{"id":218220,"date":"2019-06-10T18:29:50","date_gmt":"2019-06-10T22:29:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=218220"},"modified":"2019-06-10T18:34:10","modified_gmt":"2019-06-10T22:34:10","slug":"prrd-accepts-shift-to-federalism-may-not-happen-within-his-term","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2019\/06\/10\/prrd-accepts-shift-to-federalism-may-not-happen-within-his-term\/","title":{"rendered":"PRRD accepts shift to federalism may not happen within his term"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
FILE: President Rodrigo Roa Duterte urges Asian nations to take a collective action to tackle global challenges in his address during the Nikkei’s 25th International Conference on the Future of Asia at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, Japan on May 31, 2019. KARL NORMAN ALONZO\/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA<\/strong>\u00a0— Despite a shift to federalism being among his campaign promises, President Rodrigo Duterte has accepted that a new system of government may not be possible within his term.<\/p>\n

Senator-elect Christopher \u201cBong\u201d Go, Duterte\u2019s former aide, said the President is well aware that federalism may not be passed given lack of public awareness.<\/p>\n

\u201cNagkausap rin po kami ni Pangulong Duterte tungkol sa <\/em>federalism.\u00a0Sabi niya mukhang mahihirapan po tayo sa ngayon<\/em>(The President and I talked about federalism. He said it looks like we\u2019ll have a difficult time passing it for now),\u201d Go said in a press briefing in Casa Roces restaurant across Malaca\u00f1ang.<\/p>\n

Asked if the President has accepted that federalism may not be passed before he steps down in 2022, Go said: \u201cYes,\u00a0tanggap po niya<\/em>\u00a0(he accepts it).\u201d<\/p>\n

Go, who vowed to help push for Duterte\u2019s agenda in the Senate, said what should be prioritized for now is spreading federalism awareness.<\/p>\n

\u201cSa ngayon, maybe kailangan po talaga ng<\/em>\u00a0education campaign\u00a0para maintindhan po ng tao at magdagdag po ng<\/em>\u00a0interes\u00a0sa taongbayan kung ano po talaga ang kabutihan na puwedeng idulot ng<\/em>\u00a0federalism (For now, maybe there really is a need for an education campaign so that people can better understand the many benefits of federalism),\u201d Go said.<\/p>\n

\u201cPara sa akin, priority is ipaintindi muna sa tao –<\/em>– acceptability\u00a0ng publiko muna<\/em>\u00a0(For me, the priority is to make people understand federalism — we should work on public acceptability first),\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Last January, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Duterte is not yet abandoning his push for federalism after the chief executive said he wanted few economic provisions in the Constitution and not necessarily change the entire charter.<\/p>\n

Panelo said since Duterte knew that the Congress is not prioritizing Charter change, he was expressing an idea knowing that if “one method is not practical, he goes to another mode.”<\/p>\n

Since Duterte assumed office in 2016, he has tasked a Consultative Committee (ConCom) composed of justices, ex-legislators, lawyers, academics, among others to draft a federal charter which has been submitted to Malaca\u00f1ang and is now accepting public feedback.<\/p>\n

Duterte has also created an Inter-Agency Task Force on Federalism (IATF) to raise public awareness on federalism.<\/p>\n

Go, however, said he will continue to push for the passage of measures he thinks will benefit the public the most such as another salary standardization law to increase the salary of public school teachers as well as public nurses and engineers.<\/p>\n

Other measures Go will push for include the passage of a National Housing and Development Act to increase appropriation for the construction of houses every year to close the 6.5 million housing gap in the next 20 years; a Department of Disaster Resilience; a Department of OFWs (overseas Filipino worker); and an act Institutionalizing the Malasakit Centers.<\/p>\n

The first-time senator also said he would try to convince the President to move the barangay (village) elections from May 2020 to May 2022 so incumbent officials would be able to serve for four years.<\/p>\n

If elections would be held in 2020, Go said barangay officials would only get to serve for two years after Duterte moved the most recent barangay elections from 2017 to 2018.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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