If we ask the ordinary person or the average Filipino in the streets today, whether or not not he or she has a working knowledge on federalism, the most likely response would be ranging from complete ignorance to a a conscientious confusion. Only two of every 10 of them can engage in an intelligent discourse on such an important issue. The people are focused on daily livelihood and survival, the struggle to cope with the rising cost of living. Most of the Filipinos are still caught in the trap of basic needs and security issues. They are not in the mood to even deal with higher issues of national significance and of strategic implications. The compelling need today is how to survive the here and the now.
The latest decision of the administration to pursue charter change is now on stream. They have opted to have Congress convene and constitute itself into a constituent assembly for the purpose of passing a number of draconian changes. The most radical, and perhaps also the most controversial, among the proposed changes is the shift towards a federal system of government. The problem is such a measure has not been sufficiently understood by the people. And so, even assuming that Congress shall have agreed on its final version, ratification by the people in a plebiscite shall remain a big, big question mark. Today, only about a minimum of 15 percent to a high of 25 percent of the voting populace has a modicum of understanding of the concept and nuances of federalism.
We cannot blame the people. It is the government that fails on its responsibility to educate the masses on such an important matter that shall definitely affect our capacity to survive in a global world that has become VUCAFID, meaning volatile, unpredictable, complex, ambiguous, fast, intense, and digitalized. If federalization in our government structure is envisioned to empower our people with greater readiness to survive and compete in a world that has become very difficult to live in, then it is too important to be decided on by the people without adequate knowledge about it.
Federalism is aimed at overhauling a highly-centralized structure of government and to devolve power and resources to the marginal and outlying areas and communities. It is giving Mindanao and the Visayas areas equal opportunities that have been enjoyed for many decades by people in Manila and Luzon areas. Federalism is redistributing the powers to make decisions and to allocate resources and government services. It is giving more power to the people in the grassroots so that they can contribute more meaningfully to nation-building, to progress and prosperity and to a more equitable distribution of resources and authority.
It is a pity that the people in government like Secretary Martin Andanar, Harry Roque, Sal Panelo and other officials in charge of information and communication have failed miserably to make the people understand the concept and operations of federalism. Congress can push and push their Cha Cha through Con Ass. But without sufficient dissemination of information, such a great system as federalism will most likely be rejected by the people. Sayang.