Federalism in the Philippines

Federalism has grown in popularity among Filipinos in recent decades, with multiple political candidates successfully campaigning on federalism-based platforms.

He outlined his vision of federalist governance on his essay Filipinas dentro de cien años ("The Philippines a Century Hence") that was published by the Barcelona-based propaganda paper La Solidaridad in 1889.

[3] The primary goals of a constitutional amendment is to increase decentralization, greater local power and access to resources most especially among regions outside Metro Manila which has long been dubbed as rather imperial.

According to Pimentel, even though federalism was never intended to appease any followers of any specific ideology of religion, it will also hasten economic development, since resource and financial mobilization is upon each state's or province's discretion without significant constraint from the central government.

[5] However, in 2009, after Senate and House resolutions supporting charter change were released, an estimated 13,000 to 15,000 people gathered in Makati to protest against these executive department-deriving proposals for constitutional reform.

[7] In late 2014, then-Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte launched a nationwide campaign calling for a charter change for federalism.

During his visit to Cebu City in October of the same year, Duterte stated that federalism will facilitate better delivery of services to the people.

Parallel to his campaign for federalism, Duterte planned to privatize tax collection and abolish the Congress to make way for a unicameral legislature, contrary to the originally proposed Joint Resolution No.

[12] Movements for federalism further intensified from when the draft of the Bangsamoro Basic Law was submitted by Philippine president Benigno Aquino III to the 16th Congress on September 10, 2014.

[14] Approval of the Bangsamoro structure would provide federalism proponents and supporters added confidence to clamor for the national government to enact reforms towards a more decentralized system for the rest of the country.

Unlike the Nene Pimentel Senate Resolution, Puentevella included the option of holding a constitutional convention, but excluded the People's Initiative mode.

[30][needs update] A March 2018 Pulse Asia poll reported that 27% of Filipinos supported a federal government in the Philippines, while 66% expressed opposition and 6% where unsure.