IN LINE with the rising popularity of the discourse on federalism, Ateneo School of Government Dean Ronald U. Mendoza, PhD presented a talk titled “Caught Between ‘Imperial Manila’ and the Provincial Dynasties: Is federalism the answer?” to tackle the economic aspect of the federalism issue.
The talk was held in the John Gokongwei School of Management Ching Tan Room on February 11.
Since his presidential campaign, President Rodrigo Duterte has been vocal about his interest in transitioning the Philippine government system from a centralized to a federal system.He views this as a way to end “Imperial Manila” or the domination of the national capital in running the affairs of the country.
In response to this, Mendoza said that the focus should be more on fixing the public finance system rather than changing the form of government.
“Kahit na po anong mga batas ‘yan, kahit na po anong mga posisyon ‘yan na gagawin natin, pero kung hindi pa rin maayos ang pag-allocate natin ng pera ng taong bayan, hindi pa rin natin makakamtan ‘yung gusto nating mangyari (No matter what law we make, no matter what positions we create, if the allocation of the people’s money is not amended, we will not achieve what we want),” he said.
Having done research on political dynasties and the malfunction of prior decentralization attempts since 1986, many people, including the media, have predisposed Mendoza to opposing federal transition. Nevertheless, Mendoza said that he is neither for nor against this idea.
“I ask a lot of colleagues point-blank for those especially against federalism: ‘Do you think staying with the status quo is actually going to get this country to where it needs to go if we don’t change anything and if we roll the dice again in 2022?’ Because I don’t get a solid answer… I find myself much more inclined towards the neutrality of this point as far as the federalism question is concerned,” he said.
Why decentralize?
Mendoza said that the previous presidents of the Philippines have tried to address the problem on allocation of funds, but were not successful in their attempts at decentralization.
“What happened previous to 1986 was a disaster, in many, many ways. On the other hand, what happened after 1986 was not exactly a stellar success, either,” he said. He recognized that the concentration of power in Manila increased during Martial Law and continued with the succeeding administrations.
However, Mendoza pointed out that more than changing the system of government, it is effective decentralization and a better functioning system that will lead to good governance.
“The aspirations of those who crafted the local government code after Marcos fell was to bring power and accountability back to the local governments. So there was such a desire to now be free from the shackles of dictatorship and part of the deep reforms was the local government code and decentralization,” Mendoza said.
He said that the existence of Imperial Manila shows the inequality that prevails throughout country and is a hindrance towards a holistic development of the Philippines.
“The fact that wealth is concentrated in Manila and the fact that political power is concentrated in Manila [is] reflecting a lot of inequality in our country right now,” he said.
Inequalities in Development
Mendoza said that the development of the Philippines can be put into context through the Human Development Index (HDI). The index emphasizes inequalities in terms of development in the country.
His examples include NCR (National Capital Region), which is comparable to Thailand.
“The HDI for NCR is actually almost the same as the HDI for Thailand. If NCR were a country, hindi siya pinag-iwanan ng Thailand. It is as developed, in terms of Human Development, as this fast-growing East Asian Tiger,” he said.
However, this level of development is not applicable to all parts of the country.
“If you go to a place like Sulu, Lanao del Sur or Basilan, your level of Human Development is the same as Myanmar, the poorest of the ASEAN (The Association of Southeast Asian Nations) economies. If you go to ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao), ang kapareho po niya sa Human Development ay Nigeria,” he said.
He added that the level of development in some parts of the Philippines is even comparable to the least developed countries in Africa.
“It gets worse. If you go to Tawi-Tawi and Maguindanao, your level of human development is close to Zimbabwe and Afghanistan, and these are literally the least developed countries in the world.”
Fixing the allocation
According to Mendoza, most Filipinos see that since both power and wealth are concentrated in Manila, the easiest way to progress is by settling and finding a job in the city.
“And so, if you want to succeed, if you want to make something out of yourself, it seems as a young person, the best thing you can do is actually move to Imperial Manila. Hopefully that will also be changing over time,” he said.
However, despite the resentful feeling towards the “Imperial Manila”, Mendoza noted that it is important to have a glimpse of the provincial dynasties as well.
“The other side is, that the provincial periphery is not exactly a paragon of democracy, either. So if you resent a lot of things that are happening in Manila, you should check out what is happening in Davao, you should check out what is happening in Ilocos Sur, in Ilocos Norte,” he said.
