La Union Colleges of Science and Technology Inc.

Central West, Bauang, La Union

BASIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT Senior High School

CHAPTER 1

THE PROBLEM

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

According to C N Trueman, (2015) Federalism is a system of government

in which a written constitution distributes powers between a central

government and regional on sub – divisional governments. Both types of

government act directly upon the people through their officials and laws.

It was mentioned in Duhaime's Law Dictionary (n.d.) that Federalism

also is a system of government which has created, by written agreement, a

central government to which it has distributed specified legislative (law-

making) powers, called the federal government, and regional or local

governments (or sometimes called federal states) to which is distributed other,

specified legislative powers.

Under Federalism there are 3 major countries had been implemented

this government system. Wistrom, E. (2013) these are the United States,

Canada and the Europe.

An early historical example of federalism is the Achaean

League in Hellenistic Greece. Unlike the Greek city states of Classical Greece,

each of which insisted on keeping its complete independence, changing

conditions in the Hellenistic period drove many city states to band together

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even at the cost of losing part of their sovereignty - similar to the process

leading to the formation of later federations.

The concept of a federal government for the Philippines was first

suggested by José Rizal, the Philippines' national hero. He outlined his vision

of federalist governance on his essay "Las Filipinas Dentro de Cien Anos" (The

Philippines a Century Hence) that was published by the Barcelona-based

propaganda paper La Solidaridad in 1889.

In 1899, Filipino revolutionaries Emilio Aguinaldo and Apolinario

Mabini also suggested dividing the islands into three federal states. One of the

first proponents of federalism in the Philippines in the 21st century is a

professor, Jose Abueva from the University of the Philippines who argued that

a federal form of government is necessary to more efficiently cater to the needs

of the country despite its diversity. The primary goals of a constitutional

amendment is to increase decentralization, greater local power and access to

resources most especially among regions outside Metro Manila which has long

been dubbed as rather imperial.

Aside from Abueva, Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr. is a prominent

supporter of federalism who, since 2001, has advocated for federalism. He sees

the proposed system as a key component in alleviating the Mindanao crisis and

appeasing Moro insurgents. According to Pimentel, even though federalism was

never intended to appease any followers of any specific ideology of religion, it

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will also hasten economic development, since resource and financial

mobilization is upon each state's or province's discretion without significant

constraint from the central government

However, in 2009, after Senate and House resolutions supporting charter

change were released, an estimated 13,000 to 15,000 people gathered

in Makati to protest against these executive department-deriving proposals for

constitutional reform. This was due to speculations that Philippine

president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo would use such amendments to extend her

hold in office. In addition, Pulse Asia published in the same year their survey

regarding public support for the proposed charter change; the survey reported

that four out of ten Filipino adults, or 42% of all respondents, opposed the

amendment, with 25% still undecided and 33% in favor. Pulse Asia furthered

that from 2006 to 2009 there was no significant change of sentiment against

the charter change proposal, although indecision increased by 6%.

In late 2014, then-Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte launched a

nationwide campaign calling for a charter change for federalism. During his

visit to Cebu City in October of the same year, Duterte stated that federalism

will facilitate better delivery of services to the people. He also saw the current

system as "antiquated"] where distribution of public funds is disproportionately

biased towards Manila. Aside from the economic aspect, federalism is also seen

as the best means to address problems in Mindanao which suffers the most

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from ethno-religious conflicts. [10] Duterte added that the current unitary form of

government has not worked well given the ethnic diversity in the country. In

spite of initially rejecting several calls for his candidacy for the 2016

presidential elections, he cited his organizational reforms if he were to become

president. Parallel to his campaign for federalism, Duterte planned to

privatize tax collection and abolish the Congress to make way for

a unicameral legislature, contrary to the originally proposed Joint Resolution

No. 10.

Movements for federalism further intensified from when the draft of

the Bangsamoro Basic Law was submitted by Philippine president Benigno

Aquino III to the 16th Congress on September 10, 2014. From approval, this

law establishes the Bangsamoro as an autonomous region with its own

parliamentary government and police force. Approval of the Bangsamoro

structure would provide federalism proponents and supporters added

confidence to clamor for the national government to enact reforms towards a

more decentralized system for the rest of the country.

In May 2016, President Rodrigo Duterte stated that a plebiscite on the

proposed replacement of the unitary state with a federal one will be held in two

years. On December 7, 2016, Duterte signed Executive Order No. 10 creating a

consultative committee to review the 1987 Constitution.

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According to PDP Laban Federalism Institute (2016) there are three key

concepts when talking about federalism, namely autonomy, subsidiarity and

solidarity. These are the key pillars of federalism.

Figure 1. Federal Form of Government

FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT

STATE STATE STATE

GOVERNMENT GOVERNMENT GOVERNMENT

LGU LGU LGU LGU LGU LGU

Local Government Development Foundation (2002). Primer on Federalism.

Jenna Bednar (2011). The Political Science of Federalism. University of Michigan

 Autonomy is allowing the regional and local governments to act

separately from the federal government. This power to act depends on

the resources and responsibilities granted to them by the Constitution.

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 Subsidiarity is decision-making at the level of the regional or local

government. The essence of subsidiarity is that by placing the process of

decision-making at the grassroots level, the needs of the constituents are

easily addressed and solved.

 Solidarity means that every constituent unit, whether they are regions,

provinces, cities or towns, are all equal parts of the federation. They are

not independent islands but partners in the development of the country

as a whole. Each unit has a responsibility for the success of the entire

nation and must contribute towards national development.

Article XVII Amendments or Revisions of the 1987 Constitution identified two

modes upon which amendments may be made:

a. Constituent Assembly – Congress may convene itself into a Constituent

Assembly upon a vote of ¾ of its members;

b. Constitutional Convention – Congress may call for a Constitutional

Convention with a vote of 2/3 of its members; Congress has the sole discretion

in identifying which mode to employ in amending the Constitution. Congress

may also, by majority vote, let the electorate decide on the mode through a

referendum.

c. Charter Change - Philippine Charter Change (n.d.) (2015) also recognized

as "Cha-Cha" in the Philippines, refers to the political and additional associated

processes concerned in amending or revising the existing 1987 Constitution of

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the Philippines. Under the existing constitution there are three modes of which

it could be amended: people's initiative (PI), constituent assembly and

constitutional convention. All three would direct to a referendum wherein the

planned amendment/s or revision/s has to be permitted by the majority of

Filipinos in order to be adopted.

Under the provision of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte he proposed the

Federalism (Federal System) to Filipino Nation to empower the economy of our

mainland.

Local Government Unit have the main responsibility over developing their

local industries, public health, education, transportation, and culture.

The regions are givens power over their finances, policies and development

plans.

Federalism was a great controversy to the mainland of the Filipino people

because many people sight that federalism is a threat to our economic progress

and also a threat to our national security but thru this study the data’s to be

gather will be the basis of proving how students aware under Federalism

Controversy.

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BASIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT Senior High School

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The problem of this study is to determine the Level of Awareness in

Federalism of General Academic Strand and Humanities and Social Sciences in

La Union Colleges of Science and Technology, Inc.

Specifically, it sought to answer the following:

1. What is the profile of the respondents in terms of the following:

a.) Age

b.) Gender

c.) Strand

2. What is the Level of Awareness of General Academic Strand and

Humanities and Social Sciences in La Union Colleges of Science and

Technology, Inc. in regards to Federalism?

3. Is there a significant relationship between the profile of the respondents

and their awareness about federalism?

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RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

There is no significant relationship between the profile of the

respondents and the level of awareness of General Academic Strand and

Humanities and Social Science in regards to federalism.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

The purpose of this section is to introduce the theory or advocacy of

federal principles for dividing powers between member units and common

institutions. Unlike in a unitary state, sovereignty in federal political orders is

non-centralized, often constitutionally, between at least two  levels so that units

at each level have final authority and can be self-governing in some issue area.

Citizens thus have political obligations to, or have their rights secured by, two

authorities. The division of power between the member unit and center may

vary, typically the center has powers regarding defense and foreign policy, but

member units may also have international roles. The decision-making bodies of

member units may also participate in central decision-making bodies. Much

recent philosophical attention is spurred by renewed political interest in

federalism and backlashes against particular instances, coupled with empirical

findings concerning the requisite and legitimate basis for stability and trust

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among citizens in federal political orders. Philosophical contributions have

addressed the dilemmas and opportunities facing Canada, Australia, Europe,

Russia, Iraq, Nepal and Nigeria, to mention just a few areas where federal

arrangements are seen as interesting solutions to accommodate differences

among populations divided by ethnic or cultural cleavages yet seeking a

common, often democratic, political order.

(https://plato.stanford.edu/entrie

s/federalism/#ReaForFedOrdRatThaSepStaSec)

THEORY OF FEDERALISM: PROBLEMS IDENTIFIED

In its broadest and most general sense, the term "federalism" signifies a

political movement for which the basis of political order is the principle of

union. It is a principle that conceives of the "federation" as the ideal form of

social and political life. It is variously employed to indicate a relationship, the

process of its establishment or the entirety of a complex organization that

embodies it. The etymological kinship of the word, from Latin "foedus", with

ideas of treaty, covenant and of contract illuminates but no longer fixes the

meaning of the protean and widely applicable principle. The basic objective of

federalism is to reconcile unity and diversity. The formation of a federal polity

reflects a conception of the federal idea; a persuasion or ideology that endorses

federal solutions; some particular application of the federal principle; and some

kind of federal framework. In modern times, the term is used predominantly to

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describe the institutions of a federal state. In Western literature, a federation is

defined as a voluntary association of sovereign states for some common

purpose with limited delegation of powers to a central authority. In particular,

federalism has been adopted in various forms by many nations as a way to

balance the interest of various ethnic and language groups. In the political

theory, the term 'federation' has been variously discussed. It is characterized

by a tendency to substitute coordinating for subordinating relationships or at

least to restrict the latter as much as possible; to replace compulsion from

above with reciprocity, understanding and adjustment; command with

persuasion and force with Jaw. In its application to concrete political problems,

federation, thus, becomes a relative and dynamic principle.

The study of federalism is central to political science because of its

linking of theoretical and political wisdom. In fact, human concern with politics

focuses on three general themes:

1) the pursuit of political justice to achieve political order;

2) the search for understanding of the empirical reality of political power

and its exercise; and,

3) the creation of an appropriate civic environment through civil society

and civil community capable of integrating the first two themes to

produce a good political life.

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Political science as a discipline was founded and has developed in

pursuit of these three themes. In this pursuit, political scientists have

uncovered certain architectonic principles, seminal ideas and plain political

truths that capture the reality of political life or some significant segment of it

and relate that reality to larger principles of justice and political order and to

practical yet normative civic purposes. One of the major recurring principles of

political importance which informs and encompasses all three themes is

federalism -an idea that defines political justice, shapes political behavior, and

directs humans towards an appropriately civic synthesis of the two.

The essence of federalism is not to be found in a particular set of

institutions but in the institutionalization of particular relationships among the

participants in political life. Consequently, federalism is a phenomenon that

provides many options for the organization of political authority and power: as

long as the proper relations are created, a wide variety of structures can be

created and developed that are consistent with the federal principle.

The simplest possible definition of federalism is self-rule in addition to

shared rules. Federalism, thus defined, involves some kind of contractual

linkage of a presumable permanent character that (1) provides for power

sharing, (2) cuts around the issues of sovereignty, and (3) supplements but

does not seek to replace or diminish prior organic ties where they exist. Federal

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principle means the method of dividing powers so that the general and regional

governments, within a sphere, coordinate and maintain their independence.

Given the contractual linkage in federal relations, it becomes clear that

federalism itself, to use a biological analogy, is a genus that includes several

species.

One, Federation or Federalism, which establishes a common general

government in which to form a polity, constituent units both govern themselves

and share a common constitutional government of the whole. Powers are

delegated to the former by the people of all the units. Its dissolution can only

come about through the consent of all or majority of its constituent units. The

general government has direct access to every citizen and supremacy in those

areas in which it is granted authority. Archetypical modern federations include

the USA, Switzerland and Canada.

Second, Confederation was the form of federalism where the

constituent units form a union but retain most sovereign and constituent

powers. They establish and maintain continuous control over the general

government which must work through them to reach the citizenry. The cession

of individual units may be possible by prior constitutional agreement without

general consent. The best modem example is the European community.

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A third species is Federacy, an asymmetrical relationship between a

federated state and a larger federated power, providing for potential union on

the basis of the federated state maintaining greater internal autonomy by

foregoing certain forms of participation in the governance of the federated

power. Both Puerto Rico and the Northern Marianas are federacies of the USA.

A fourth species, Associated Statehood, is similar to federacy in the way

that confederation is similar to federation. Both are equally asymmetrical, but

in associated statehood the federate state is less bound to the federate power,

and the constitution which binds them usually has provisions for the

severance of ties between the two under certain specified conditions. The U.S.

has entered into associated state arrangements with the Federal States of

Micronesia and Marshall Islands.

A fifth species is Unions, where the federal arrangements involve uniting

of constituent entities that preserve their integrity primarily through their

share of the common government (such as the United Kingdom of England,

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland).

A sixth is the category of Unitary Federal Structure or the federations

with relatively little independence for example, Austria, Australia, Canada etc.

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Conceptual Framework

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE DEPENDENT VARIABLE

Level of Awareness on
Level of Awareness on
Federalism:
Federalism to Humanities
1. Humanities and and Social Sciences and
Social Sciences General Academic Strand
Strand in La Union Colleges of
2. General Academic Science and Technology,
Strand Inc.

MODERATING VARIABLES

Student’s Profile
a.) Age

b.) Gender

c.) Current Track/Strand Enrolled

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Figure 2. Research Paradigm

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

To Students. The importance of this study will directly give attention to

Humanities and Social Sciences & General Academic students of La Union

Colleges of Science and Technology in regards to Federalism.

Those section may understand the awareness between Federalism to

their life as a Senior High School students who are taking social sciences

subjects and strands.

To School. This study gives attention also to school as a whole as they

want to pursue awareness to everyone who is involved in a particular school.

To Community. In this study, federalism has a dubious reputation,

arising from the history of state and local governments protecting slavery,

enforcing racial segregation, and otherwise oppressing minority groups.

There is an element of truth in that negative image. But federalism has also

often given the poor, minorities, and immigrants, valuable opportunities to

better their lot by “voting with their feet.” And policy reforms can make

federalism an even better tool for promoting freedom and opportunity.

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To Researchers. As a researchers we don’t just research the topic, in

this study it empowers our knowledge to learn more and gain awareness about

federalism.

More likely as we, researchers, are the main target of this study.

To Future Researchers. In this study, the future researchers will be

having the idea of what federalism is all about and how they connect to each

other. They will tend to determine the outcomes of what federalize country is.

OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS

1. Federalism – it is a political movement which shows unity and diversity to

everyone in a federal state.

2. Age – it determines here the age of the respondents in this study.

3. Gender – it determines here the gender of the respondents either a female, a

male, or a part of LGBTQ community.

4. Strand – it determines here the current track or strand you are enrolled
either Humanities and Social Sciences or General Academic Strand.

5. Local Government Unit (LGU) - Section 15 of Republic Act 7160, otherwise

known as the Local Government Code, defines a local government unit as a
body politic and corporate endowed with powers to be exercised by it in
conformity with law. As such, it performs dual functions, governmental and
proprietary. Governmental functions are those that concern the health,

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safety and the advancement of the public good or welfare as affecting the
public generally.

6. Constitution - a body of fundamental principles or established precedents

according to which a state or other organization is acknowledged to be
governed.

7. Government - it is the system or group of people governing an organized

community, often a state. In the case of its broad associative definition,
government normally consists of legislature, administration, and judiciary.

8. Constitution of the Philippines - (Filipino: Saligang Batas ng Pilipinas) is the

constitution or supreme law of the Republic of the Philippines. Its final draft
was completed by the Constitutional Commission on October 12, 1986 and
was ratified by a nationwide plebiscite on February 2, 1987.

9. Congress - a formal meeting or series of meetings for discussion between

delegates, especially those from a political party or labor union or from
within a particular discipline.

10. Revision - a revised edition or form of something.

11. Federal State - is characterized by the existence, at the national level, of

a written, rigid constitution guaranteeing the several intermediate
governments not only permanence and independence but also a full
complement of legislative, executive, and judicial powers.

12. Economy - the wealth and resources of a country or region, especially in

terms of the production and consumption of goods and services.

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13. Power - the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of

others or the course of events.

14. Autonomy is allowing the regional and local governments to act

separately from the federal government. This power to act depends on the

resources and responsibilities granted to them by the Constitution.

15. Subsidiarity is decision-making at the level of the regional or local

government. The essence of subsidiarity is that by placing the process of

decision-making at the grassroots level, the needs of the constituents are

easily addressed and solved.

16. Solidarity means that every constituent unit, whether they are regions,

provinces, cities or towns, are all equal parts of the federation. They are not

independent islands but partners in the development of the country as a

whole. Each unit has a responsibility for the success of the entire nation

and must contribute towards national development.

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Chapter II

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

INTRODUCTION

This chapter describe how the study was conducted and the researcher

used in gathering the necessary data for the completion of the study. This

includes the research design, the population and locale of the study, data

procedure, data gathering tool / research instrument and the statistical

treatment of data.

Research Design

This research aims to study the design that will be used to determine the

credible and satisfying result. An effective research design constitutes the

foundation for the collection, measurement and analysis of data and ensures

that the research is conducted within the conceptual structure. This research

makes use of survey-research design and used questionnaires as instrument.

The survey research is one in which group of people or items is studied by

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collecting and analyzing information from only a few people or items considered

to be the representative of the entire group. In other words, only a part of

population is studied, and findings from this are expected to be generalized to

the entire population. Questionnaires were chosen for this research because

they are reliable and quick method to collect information from multiple

respondents in an efficient and timely manner.

Population and Locale of the Study

This study will be conducted at La Union Colleges of Science and

Technology, Inc. Academic Year 2019-2020. The respondents of this study are

the Humanities and Social Sciences and General Academic Strand Grade’s 11

and 12 of Senior High School Department.

Scope and Delimitation

This study focuses on the Level of Awareness in Federalism for General

Academic Strand and Humanities and Social Sciences students of the Senior

High School Department in La Union Colleges of Science and Technology, Inc.

The study conducted for this Second Semester, Academic Year 2019-2020.

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The respondents of the study composed of Senior High School

Department (General Academic Strand & Humanities and Social Sciences)

Grade’s 11 and 12. The flow of the study focuses on statistical data of those

who are aware about federalism. To take the statistical data the researchers

will use the questionnaire format. The statistical tools to be used to analyze the

data were frequency counts and percentage.

Instrumental and Data Collection

The researchers have used both the primary and secondary data for this

research. Secondary data means data that are already been collected and

analyzed by someone else (Chisnall, 2007), meanwhile, primary data refers to

the information gathered by the researchers themselves.

Scoring Mechanism

The following numerical description and it is corresponding qualitative

interpretation were used by the researchers to describe and classify the range

and interval of the level of awareness on federalism to Humanities and Social

Sciences and General Academic Strand Students.

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ON THE FREQUENCY OF LEVEL OF AWARENESS FEDERALISM TO

HUMANITIES AND SOCAL SCIENCE AND GENERAL ACADEMIC STRAND

Weight Statistical Range Item Descriptive Rating

4 3.26-4.00 Strongly Agree
3 2.51-3.25 Agree
2 1.76-2.50 Disagree
1 1.00-1.75 Strongly Disagree

Statistical Treatment of Data

The data were subjected to analysis using the following tools:

1. Frequency and percentage were used to describe the demographic

profile of the respondents along age, gender and current track/strand

enrolled.

f
Percentage= x 100%
n

f = frequency counts

n = the over-all population

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2. Weighted Mean were used to get the average of the over-all respondents

from the tabulated data distribution. Statistically calculated as shown

below:

this formula is written simply as:

N = ∑fx

Where:

X = Weighted Mean

∑ = Summation

fx = sum of all the products of f and x , weight of each

frequency of each score and x, weight of each score

f = sum of all the students tested

The data gathered where tabulated connected and analyzed. Frequency

counts weighted means ranking and percentage where used for the treating

sub-problems 1 and 2. For sub-problem 3 on the relationship between the

profile of the respondents of the locale of performance along dimension the

person was used. To ensure the accuracy of communication the SPSS was

used.

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