PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte says Filipinos are not ready for a shift to a federal type of government despite his continuing efforts to get them to embrace the idea.
“[The] problem is the Filipinos are not ready for a federal type. It doesn’t seem to ring a bell in the Visayas and Mindanao,” Duterte said during a party he hosted for reporters Tuesday night.
He said the “right formula” was needed to solve the problem in Mindanao, which stemmed from historical injustice.
“The problem in Mindanao is a historical one and only we can solve it and nobody else—not even the intervention of so many countries,” Duterte said.
He made his statement even as the House of Representatives on Wednesday night began plenary debates on the proposed Charter Change to effect federalism.
In his sponsorship speech, Southern Leyte Rep. Roger Mercado, head of the House’s committee on constitutional reforms, rallied behind the adoption of House Concurrent Resolution 09 directing both chambers of Congress to convene into a constituent assembly to rewrite the 1987 Constitution.
Duterte warned of grave consequences if the peace negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Moro National Liberation Front failed.
The media would be busy covering a terrible situation if it happened, he said and cited the influx of ISIS fighters.
Although Duterte had always preferred federalism, he vowed to “husband” the new Bangsamoro Basic Law with the Congress and reiterated this promise during his visit to Maguindanao on Nov. 27.
Mercado said the time was ripe for federalism, noting Duterte’s high public trust ratings.
“We have conducted nine hearings here and four public consultations nationwide that showed that there is a need to amend or revise the 1987 Constitution,” Mercado said in his sponsorship speech.
He said among the prominent proposals were the amendment of the socio-economic provisions of the Constitution and the total revision of the 1987 Constitution in order to implement a structural change from the unitary into a federal form of government.
“Time is of the essence in amending the Charter given the overwhelming support of the people for President Duterte,” Mercado said.
