LEGAZPI CITY -- Albay leaders and representatives from the private sector have agreed in a public forum here that federalism as a system of government is an effective vehicle for change.

        Albay Gov. Joey Salceda led the group of panelists at the PIA Kapihan sa Legazpi City held here last Tuesday, February 12, which also had in attendance representatives from the media, academe, business and local government unit executives.

        Salceda proposed a system that would solve the problem of the disbursement of the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) and the contestability of public resources and a move towards the autonomy of the regions, or provinces.

        Mayor Cicero Ching Triumfante of Daraga, Albay, supported the forum and said that public discussion on the merits of federalism is a laudable activity and that it makes the people better decision makers.

        Both Salceda and Triumfante supported the efforts in explaining the topic being openly discussed in a similar forum in order to educate the public on the nuances of governance and hopefully might lead to a better (government) system that would improve people’s participation and accountability of public officials.

        Former Albay Vice Gov. James Calisin, Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) consultant, discussed at length the merits of the federal-parliamentary system as proposed by ULAP but qualified that his representation in the forum was a personal initiative.

        Marcial ‘Lito’ Tuanqui, past president and former director of the Albay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that the business sector in the province and the rest of the Bicol Region need to tackle the basic issues of power supply and the right moves to assure the right environment for business and investment.

        Tuanqui said that a federal system would solve the age-old problem of revenues having been generated by large companies in the provinces but whose taxes are paid to their head offices in Manila.

        “We feel that a federal system (of government) would solve this anomaly,” he stressed.

        Also among the panelists was Rolando Manaig, political science professor of the College of Arts and Sciences of the Divine Word College of Legazpi.

        Also lending their support to the discussion during their brief presence at the panel were Governors Sally Perez of Antique and Telesporo Castillejo of Batanes, who were visiting with Gov. Salceda in Legazpi City before the start of the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) 2nd National Assembly in Pili, Camarines Sur set Wednesday, February 13 .

        Perez said she has initiated similar discussions in her province and would support moves to strengthen fiscal and political position of the local government units. Gov. Castillejo also stated similar concern for his northern province.

        The topic would be presented in similar fora in the five other provinces in Bicol.

        But Sorsogon Gov. Sally a Lee has already jumped the gun on everyone when she presented a formal document supporting federalism to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo during one of her visits in Bicol last year. (RCEmbile, PIA)