CHANGE OF THE SYSTEM

will stimulate CHARACTER

1

CHANGING THE SYSTEM &

FORM OF GOVERNMENT
from UNITARY-PRESIDENTIAL to
FEDERAL- PARLIAMENTARY or

SEMI-PRESIDENTIAL
2

FORMATION OF A FEDERATION

A FEDERATION is an aggrupation
of at least THREE States which
agreed to transfer or share their
sovereign powers among
themselves:
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Federal Republic of the

Philippines
State Government

Provincial

Cities

Municipal

State Government

State Government

Supreme Court

Federal Supreme Cou

Court of Appeals

District Court of Appea

Trial Court

District Trial Court

Federal
Parliamentary

Senate

National
Assembly
Parliament
District

State
Parliamentary

State Government
Unicameral State Parliament

AGGREGATIVE AND
DISAGGREGATIVE FEDERALISM

AGGREGATIVE FEDERALISM
occurs when two existing sovereign
States agreed to form a Federation by
entering a Treaty or an international
agreement.
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AGGREGATIVE AND
DISAGGREGATIVE FEDERALISM

DISAGGREGATIVE FEDERALISM
occurs when a single/unitary sovereign
State desires to transfer or share its
sovereign power by revising its
Constitution and forming at least two more
POLLWATCHER'S
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itsNLEown
territorial jurisdiction.
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DEFINITION & ELEMENTS OF A

STATE

A State is a community of persons, more less numerous,

permanently occupying a definite portion of territory, independent
of external control, and possessing an organized government to
which a great body of inhabitants render habitual obedience.

PEOPLE

GOVERNMENT
TERRITORY

SOVEREIGNTY

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FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS
OF STATES
The Right of Existence, Integrity and Selfpreservation
The Right of Sovereignty and
Independence
The Right of Equality
The Right of Property
and Jurisdiction
The Right of Legation or of
Diplomatic Intercourse
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10

WHAT IS A
CONSTITUTION?
It is a Written
Instrument by which
the FUNDAMENTAL
POWERS of
GOVERNMENT are
established, limited
and defined, and by
which these powers are
distributed among
several DEPARTMENTS
and AGENCIES for their
safe and useful exercise
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POWERS OF
GOVERNMENT

LEGISLATIV
E

EXECUTIVE

JUDICIAL

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THE THREE WAYS OF PROPOSING

CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES

1 Direct Congressional Action

(Constituent Assembly) Amendments or Revision
2 Constitutional Convention -Revision
3 Peoples Initiative - Amendments
13

METHOD

DIRECT CONGRESSIONAL
ACTION
CONGRESS, acting as a
Constituent Assembly, may
directly propose revision or
amendments by a
VOTE of THREE-FOURTHS

(3/4) of

ALL ITS MEMBERS

14

AMENDMENT vs. REVISION

AMENDMENT
broadly refers to a
CHANGE that adds,
reduces, or deletes
without ALTERING
the basic principle
involved in the
Constitution.

Differentiated in Lambino vs. Comelec, 505

SCRA 160, October 25, 2006.

15

AMENDMENT vs. REVISION

REVISION
broadly implies a CHANGE
that ALTERING the
principle of
SEPARATION OF
POWERS or the SYSTEM
OF CHECKS-ANDBALANCES.

Differentiated in Lambino vs. Comelec, 505

SCRA 160, October 25, 2006.

16

METHOD

CONSTITUTIONAL
CONVENTION

CONGRESS,
acting as a Constituent
Assembly,
may call a CONSTITUTIONAL
CONVENTION by a
VOTE OF TWO-THIRDS

(2/3)
OF ALL ITS MEMBERS
17

IMPLEMENTING LAW
1) The Law must appropriate the
FUNDS that will be needed
by the Con-Con.
2) The Law can prescribe the
QUALIFICATIONS and

DISQUALIFICATIONS of the
Con-Con delegates.

3) The Law is passed by

Congress in the exercise of its
legislative power which is
PLENARY and is submitted
for the PRESIDENTS

18

REVISION
Any change to a new form or system of government
may only be accomplished through a REVISION
(not mere amendment) of the present
Constitution.
Federal
Unitary
Presidential
UnitaryPresidential

Parliamentary

FederalParliamentary
SemiPresidential
SemiPresidential
19

PEOPLES INITIATIVE

METHOD

DIRECT PROPOSAL
by the people through initiative
upon a PETITION of at least
12% OF THE TOTAL
NUMBER OF REGISTERED
VOTERS NATIONWIDE, of
which every Legislative
District must be represented
by at LEAST 3% OF THE
20
REGISTERED VOTERS

THE PRESENT POLITICAL FORM AND SYSTEM

OF THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT

21

PRESIDENTIAL FORM WITH

BICAMERAL CONGRESS

SENATE

Un
ive
rsa
l
ly
E
L
HEAD of the
EC
STATE & CHIEF
D TE
EXECUTIVE

HOUSE OF
REPRESENTAT
IVE

22

UNITARY SYSTEM WITH OVERCENTRALIZED POWERS AND

LIMITED LOCAL GOVERNMENT
AUTONOMY

CONTROL
S:
Constituent
Ministrant
Functions
Powers

CONTROLLED
BY:
Congress
President
23

Changes that are a must now

even before the Revision of
the CONSTITUTION!
Pass political reform laws including the
strengthening of the Local Government
Code
Pass the FOI
Pass the Political Party Reform Act that will
prohibit turncoatism
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MUST PROVISIONS OF THE

PROPOSED NEW
CONSTITUTION!
A SHIFT to Semi-Presidential or Modified
Parliamentary Form of Government similar
to France, South Korea, Russia or China

Multi-political Party shall be RETAINED

Provided that a Dominant Political Parties
shall be Ensured to Flourish.

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The Political powers are

exercised
by
the
Parliament which can be
UNICAMERAL
or
BICAMERAL

The CHANGE of
GOVERNMENT can
BEGIN NOW By
Adopting A
PARLIAMENTARY
FORM

If BICAMERAL, the house or assembly

whose members will choose to elect or
nominate the head of the government
called PRIME MINISTER or
and the
MINISTERS or CABINET is the body that
actually runs the government.
26

Political powers like

military, foreign
relations, clemency, and
appointing powers are in
the hands of PRESIDENT

SEMIPRESIDENTIAL
OR MODIFIED
PARLIAMENTA
RY FORM

Political powers like

domestic
governance
headed by the
PRIME MINISTER
27

CHANGE TO
FEDERAL
SYSTEM
The CHANGE to
PARLIAMENTARY OR TO
SEMI-PRESIDENTIAL
FORM can be effected
immediately without
much problem

28

VERTICAL DYNAMICS

Central, Regional, Local

Relations

VERTICAL
SYSTEM and
HORIZONTAL
FORM

HORIZONTAL DYNAMICS

Executive and Legislative

Departments
29

TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL
15 MOST CORRUPT NATIONS

NORTH KOREA

SOUTH SUDAN

VENEZUELA

SOMALIA

AFGHANISTAN

SUDAN

IRAQ

LIBYA

HAITI

ERITREA

SYRIA

TURKMENISTAN

30

ANGOLA

GUINEA-BISSAU

YEMEN

TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL
15 LEAST CORRUPT NATIONS

DENMARK

FINLAND

SWEDEN

NORWAY

SWITZERLAND

SINGAPORE

LUXEMBOURG

UNITED KINGDOM

AUSTRALIA

NEW ZEALAND

CANADA

31

ICELAND

NETHERLANDS

GERMANY

BELGIUM

PHILIPPINE PARLIAMENTARY
EXPERIENCE
The
AMERICANS
introduced the
current
PRESIDENTIA
L SYSTEM

The 1973
CONSTITUTI
ON was
introduced by
the MARCOS
GOVERNMEN
T

An
AMENDMENT
in 1981
shifted to
FRENCHSTYLE SEMIPRESIDENTIA
L SYSTEM

A Council of Government
took the form of a
Parliament headed by
APOLINARIO MABINI

An
AMENDMENT
was later on
introduced in
1976

NATIONAL
ASSEMBLY
32

PROPOSED
SEMIPRESIDENTIAL
OR MODIFIED
PARLIAMENTARY
FORM

Fusion of Powers

LEGISLATIVE
POWER and
EXECUTIVE
POWER vested in
a UNICAMERAL/
BICAMERAL
PARLIAMENT
PRESIDENT TO BE
UNIVERSALLY ELECTED WITH
RUN OFF ELECTIONS. PRIME
MINISTER, and CABINET all come
from PARLIAMENT/NATIONAL
ASSEMBLY
33

TERMS AND
QUALIFICATIO
NS

COLLEGE
GRADUATE

CURRENT SYSTEM
THREE-YEAR terms
with a maximum of
THREE
CONSECUTIVE
PROPOSED
TERMS
CONSTITUTION
FIVE-YEAR terms with
NO TERM LIMITS
25 year old
minimum age

34

THE PRIME MINISTER AND THE

PRESIDENT
Presiden
t

Prime
Minister
35

POWERS TO BE RETAINED BY THE

PRESIDENT

Commander-in-Chief / Military
powers
Amnesty to:
Executive Clemency like
amnesty and
36

POWERS TO BE RETAINED BY THE

PRESIDENT

Appointing powers of high officials

in government:
Prime Minister Cabinet
Supreme Court
37
Constitutional Courts

SEPARATION OF
POWER causes
intense rivalry and
competition for power
between the executive
and legislative in a
system that has
turned very
adversarial

E.g. CONGRESSIONAL
INVESTIGATIONS of
executive policies and
actions, which
unnecessarily delay and
obstruct legislation.
38

DOWNSIDES OF THE
PRESIDENTIAL
SYSTEM
PRESIDENTIAL
SYSTEM ALSO
FEATURES A
PARTY SYSTEM
THAT IS WEAK,
UNDEMOCRATIC,
UNSTABLE, AND
NOT
PROGRAMLEADERS
AND
ORIENTED
POLITICAL
PARTIES HAVE
NO IDEOLOGIES
39

DOWNSIDES OF THE
PRESIDENTIAL
SYSTEM
DETERIORATION
IN THE QUALITY
OF NATIONAL
LEADERS
ELECTION
CORRUPTION
DUE TO THE
EXPENSE
40

DOWNSIDES OF THE
PRESIDENTIAL
SYSTEM
INSTABILITY
PEOPLE POWER
MILITARY
INTERVENTION
CONSTITUTIONA
L AMENDMENTS
TO EXTEND
PRESIDENTIAL
41
TENURE

TRANSITION TO
FEDERALISM
The New Constitution
must contain the following Provisions:
1. Allowing the parliament to create autonomous
regions of compact, contiguous and adjacent
provinces and cities; and/or to create autonomous
territories of some provinces or other political units;
2. Allowing the enactment of organic laws for each
autonomous regions or autonomous territories
based on the petitions emanating from each
respective regions or territories;

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TRANSITION TO
FEDERALISM
The New Constitution
must contain the following Provisions:
3. Allowing the expansion of powers to be transferred or
shared by the national government to the autonomous
governments in every regions or territories by revising the
organic laws concern;
4. Allowing the conversion of the autonomous regions to
become regional federal states (sub-national units) with
their organic laws being transformed into state constitutions;
5. The national parliament shall approve each and every
organic law or state constitution before they are submitted
for approval in a plebiscite by the registered voters in every
autonomous regions or territories concerned.
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TRANSITION TO
FEDERALISM
The New Constitution
must contain the following Provisions:
6. When at least two autonomous regions have been
transformed into regional federal states, the national
government shall be transformed into a federal
government of the Republic of the Philippines;
7. No federal states can exit from the federation and
become an independent state without the approval
of at least 4/5 of all the members of the Regional
Federal State parliament and by the majority votes
of all the registered voters in the Regional Federal
State concerned.
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SALIENT FEATURES: BROADENED BASE

OF POWER SHARING

Shared
Health
Education
Environmen
t
Social
Welfare
Energy
Tourism

IMPLICATIONS OF STATE AUTONOMY

IMPACT ON PRESENT
SYSTEM

Peace and Federalism

WHAT ARE WE
TRYING TO
SOLVE?

Frontline
Service
Delivery

Better
Politics

26% Poverty
Incidence
20 Poorest

Better
Governanc
e

Peace
Agenda

IMPACT ON PRESENT
SYSTEM

Peace and Federalism

Anti-political
dynasties
Campaig
n finance
reform
Political
party
reform
Overhaul
of
COMELEC

Common: Fix
Politics
P
A
R
L
I
A
M
E
N
T

ORGANIC
LAW
ON
AUTONOM
OUS
TERRITORI
ES

WHAT SHOULD BE DONE

TO ENSURE SUCCESS?

FEDERALISM IS NOT ONE STEP!

1.
Pass
political
reform
2. Provinces and highly urbanized
component cities to evolve first to
an autonomous territory.
3. Referendum is passed, within a
year, Parliament must enact an
organic
law
defining
the
Autonomous Territory's land area,
powers, obligations and sources of
4.revenues
If 3/5 (60%)
of the provinces and
(taxes).
component cities of the Philippines
become
Autonomous
Territories,
then the Federal Republic of the
Philippines is created

HOW TO ENSURE
(1)

INCLUSIVE, MULTISTAKEHOLDER

(2)

INFORMED, MULTIPLATFORM

(3)
(4)

FIX THE POLITICS

REVISIONS NOT
AMENDMENTS

HOW TO ENSURE
(5)

NOT A SINGLE STEP

(6)

ARGUE NOT IN THE

MINORITY
BUT IN THE
MAJORITY

(7)

DO THE NUMBERS
FISCAL MATTERS

(8)

METRICS OF CHANGE

www.conform2federalism.com
www.federalismacademy.com
PDu30-CORE to FEDERALISM
201654
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