The shift to a federal system of government must be carried out in five phases spanning 15 years so as not to disrupt the economy’s growth momentum, the National Economic and Development Authority said Friday.
In a statement, Neda said the first year of the first phase of the transition “should be devoted to a spatial analysis of federated regions and their socioeconomic profiles, an accounting of government workforce and functions, and the mapping of existing laws, regulations, and policies.”
“This can be accompanied by an extensive review and amendment of provisions of the 1987 Constitution that have limited the country’s opportunities to achieve inclusive growth and development,” the agency added.
Meanwhile, the cost of shifting to a federal system of government will amount to only P13.29 billion, the members of the presidential Consultative Committee on the Constitution said Friday.
Their estimate contrasts with the Neda’s estimate of P131 billion to P253 billion.
The Philippine Institute for Development Studies, meanwhile, said the shift would set the government back by P44 billion to P72 billion.
Also, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said there is a need to instill a culture of planning in formulating and implementing the Philippines’ economic and development policies.
Gatchalian, head of the Senate Committee on Economic Affairs, said the Neda had crafted good socio-economic development plans over the past years, and yet most of the plans were used only as reference instead of being implemented.
“We have good long-term plans, but they are just only being cited. How are we going to make planning a part of our culture?” Gatchalian said.
“The whole point of planning is really to implement it down the road.”
Con-Com member Edmund Tayao presented the breakdown of the group’s P13.29-billion figure on Friday.
The committee assumed that there would be 12 additional senators, 108 new members of the House of Representatives, 450 new regional assemblymen, 18 federated regions (without the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region), and one intergovernmental commission.
Tayao noted the amount does not factor in the cost of creating three new high courts and the additional 33 justices as provided in the Con-Com’s draft charter.
The large discrepancy between the Con-Com estimate and Neda and PIDS estimates is due to a difference in assumptions, the political science professor said.
“Wrong assumptions were made when the budget was made by DoF (Department of Finance) and Neda. They never came to Con-Com to ask about the details of the [draft] constitution,” he said.
The second phase of Neda’s proposal—five years of laying the foundations of federalism—should prepare the regions and rationalize government structures and functions, including an extensive review and amendment, as necessary, of the Local Government Code and the Administrative Code.
The agency said the second phase “is a time for adopting a transitional charter and the establishment of a federal transition commission.”
“The transitional government can be activated in the third phase which spans three years. During this time, the government will be prepared for genuine devolution,” Neda said.
The five pilot federated regions must be “operationalized” based on readiness and willingness in the fourth phase for five years, it added.
In the last phase of the shift, the transition government must be deactivated and the amended Constitution ratified. The regional development councils may serve as interim regional governments, Neda said.
The cost of running the proposed federal government would potentially add P156.6 billion to the whole government budget under the first scenario, and P243.5 billion under the second scenario, according to Neda, citing initial estimates.
Neda, for its part, has thrown its support behind Gatchalian’s measure, which would recognize Neda’s independence in implementing socioeconomic plans, programs, and policies.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said he shared Gatchalian’s belief in promoting the participatory formulation of the country’s economic and development policies.
Pernia said Neda’s current weakness was its inability to exert its authority, and that its powers as an oversight body remained limited to coordinating plans and recommending policies.
With Senate Bill 1938, Gatchalian said, the Neda would be able to prescribe the standards and guidelines for preparing Medium-Term Philippine Development Plans, Medium-Term Regional Development Plans, Medium-Term Public Investment Programs and Regional Medium-Term Development Investment Programs.
The measure also establishes a Long-Term Development Plan that will ensure that plans and programs are continued seamlessly over the years despite changes in the administration.
SB 1938 also enhances Neda’s oversight powers in the formulation of provincial development plans through the agency’s regional offices. Gatchalian said this will align local development thrusts with the national and regional plans and programs.
“What is important is to capture the synchronization of the national and local development plans,” Gatchalian said. “For me, it promotes the culture of planning, which in our culture is mere compliance.”
“The implementation of plans, programs, and policies has many times been delayed and inefficient,” the senator said.