MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte, with an uncharacteristic air of defeat, said on Tuesday, December 12, that he does not think most Filipinos are ready for a shift to a federal form of government, a longtime advocacy of his. 

“Problem is, I think Filipinos are not ready for a federal type,” said Duterte during the Malacañang Press Corps Christmas party held in the Palace. 

“It does not seem to ring a bell in the Visayas and Mindanao or, if at all, those that are really dedicated [to federalism],” he added, in a resigned manner.

This bleak assessment could affect the government talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), two groups with different versions of the Bangsamoro Basic Law. 

“Pagka walang mangyari sa usapan (If nothing happens with the negotiations), both the MI(LF) and MNLF, you’d be busy. Almost all of you would be there in Mindanao covering a terrible fissure in our country,” said Duterte to his audience of reporters.

Duterte has often said “nothing short of federalism” will solve the problems of Mindanao, his home region.

He had envisioned the passage of the BBL as another way to appease the grievances of Muslim separatist groups there, with the future Bangsamoro entity being subsumed under a larger Philippine federal system.

The President, who has long advocated for a federal Philippines, has created a consultative committee to study amendments of the 1987 Constitution, a necessary step in the shift to federalism. 

But a year from when he created the body, he is yet to name its 25 members.

The think tank of his party, PDP-Laban, has submitted to Congress a draft federal constitution, which is being discussed by various technical working groups in the House of Representatives. (WATCH: Rappler Talk: Federalism in PH – what iDuterte’s party is proposing)

The House on Wednesday, December 13, was set to take up a resolution to adopt a constituent assembly as means to amend the current Constitution. – Rappler.com