The
Department of Interior and Local Government
(DILG) conducted a federalism dialogue at the Ilocos Norte Centennial Arena on
December 1, 2017.
Barangay, municipal and
provincial officials including different government agencies; and
representatives from the religious sector, academe, and private sector
participated in the said dialogue.
According to Atty. Joseph
Apolonio, DILG Regional Office 1 legal officer, in a federal system, about
70-80% of the collected funds becomes the share of the region; with the
remaining 20-30% becomes the share of the national government.
He added that projects
implementation will likewise become easier since there will no longer be
necessary to wait for national government approval.
Mr. Apolonio, however,
stressed that a federalism system will not erase graft and corruption. He added
that administrative and criminal cases can and will still be a feature of a
federal government.
Meanwhile, Laoag City local
government officer Roger Daquioag said to become a federal government, we need
to change the constitution.
He disclosed that the
national government is soliciting the opinion of the Filipino people through a
series of consultations nationwide. He emphasized that it will be the people
who will decide whether we will have a shift to a federal system of government.
For his part, Ilocos Norte
vice governor Eugenio Angelo M. Barba said he assumes that it will be a “long
and painful” process to change the form of government. He also pointed out that
soliciting the stand of the Filipino people is an “indispensable requirement”
both in changing the constitution and the form of government (Frances
Alegre)
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