BAGUIO CITY – President Rodrigo R. Duterte wants local government units and regions in the country to maximize their respective potentials of becoming self-sufficient in preparation for the possible establishment of an Autonomous Region in the Cordillera and the planned shift to a federal form of government during his term.
The Chief Executive underscored the importance of local governments and regions being able to develop potential sources of internally generated sources to allow them to be competitive in the quest for rural development because it will be the federal states that will be sharing their wealth and resources to the national government once the form of government will be changed.
“Federalism is a matter of equal sharing that is why local governments and regions must strive in developing their potential sources of income to make them self-sufficient and ready to embrace the federal form of government,” President Duterte stressed.
Duterte emphasized the need for local governments and regions to have the right brand of leader who will be able to help in the identification and development of potential sources of internally generated resources to allow the said local governments to slowly become financially equipped in preparation for the shift to federal form of government that could happen before the end of his term.
“You must have the right leader who will guide you through the rigors of identifying and developing potential sources of income such as mining and other relevant economic enterprises available in your respective areas to have the chance to survive in the highly competitive federal form of government because you will be the one to share your excess resources to the national government,” Duterte stressed.
Duterte underscored the shift to a federal form of government is the key to the realization of rural development because federal states will have their own respective constitutions that will outline their own thrusts on how to govern their states; this form will be the one that will put an end to the age-old conflict in Mindanao.
Under the proposed set up of the federal form of government, the version of former Senator Aquilino Pimentel, Jr. is that the country will be divided into 11 federal states with the potential inclusion of a Cordillera federal state in recognition of the region’s quest for regional autonomy while another version is the conversion of the existing regions in the country as separate federal states.
Duterte claimed every local government and region has its own potential sources of internally generated resources, thus, concerned officials must now start focusing on how to maximize the existing sources of income to make them financially independent in the future to wean away local governments from their Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) from the national government for their existence and operations.
He emphasized there is no ultimate way to fast track the development of remote communities in the country if not to shift to the federal form of government because the powers of the national government will be devolved to the federal states whose officials are better aware of the existing situation in their areas of jurisdiction unlike in the present centralized form where the powers emanate from the central government.
By Dexter A. See
