(UPDATE) PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday said the Philippines has taken the "first step" toward a federal form of government that would make the country's political structure "more stable." That derives from a very simple idea that the stability of a political structure is much more reliable when we have many power centers. If the power centers only belong here in Manila, then pabagsakin mo 'yung Manila, bagsak ang buong Pilipinas (if Manila falls, the entire Philippines would fall)," Marcos told his party mates. Federalism became a buzzword in 2016 when Rodrigo Duterte, then the mayor of Davao City, highlighted it as a campaign promise. Unlike Duterte, who was "very clear" about pushing federalism forward during his 2016 presidential campaign, Marcos was not overly enthusiastic about it, despite running under a pro-federalism party in the 2022 elections.
