Duterte to form body to draft new constitution that will result in Philippines' shift to federal government

  MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte has announced that he will appoint 24 individuals to a body that will come up with a new Constitution. Duterte said on Wednesday night that the new Charter will shift the country from a unitary system with Manila as the center of power to a federal system of government and hopefully end the Muslim secessionist movement in the country's second biggest island - Mindanao. He revealed the initiative in a speech before businessmen in the suburban city of Mandaluyong after furnishing the House of Representatives an 83-page draft of the "Philippine Federal Constitution", which the 24 Presidential appointees will work on. While he did not give a name to the initiative, Duterte recalled then President Corazon Aquino's creation of a 50-member body that came up with the 1987 Constitution that replaced the 1973 Charter. There have been proposals made in previous administrations to amend the Philippine Constitution but they just remained as plans due to strong public opposition. Duterte said in his speech before businessmen that a Constitutional convention is an expensive undertaking. "A Constitutional convention would really be expensive. Now, do not tell me that the composition of that constitutional body would be wiser, would be more honest, and would not be protecting a vested interest. I suggest that we appoint 24 commissioners. If you want, we could put there all the retired justices. Few civilians, about five ... like what happened during Cory (referring to the late former President). But this is my take," Dutere said. "If you have a Constitutional convention, you will have to pay two (delegates) per district. They will ask to have their own office and hold debates when they don't have brains. It will just be the same," he added. Presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo, for his part, believes that Duterte may have been thinking of creating an advisory body that would propose amendments to the 1987 Constitution for approval by Congress, sitting as a constituent assembly. Duterte issued an executive order last May creating a "consultative committee" to review the 1987 Constitution. Meanwhile, Duterte warned that if the country does not shift to a federal type of government, the conflict in Mindanao would only worsen, especially with the existence of the Islamic State (IS). "If you do not reconfigure the unitary type of government now, which is the one that we're using, and if there is no change in Mindanao, there will be no peace until the end of time for the Philippines," he said. f you do not force the issue, there will always be war. And remember that this time, there is a new element (referring to the IS) that has entered the picture," he said. Local terrorists linked to the IS raided and took control of Marawi City in western Mindanao on May 23, prompting Duterte to declare Martial Law on Mindanao which will last until the end of the year. Military operations against the terrorists have been ongoing for almost three months. 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