Davide, one of the framers of the 1987 Constitution, insisted that the present unitary system best fit the country’s history, culture, character, and traditions, among other things, as it had “proven itself to be so.”
“My position is: A shift to federalism is a lethal experiment, a fatal leap, a plunge to death, a leap to hell,” he told senators on the committee on constitutional amendments and revision of codes headed by Sen. Francis Pangilinan.
Davide said that if the shift to federalism were to deal with the imbalance created by an “Imperial Manila,” then this could be done by “effectively and efficiently implementing the relevant provisions” of the present Constitution “for strong local autonomy and decentralization.”
He said Congress could also amend the 1991 Local Government Code.
In his comments, Puno joked that he had no intelligent answer to Davide’s statement that going federal was a leap to hell because he had never been to hell.
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