A close look at the parliamentary system

I had a one-on-one discussion with CoRRECT Movement's Co-Founder, Orion Perez Dumdum that was originally livestreamed on their Facebook page on January 24, 2021. CoRRECT stands for Constitutional Reform and Rectification for Economic Competitiveness and Transformation. It espouses constitutional reforms that include removing caps on foreign ownership of firms in key sectors of the economy and shifting to a parliamentary, federal system of government.

This was the first of a three part-series where we looked at each of these proposals. In this episode, we took a closer look at the parliamentary system and contrasted it with the presidential form of government.

These are the show notes that I used in structuring our discussion.

Episode 23: Bayanihan federalism by stealth or initiative

One of the crucial factors in determining whether charter change will succeed or not is the public’s perception regarding the motives behind it. Are its proponents really sincere in bringing about much needed change for ordinary Filipinos, or are they simply looking out for their own interests?

We’re going to examine the case for federalism in the country. Is it justified? Or is it just a cover for unwinding the democratic system of checks and balances that were painstakingly restored over three decades ago.

Episode 16: Mahathir's Malaysia and the virtues of a parliamentary system

Malaysian PM Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad's visit to Manila in March 2019 has inevitably led some people to draw comparisons between the two nations. Malaysia follows a federal parliamentary system while the Philippines is unitary and presidential. They have reached a level of economic progress that the Philippines can only aspire to. How did they do it?

In this podcast we look at key differences between the two systems, and try to answer the question, would a shift to a parliamentary system benefit the Philippines. We avoid the chicken-and-egg question of what should come first: culture change or structural change? We do this by differentiating the incentives under either system and show how that shapes behavior and eventually the culture.

Read the transcripts of the show here.

Full text: Draft Federal Constitution prepared by the Consultative Committee

On Monday, July 9, 2018, the Consultative Committee appointed to review the Philippine Constitution of 1987 submitted their proposed Federal Constitution to Pres. Rodrigo Duterte in Malacanang Palace. Here is a copy of the full text of their submission.

Episode 15: The question of Philippine federalism, Part 3

Now that congress has formally started hearings on charter revisions to shift to a federal structure of government, some legislators are asking: Well, what’s the benefit to the public? Is federalism worth the trouble? The same goes for the proposed adoption of a semi-parliamentary form of government. And is it appropriate for the Philippines, a country of over 100 million people, dispersed over 7,000 islands? In this third and final installment to this series, we seek to supply the answer to these questions, as well as offer a critique of the proposed revisions of the ruling PDP-Laban.

Read the transcripts here.