PIMENTEL'S BOOK ON FEDERALIZING THE PHILIPPINES
LAUNCHED JUNE 25

Practically all the information that you wish to know about the proposed adoption of a federal system in the Philippines can be found in a factbook on the interesting subject which just came off the press.

The 494-page book, entitled "Federalizing the Philippines: A Primer," authored by Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr., will be launched at 2 p.m. tomorrow (June 25) at the Padilla Room, Senate Building, Pasay City.

Considered the foremost advocate of federalism in the country, Pimentel spearheaded the filing of Joint Resolution No. 10 which calls for the convening of Congress into a Constituent Assembly to amend the 1987 Constitution and lay the groundwork for a federal system to replace the existing highly-centralized unitary system of government.

Resolution 10 has the support of at least 16 senators, including Senate President Manuel Villar, President Protempore Jinggoy Estrada and Majority Leader Francis Pangilinan. The resolution has received favorable response from several congressmen, led by Speaker Prospero Nograles, Jr. as well as the leagues of local government units, notably the League of Provinces.

The resolution cites the reasons for scuttling the present unitary system of government where the country's development programs are centrally determined, planned, funded and implemented by the national government in Manila.

It says the federalization of the Republic would speed up the development of the entire nation and help dissipate the causes of insurgency throughout the land, particularly the centuries-old Moro rebellion.

In the process of pursuing the federalism move in Congress, Pimentel said the task proved to be more difficult than he had thought.

"It turned out that we had to amend or revise 15 out of 18 Articles of the Constitution, leave two Articles unrevised and proposed the inclusion of two new Articles," he said.

The veteran parliamentarian from Mindanao said the book explains the whys and wherefores of the federalism proposal in simple, question-and-answer form to make it easier for ordinary readers to understand.

"This is essentially our attempt to explain - in layman's terms - the reasons for the adoption of the federal system," Pimentel said.

Envisioned by Resolution 10 is the creation of 11 component federal states and the conversion of Metro Manila into a federal administrative region.

The factbook contains vital data that support the thesis that the various regions of the country possess the basic necessities to justify their classification as states of the federalized Republic.

These data include their land areas, populations, dominant languages, tribal groups, airports and seaports, economic zones, power sources, mining, fisheries and forestry resources, major economic activities, agriculture and industrial capabilities, major investments, tourist sites and facilities, telecommunications, banks, road network and media facilities.

The book also presents comparative data on the present shares of various local government units of the revenues of the Republic and projected increase of their shares if the component federal states are established under the new system of government.