Cruz, Hilary Dei Anne D.

11 – Humanities and Social Sciences B

Democracy or Federalism

I. Introduction

Democracy is a word often bandied around however rarely understood. This is true not only here but also in

more sophisticated countries. With the debate on constitution change heating up, it is profitable to examine the

meaning of the phrase that we are fighting about due to the fact that it has been so misused. Some use it to describe

public massing even if we know that the crowds had been gathered by means of ‘hakot’. We also use it to describe

the election of famous actors and broadcasters no matter why and how they have been chosen by the ‘people’ as

‘democratic’. I suppose that in both situations the use of the word ‘democracy’ can and must be challenged. Or in

other words, it is a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically

through elected representatives.

While in the other hand, Federalism is a type of government where there is a division of forces between the

national government and the local governments. Federalism is said to be especially suited to majority rules

systems particularly those with expansive populaces or huge geological domains.

II. Body

So, as we all know, Democracy is a form of government in which power rests with the people. It is also a

small number of related forms of government and also a political philosophy. Equality and freedom are also seen in

this kind of form of government. All citizens are able to enjoy legitimized freedoms and liberties, which are usually

protected by the constitution. But what is Federalism? In Federalism, there are central governing authority and

constituent political units (like states or provinces). National and Central (state) governments and Laws are

fashioned closer to the people. And there are a lot of pros in Federalism, namely: Locals decide for themselves.

More power over funds, resources. Possible solution to the Mindanao conflict. Decongestion of Metro Manila. But

of course, the cons can’t be left out, namely: Possibly divisive. Uneven development among states. Confusing

overlaps in jurisdiction. May not satisfy separatists in Mindanao. And shifting to federalism won’t come cheap. But
can federalism address PH woes? Yes, because decentralization will happen which would hopefully lead to solving

the major problems of the Philippines such as traffic congestion, unemployment, and industrialization of rural

areas.

But federalism is not really the answer, we don’t need to change to a federal system but only push hard for

decentralization to break up the concentration of power in the central government.

III. Conclusion.

In conclusion, there is a lot of opportunities in every or any forms of government. Our country can be

developed into a successful nation in a way that we the people of our country are helping and standing for each

other. But in political terms, Democracy is much better for the Philippines because not only the government should

have power but also the people of the country. Yes, changing into federal system has a lot of opportunities for our

country but it is not that easy to change from democracy to a federal system, there would be a lot of cost. So, I

think that instead of changing our system into a federal system is that we should push hard to make progress in a

democratic country, our country, which is the Philippines. Federal system is not the key, concentrating in issues

and problems are. So, we the people of the Philippines should and must push hard and work hard for our rapid

growth of progress and success. Even though we have a democratic country, that won’t serve as a hindrance by

raising our country up.