Burgeoning idea

When Libyan strongman, Muammar Qaddafi, said there will be peace in the region if Palestine were to unite as one country with Palestinian and Jewish states, it sounded ludicrous. But on second thought he may have something there. Indeed the proposal can be made to work because it has successful historical precedents. Peace between perennial rivals France and Germany came when the two countries united with Italy, the Netherlands and Luxembourg as the European Coal and Steel Community. It was the brainchild of Jean Monnet in 1950. It later became the European Union.Apartheid South Africa is still another example of a bloody war that went on for years and ended when the warring factions put down the walls that divided black and white ghettoes. It was recognized that neither faction could be secure no matter how many walls they set up. The walls themselves could be said to have been the source of enmity and violence. The solution came by doing the opposite - remove the walls and in its place put up a political formation that would force South Africans, black or white, to learn how to live with each other.

The same impulse animates the concept of federal government, for different shapes and reasons. Belgium and Germany in Europe, Canada and of course, the United States, are among successful models. Federal government as a political tool for peace is a burgeoning idea. An Institute of Federalism based in Switzerland serves as a "center of competence for issues on federalism, decentralization, constitution making, democracy, rule of law and multiculturalism."

To celebrate its 175th anniversary of independence and 25th year of federal government in March 2005, Belgium will be host to the Third International Conference on Federalism. A huge Philippine delegation, the biggest, Belgian officials say, has been invited to recognize its efforts for constitutional reform to shift to parliamentary federal government. Moreover it has invited both sides of the Philippine political spectrum with Speaker Jose de Venecia for the administration and opposition senator, Aquilino Pimentel, Jr. heading the invitees.

Like the Philippines, Belgium was not always a federal state. It was a unitary state with decision-making power vested in parliament and national government. But four constitutional reforms in 1970, 1980, 1988-1989 and 1993 transformed Belgium into what it is today: a country that reconciles regional and cultural identities in a single federal structure. Accordingly, Belgium is made up of three Communities (the Flemish Community, the French Community and the German-speaking Community), three Regions (the Flemish Region, the Brussels-Capital Region and the Walloon Region), 10 Provinces (Antwerp, Flemish Brabant, Walloon Brabant, West Flanders, East Flanders, Hainaut, Liège, Limburg, Luxembourg, Namur) and 589 Communes.

Since then, decision-making powers are no longer exclusively for the federal government and federal parliament. The country is run by various bodies which discharge their allotted duties autonomously with the federal state being responsible for managing everything that affects the interest of all Belgians, independently of any linguistic, cultural orterritorial considerations like foreign affairs, national defense, justice, finance, social security and a major share of public health and domestic affairs.

Provinces act within the framework of competencies at the federal, community or regional level, but also under the tutelage of these various authorities. The Communes are the seats of power that are closest to Belgian citizens (our equivalent would be local authority). Belgium has always been influenced by the German and Latin world and makes for its cultural pluralism. So when Belgium was created in 1830-31, that pluralism was already there. Differences in language, culture and so on between various parts of the country led to the reform of the State.

But laws about language alone do not really reform a State. The Constitution had to be amended. It forms the foundation of the State system. That amendment is referred to as the Revision of the Constitution. With the most recent revision dated 14 July 1993, the Federal State was created. Work started on this federalisation over 20 years ago: first with a wide-ranging reform in 1970, which was intensified in 1980 and continued in 1988-89.

The revision of the Constitution in 1970 set up three cultural communities in the process of State reform. The three cultural communities give certain autonomy in relation to culture. However, the powers of those cultural communities are still extremely limited.

In 1970 the foundations were laid to set up three Regions. They each have their own territory and are expected to be active in the economic field. The Regions are a response to the pursuit by French-speakers - the Walloons and French-speaking people of Brussels - for economic autonomy.

State reform which started in 1970 was completed with the fourth State reform in 1993. The Belgian State is now a fully-fledged federal State. The Communities and the Regions, which were set up under previous reforms received full powers. On 14 July 1993 (at 7.31 pm) the Belgian Parliament (in this case the Senate) took the final vote on State reform. That amended the first clause of the first article in our Constitution which used to say: "Belgium is divided into provinces" to: "Belgium is a Federal State which consists of Communities and Regions".

To go back to the international movement for federation to which Philippine constitutional reformists have been invited. The first was held in Mont Tremblant, Canada (1999) and the second in St. Gallen, Switzerland (2002). The invitation recognizes Philippine efforts for constitutional reform that would address political and economic problems. Filipinos were invited to Switzerland to take a closer study on how it was done. There will be an exchange of ideas and concrete experiences that would answer the question especially on how federalism can contribute to good governance, social and economic welfare, peace and democracy, as well as respect for identity in the context of globalization.

The problem in Mindanao will benefit from the special attention to conflict prevention in the framework of nation-building. More importantly, the Brussels event marks an international partnership that will hopefully boost constitutional reform in the Philippines.

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