Manila Mayor Estrada airs support for federalism

MANILA, Philippines — Former president and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada expressed his support for shifting to a federal form of government, saying it will ensure the equal disribution of funds to local government units.

In a telephone interview with The STAR, Estrada said he is sure President Duterte “knows the situtation of local government chief executives because both us had served as mayors in San Juan and Davao cities, respectively, for decades.”

Estrada made the same statement during the opening of the three-day general assembly of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) held in Manila Hotel.

The LMP discussed the unfair distribution of funds between local government units and the national government. 

The 1,400 members of the LMP, led by its president Socorro, Oriental Mindoro Mayor Maria Fe Villar-Brondial, said they will issue an official statement urging Congress to prioritize amendments in the 1987 Constitution to change the form of government from presidential into federal.

Estrada, in his remarks before the LMP, said he trusts the shift will happen under Duterte.

“There’s finally a light at the end of the tunnel. We can now see the light towards federalism,” Estrada said.