Cebu archdiocese doubts senators' federalism bid

MANILA, Philippines - The Cebu archdiocese voiced skepticism Tuesday over a resolution in the Senate pushing for a shift to a federalist form of government. In a statement on the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines website, the archdiocese said that any change is useless unless government is changed "within." "Unless the government is changed within …it is useless to effect any change in government," it quoted an editorial from "Bag-ong Lungsuranon," the archdiocese’s official weekly paper. The editorial said the Church recognizes the benefits of a decentralized government as it could be managed well as compared to centralized government based in distant Manila. It added, however, that the primary issue is whether or not the shift to federal government will bring growth and development to people in the countryside. "(The) biggest failure of this country's political history is its inability to establish a culture of trust and sincerely leadership. Hence, success in government programs and projects is dependent on the transformation of the Filipinos to be a good steward," it said. Legislators from Bohol and Negros Oriental earlier expressed that they prefer Cebu City to be the seat of the proposed federal state of Central Visayas. They said they will press the idea when they file their version of the Senate's proposal of a shift federal system of government. - GMANews.TV