno said.
"And so we need to strike a more appropriate balance of power among the three branches of government," he added.
Pushing for a federal set-up is among the top priorities of the current administration.
President Rodrigo Duterte has reiterated his resolve to adopt a federal system to allow the better distribution of public services, as well as to bring peace and order to besieged Mindanao.
Puno likewise believed that federalizing the Philippines would benefit the Moro people, who have been "threatening to wreck our Republic" because their "identity-based" demands remain unheeded.
If still neglected, he warned that "open rebellion" would thrive since their "cry for separation and independence" had already opened doors for insurrection in the south, particularly in war-ravaged Marawi City, where armed conflict already enters its fourth month.
"The most urgent reason why the Philippines should federalize is to enable the country to deal with the demands of our Muslim brothers to have their own homeland, which they can govern according to their culture, religion, language, and history," Puno said.
"The aspiration of our Muslim brothers cannot be substantially granted unless we change our unitary government," he added.
'The sooner the shift to federalism, the better'
Puno said the shift to a federal system should be imposed as early as now, noting the new challenges under the proposed type of government.
He admitted that the country would experience several adjustments when federalism takes effect.
He likewise said that there would be "more constitutional disputes" that need to be settled under federal state, including "disputes involving overlaps of power among the agencies of the federal government itself, disputes between the government and the constituent state, and disputes among the constituent states themselves."
"The sooner there is a shift to federalism, the better because this shift would require a transition period. I'm not sure how long the transition period is but the transition period is very significant because you have to make all adjustments during this period," Puno said.
"And it has got to be a period that is reasonable, attuned to the needs of our time and the problems that we will encounter by the shift to federalism," he added. (VoxPop Philippines)
