Jude Josue Sabio
NO one knew if federalism was possible until the Americans were able to accomplish it. In the US federal system, the states already existed, initially united under a confederacy and eventually formed what is now the federal system of the United States of America.
Since the states were already existing, what the US founding founders did was just to formalize the federal union, by dividing the powers of government between the federal state and the different states. Thirteen original states initially formed the federation. Later, other states joined resulting in what is now the United States of America.
In continental Europe, Germany stands out as a leading example of federalism which is similar to that in the US. Like in the US, the states in Germany called the “Lander” had a long history of existence before they finally joined in what is today the Federal Republic of Germany.
In German language, “Lander” is for the plural word “states”, while “Land” is for the singular word “state”.
The long, deep and violent history of the German “Lander” dates back to the Holy Roman Empire in the middle ages, characterized by conflicts, bloodshed, destruction and wars among the different “Lander”, which at certain junctures of German history numbered to a thousand.
The development of the German “Lander” continued in 1949 when, after the end of World War 2, the US directly participated in the formal creation of the different “Lander” in its zone of occupation. This was done by establishing a constitution or basic law for each of the German “Lander”. At that time, the US was one of the four occupying Allied powers in Germany.
The US proposed for a federal system for Germany, as is evident from its effort in formalizing the existence of the different “Lander” through the political medium of a basic law or constitution for each state.
The US was cognizant of the long German history and tradition characterized by the existence of states, including the dominant Prussia and Austria, that at certain junctures in German history established a confederacy or a federation.
More than that, the federal system was close to the heart of the US which found a striking similarity and parallelism between its own history of existing states and the rich and deep history and tradition of the German “Lander”.
France favored a unitary type of governance in its zone of occupation reflecting its own type of highly centralized unitary semi-presidential system of government. But eventually, all the other “Lander” in the other zones of occupation, including that of France, followed the lead of the US.
In May 1949, the German Basic Law (or Constitution) came into force with the consent of the Allied occupying powers. Unlike the US Federal constitution, the German Basic Law expressly declares that Germany is a democratic federal state. Thus was formally born the Federal Republic of Germany, popularly known as West Germany, which later united with East Germany.
Unlike the US and Germany, our country does not have a history characterized by the existence of different states. For 400 years, our country was under the colonial rule of Spain. We were directly under the Spanish monarch who ruled through the Governor-General. After the end of Spanish colonial rule, we were under American colonial rule, interrupted by a brief period of Japanese occupation.
Our country was never a state until we were granted national independence by the US. Since our country was a colonial subject ruled as a whole by a colonial power, our country was accustomed to a unitary, centralized authority emanating from the colonial power.
When our 1987 Constitution created an autonomous region in the Cordillera, the people in the Cordillera rejected regional autonomy. Only the Muslims in Mindanao accepted regional autonomy. Except for the Bangsamoro, the rejection by the Cordillera people indicates a lack of a sense of statehood applicable to all other regions of our country.
When our leaders back then, notably Manuel L. Quezon and Sergio Osmena, campaigned for national independence from the US, it was not part of the political agenda to organize a federal state for our country. In fact, the 1935 Constitution, which was drafted by the 1935 Constitutional Convention, did not create a federal system for our country, even as it patterned our presidential , tripartite government from the US constitution.
Neither did the US push for a federal system for our country, contrary to what it actively did in Germany in 1949. More specifically, the US did not push for the formal establishment of different states in our country, contrary to what it did for the German “Lander” in 1949.
From the 1935 Constitution all the way up to the 1987 Constitution, our constitution drafters heavily patterned our governmental system from the US Constitution, but interestingly they stopped short of copying the US federal system.
It is submitted that the US and our national leaders back then did not see the historical and political basis for a federal system for our country, considering the non-existence of different states, unlike in the political history of the US and Germany.
Since the existence of states in the US and Germany preceded the federation, there was no need to formally create them in their respective federal constitutions. The formal creation of the states was made through their respective state constitutions.
Just like the US federal constitution, the German Basic Law merely apportions governmental powers between the federal states and the different states.
In our case, it is the first time, in our political history, that a “sub-state” or separate sovereign entity is ever proposed to be created for the Bangsamoro thru the BBL. To this extent, the Bangsamoro clearly stands out, as proposed, to be a separate state just like a state in the US or just like a “Land” in Germany.
In our quest for federalism, the goal of establishing a Bangsamoro state thru the BBL is a step in the right direction. It directly corresponds with the Basic law or constitution of the different states in the US and the “Lander” in Germany.
The question remains as to how the other different states are to be formally established. But one thing is sure. As part of the goal for national political equality, each of the regional constituent states proposed by Senator Nene Pimentel also deserves a Basic law just like the Bangsamoro.
By providing a Basic law or constitution for each state, equal status is given to each constituent state and the federal state, which is a basic ingredient of federalism. Equality in status is achieved, because the federal state and the different states constitute a State in their own right under a federal system.
(Jude Josue Sabio is a lawyer by profession.)
