By Azer Parrocha/PNA
MANILA — An official of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Thursday expressed confidence that awareness on federalism has increased due to the holding of roadshows nationwide and the creation of Inter-Agency Task Force on Federalism (IATF).
“We are positive that awareness has increased. Of course, there are no surveys yet, but they’ll be out soon,” DILG Assistant Secretary Jonathan Malaya said in a Palace briefing on federalism.
He, however, acknowledged that even if more Filipinos became aware of federalism, there is no guarantee that support will follow.
“Support is different from awareness. We have explained it to them. This is a black and white scenario–either you are for it or against it. We cannot be sure how much support we have, but we are sure that awareness has increased,” he added.
Malaya also welcomed the creation of the IATF, noting that it will ensure full effort by the whole of government in raising public awareness of the federalism system.
He also expressed hope that the next Congress which will be elected in May 2019 will be another “battleground” for government to be able to push for constitutional amendment.
IATF, created through Memorandum circular No. 52, take charge of “integrating, harmonizing, and coordinating ongoing efforts towards federalism and constitutional reform.”
Among the inter-agency’s tasks are to develop strategies and implement such activities necessary and proper to raise public awareness on federalism and constitutional reform and prepare an information dissemination and public communication plan to ensure an effective, efficient, and uniform undertaking of advocacy activities.
Aside from these tasks, Department of Justice (DOJ) Undersecretary Emmeline Aglipay-Villar said the IATF will also liaise with Congress to ensure that issues concerning the draft federal charter will be ironed out.
In a Palace briefing, Villar said Congress is making drastic changes to the current draft federal charter, produced by the Consultative Committee (ConCom), which does not sit well with public.
Villar said the task force will gather government agencies to develop strategies and implement activities necessary to increase awareness about federalism.
At the same time, Villar said the task force will also undertake consultations with the private sector to integrate and harmonize their concerns.
