Book Reviews
Senator Nene Pimentel. 2008. Federalizing the Philippines: A primer. Manila: Philippine Normal University Press. xviii. 494 pages.
by Albert E. Alejo, SJ, PhD
Like the proverbial cat that has nine lives, federalism is in the air again, perhaps stronger this time, because of the failure of the central government to dissociate itself from high level corruption, or perhaps weaker, and for the same reason that the settlers in Malacañang simply want to survive by whatever means, including adopting federalism as a reason for charter change. Senate Minority Leader Senator Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel, Jr. is aware of this argument for publishing just another book on federalism. He trusts that the people will be able to see the logic and the wisdom of his proposal, and not mistake it for the machinations of other vested interests. But the people will only understand if the technicalities of redistributing power to the regions are explained to them in simple yet accurate terms.
This is clearly the aim of the recently launched book, Federalizing the Philippines: A primer. Written in question-and-answer format, the Primer anticipates almost all the questions frequently and not-so-frequently asked during his many advocacy tours. And for this service, Sen. Pimentel deserves our appreciation.
Sen. Pimentel is considered the foremost advocate of federalism in the country. This position is generally shared by other prominent persons like former UP President Jose Abueva and Davao’s Rey Magno Teves who serves as co-convenor of Kusog Mindanaw. Pimentel led the filing of Joint Resolution No. 10 which calls for the convening of Congress into a Constituent Assembly to amend the 1987 Constitution and lay the groundwork for a federal system to replace the existing highly-centralized unitary system of government. The resolution cites the reasons for scuttling the present unitary system of government where the country’s development programs are centrally determined, planned, funded, and implemented by the national government in Manila. It says the federalization of the Republic would speed up the development of the entire nation and help dissipate the causes of insurgency throughout the land, particularly the centuries-old Moro rebellion.
The book substantiates these claims with more details. Data examples include the number of provinces, cities, municipalities, and even barangays in every state. The book provides additional data that would cover land areas, populations, dominant languages, tribal groups, plus their respective airports, seaports, economic zones, power sources, major economic activities and investments, even statistics on fishing, forestry, mining resources, tourist sites, availability of hotels and lodging houses, telecommunications, banks, hospitals, schools, media facilities, road networks, and comparative revenue of various local government units.
Some tables are quite interesting. In the question, for example, of how many senators will be elected from each state, the Primer’s answer is an increase of the Senate population from the present two dozens to seventy-five: six senators for each of the eleven regions, plus nine senators to be elected by the overseas Filipino workers. And Pimentel supports this proposal based on his comparative count of senators in other countries. The United Kingdom, for example, has 60.9 million in population and yet it has 618 senators. Our neighbor Malaysia has seventy senators for its twenty five million people. The book offers many other curiously articulated pieces of information. The Appendices comprise several – and repetitious – speeches, that serve as summary of the proposal. Very useful is the provision of a thorough index for easy reference to particular topics.
Despite the many details, however, a number of lingering questions are still left hanging. How, for example, does federalism help in curbing corruption? What exactly is in store for the indigenous peoples, especially in Mindanao? A procedural and political question may also be asked: How can the process of changing the Constitution that the shift to federalism will entail be safeguarded from the machinations of those who have less than patriotic aims?
Grace Nono, with Mendung Sabal, Henio Estakio, Baryus Gawid, Salvador Placido, Sarah Mandegan, Gadu Ugal, Florencia Havana, Sindao Banisil and Elena-Rivera-Mirano. 2008. The shared voice: Chanted and spoken narratives from the Philippines. Ed. Carolina Malay. Pasig City: Anvil Publishing and Fundacion Santiago. 248 pages.
by Albert E. Alejo, SJ, PhD
“My name is Grace Nono. I am a singer and a creator of songs.” That is how the author of this magical book introduces herself. That is also how she immediately connects her identity with the rest of the million “singing Filipinos” whose voices she celebrates in print. By voice Grace Nono means much more than a physiological function. “It is the summation of spiritual and sociocultural experience, of vision, and of creative imagination.” In the first few chapters...
