Salvador Panelo was the keynote speaker at the 124th Philippine Independence Day celebration at the Bacolod City Public Plaza on Sunday, June 12.*
A shift towards a federal form of government is a long shot, the masses need to understand how it will benefit them, Former Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo said Sunday, June 12.
Panelo, who was the keynote speaker at the 124th Philippine Independence Day celebration at the Bacolod City Public Plaza, said he has accepted senator-elect Robin Padilla’s offer to be his consultant for legal and legislative concerns.
Padilla, during the campaign, said he will pursue a shift to a federal system of government.
“His (Padilla) priority is federalism but definitely for me it’s a long shot” because no president, except President Rodrigo Deterte, would want federalism because it diminishes the powers of the presidency and affects the terms of the members of Congress.
“So I don’t think they would want that,” he said.
“My advice to Senator Robin Padilla is to let the masses of our people understand the advantages of federalism in the language they understand.
That’s the only way,” Panelo said. It is difficult to make ordinary people understand federalism because of lack of education, what they understand is food on the table, clothes, medicine, tuition, he said.
It needs to be explained to the people that with federalism local governments will progress because they will have their own funds, they will have the power to tax, Panelo added.
A shift to federalism will take long because the Constitution will have to be amended, he said.
Panelo said critics should not underestimate Padilla, they should listen to his interviews so they will see that he is intelligent.
“He has common sense, he is bright, sincere and brave, that’s why I accepted the offer to be his consultant,” Panelo said.*