MANILA — An administration lawmaker on Wednesday urged the candidates for the upcoming barangay (village) elections to make federalism a central campaign issue.
Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo said aspiring barangay officials should also make a categorical stand on federalism, which is one of the centerpiece initiatives of the Duterte administration.
“The barangay elections provide an opportunity, limited as it may be, for the candidates to educate the electorate about President Rodrigo Duterte’s cornerstone program to change the country’s system of government so that a balanced economic development can be achieved and government can be more effective and efficient in the delivery of services to the people,” Castelo said.
“With more than a million aspirants running for posts in the country’s 42,026 barangays, that’s more than a million individuals talking about federalism and how the people — especially in the provinces — can benefit from it,” he said.
He said the Department of the Interior and Local Government and local government units could also provide the candidates with information about federalism.
The lawmaker said that the concept of federalism has already been disseminated through various information campaigns conducted by the DILG and other pro-federalism groups, and a lot of information can be found in mainstream media and the Internet, which the candidates can utilize to learn about the basics of federalism.
“The basics are already there and easy to explain and understand,” Castelo said.
Under a federal government, power is divided between the central government and local state governments.
Each state shall be empowered to handle their own laws, finances, development plans, health, education, and infrastructure, among others. (PNA)
