Ex-senator Pimentel proposes 12 federal states, excluding Metro Manila

September 7, 2017

Former Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr. proposed on Thursday 12 federal states be created in the Philippines to disperse power and economic development.

Pimentel, the main author of the Local Government Code, was the guest in the Malacanang press briefing amid President Rodrigo Duterte's position for the change of government into federal system.

Under his proposal, Pimentel, 83, said there should be 12 federal states: five in Luzon, four in Visayas and three in Mindanao.

For Luzon, the federal states are Northern Luzon, Central Luzon,  Cordilleras, Bicol and Southern Tagalog, for Luzon.

"What about Metro Manila? Metro Manila will not be converted into a federal state but this will be the capital of federal state, similar to Washington, D.C.," he said, citing also the case of New Delhi in India and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.

In Visayas, the states will include Eastern Visayas, Central Visayas, Western Visayas, and the provinces of Mindoro, Palawan, Romblon, and Marinduque.

In Mindanao, these include Southern Mindanao, Northern Mindanao, and the Bangsamoro.

"Bangsamoro is very important because primarily the federalization of the country will dissipate the causes of Muslim unrest and speed up the development of the country," said Pimentel, father of Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III.

Also under his proppsal, he said the president and vice president will still be elected nationally, while there will be six senators to be elected in each federal state, plus in Metro Manila.

"So around 80 (senators)," he said.

Unlike in the current system, out of 24 senators, only one came from Visayas, three in Mindanao, while the rest came from Luzon, he said.

In the case of congressmen and local government officials, he said it will be the same to the current set up.

Duterte has said he will create a 25-mam commission to study the proposal to shift to federal system of government.

In the same briefing, Pimentel, who also investigated the ill-gotten wealth of the family of late President Ferdinand Marcos when he waa a senator, said the Marcoses should return their wealth to government.

"The return of the loot of the Marcoses must be done in order to assuage the people that they have a certain degree of regret even if it is not verbally expressed," he said.

The Marcoses have offered to return to government some of their wealth, including "a few gold bars." Celerina Monte/DMS