Federalism Delegation
Philippine Delegation Completes Information Exchange and Study Visit on Federalism

HSF

The activity is part of the co-operation between the Pimentel Institute for Leadership and Governance (PILG) and the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) towards support for the information campaign on federalism in the Philippines and seeks to provide a broader and deeper knowledge of the philosophy and the principles of federalism as a form of government.

To learn more about the structure of the government in the Federal Republic of Germany and gain insights into the German political system, the delegates visited the Federal Council (Bundesrat) and the National Parliament (Deutscher Bundestag), two of the five permanent constitutional bodies of the country. Dialogues amongst the delegates and the members of the Bundestag (ASEAN Parliamentary Group, Committee on Economic Cooperation and Development) helped all gain a better understanding of the mechanisms of the political processes in each other’s country.

Meetings with the representatives of the Federal State of Bavaria and of the Permanent Representation of the Free State of Bavaria in Berlin (Bayerische Vertretung in Berlin) helped the delegates to gain a better and more comprehensive understanding of the goals, methods and organisation of the government of the Free State of Bavaria and to obtain more detailed information about some key features of the German party system and how Bavaria managed to, with the country’s adoption of a federal system of government, develop and grow into one of the wealthiest federal states in the country, from being a “receiver” to becoming a “giver.”

HSF

The visit to the German Federal Foreign Office and meeting with the representative from the South East Asia and the Pacific Division helped the delegates to better appreciate the evolution of the governmental system in Germany into its current decentral cultural and economic structure. Notes on the present socio-economic and political situation in the Philippines and in Germany along with the prevailing situation of the Filipinos in Germany were shared during the dinner meeting with Philippine Ambassador to Germany Melita Sta. Maria-Thomeczek at her residence.

The delegation also had the chance to meet with Professor Ursula Männle, the Chairwoman of the Hanns Seidel Foundation, as well as the key representatives of the HSF’s Institute for International Cooperation and learn more about the foundation, its role and mandate, its international cooperation program and its work thus far in the Philippines as well as possible future directions towards the strengthening of German-Philippine relations. Having its headquarters in Munich, Bavaria, the largest of all the federal states and currently one of the richest, the Foundation welcomed this opportunity to share the federal state’s experiences with federalism, including the advantages it has benefitted from and the challenges it has learned from.

The visit culminated in a one-and-a-half-day workshop on federalism centred on three main topics: power sharing, resource allocation and conflict resolution and conducted by an international expert on federalism from the Centre for Global Studies, Bonn University.

The members of the delegation, including a governor, a commissioner, a prosecutor, an academician and representatives from the Senate, comprise the pool of core group members/experts who, equipped with increased knowledge on federalism, are expected to help in the further dissemination of salient features and principles on federalism, promoting public awareness and understanding on the topic and help in the creation of a unique form of federalism that is best suited to the Philippine context.