As I begin my speech, allow me to reiterate our group’s main position.

Federalism
is the better form of government for the Philippines because the unitary form of
government is inefficient. How exactly you may ask?

The unitary government is ineffective and inefficient when it comes to responding

to the needs of the Filipinos locally. Take typhoon Yolanda for example. The government
response to typhoon Yolanda was widely viewed as slow and inefficient. According to
government statistics, it is estimated that the typhoon affected 12,122 barangays, 591
municipalities, and 57 cities in 44 provinces of nine regions. Yet, the government also
only identified 171 municipalities in 14 provinces of four regions as priority areas for
assistance (according to the NEDA). In addition to this, even a year after the calamity, the
Philippine government failed to deliver adequate social services and livelihoods for the
affected families to get back on their feet. You see, it is difficult for a Unitary government
to cater to the needs of Filipinos at the local level.

This leads me to our first argument that Federalism will allow the government to
be more responsive to local problems. Since regions have their own unique set of
problems and cultural contexts, Federalism will allow governments to tackle particular
issues accordingly. For example, same-sex marriage may be legalized in Metro Manila
while a predominantly region such as Bangsamoro would not. Furthermore, regions
outside Manila will not have to spend time waiting for the central government to tackle
local issues for them anymore. It is also worth considering that given the closer proximity
of the government, local constituents would make their local leaders more accountable.
As the popular saying goes “Modern problems require modern solutions”, so do “local
problems require local solutions”.

Our second argument is that Federalism will pave the way for the creation of
competent and competitive regions that are not dependent on Metro Manila for
economic opportunities. It is a widely known social phenomena wherein people from the
provinces go to Manila to study because they will find better opportunities there. Take
Billy for example. Why are you studying here and not in the province? Exactly. In addition
to this, by creating competent and competitive regions, the people from those areas will
be incentivized to stay and be more productive in those areas. Federalism will force
these regions to not be spoon-fed by the central government, but rather they will learn to
adapt the Mamba Mentality- wherein regional states will not give up when things get
rocky. Furthermore, Federalism will also help the issue of decongestion in Metro Manila.
According to a study, Metro Manila is the most congested city in developing Asia.
Therefore, by incentivizing people to stay in the provinces, there will be decongestion in
Manila which will also lead to lessening transportation issues such as traffic. Federalism
will also help evenly distribute the country’s wealth. Wealth concentration in Metro Manila
will be dealt with. In fact, Metro Manila holds only 10% of the country’s population and yet
it accounts for more than one-third of the country’s GDP.

Our third argument is that central power vested in the central government in a
unitary form will not be as strong compared to Federalism. In a unitary government,
you’re putting all the power in one basket. By dividing power, you are limiting the
chances of having another dictatorship. Furthermore, Federalism will promote
accountability as well as a system of checks and balances as the states check on the
central government and vice versa. Another point our group would like to point out is
that federalism will allow the central government to focus on more specific
responsibilities since other regions will have more autonomy to address their local
issues. As such, the central government can focus on international relations and national
security. Federalism will also alleviate the “palakasan system”, also known as preferential
treatment wherein government officials in provinces who are closely related to people in
the central government having more power and access to laws being approved.

Lastly, Federalism can be a compromise for the various cultures and ethnicities in
the Philippines. Since the Philippines is a very diverse country with mixed cultural
backgrounds, Federalism will highlight these cultural differences.