Thursday, June 21, 2012

A Unitary System or a Federal System?

The Philippines’ Road Ahead, Part 2:
A Unitary System or a Federal System? 
Sunday, May 16, 2010 at 7:17pm

The difference between “Presidential or Parliamentary” systems, which we discussed in Part One of this exploration of ways to improve the way the Philippines is governed, and “Unitary or Federal” systems is that the former are systems of government, while the latter are systems of administration. In other words, both a presidential or parliamentary form of government can be organized as a unitary or federal system, and there are examples of all four combinations among the world’s democracies:

Presidential and Unitary: 

Presidential and Federal: 

Parliamentary and Unitary: 

Parliamentary and Federal:

In a unitary system, the nation is constitutionally governed as single unit in a “top-down” fashion. Political power of the government might well be delegated to lower levels, as is done here in the Philippines with the country’s arrangement of regions, provinces, municipalities, and barangays, but the central government retains the ultimate authority. The particular arrangement of lower government levels, the geographic areas they cover, and their specific rights and responsibilities are not constitutionally-protected, but are defined, and can be changed by, laws made by the national legislature.

In a federal system, the lower levels of government – usually called states or provinces – have a constitutional existence, and cannot be unilaterally changed by the national government. The nation is effectively governed in a “bottom-up” fashion; whether it is explicitly stated in the nation’s constitution or not (as it is in the U.S. Constitution) the national government has rights and responsibilities delegated to it by the states or provinces, rather than the other way around as in a unitary system.

Monday, June 18, 2012

6-Day Dumaguete and Siquijor Trip



Disclaimer: This post has been getting high traffic according to the site stats. I just want to inform you that this article is not mine as I just copied it from Ambot-ah Travel Blog. Let's give due to the author. I don't want to make a Sotto out of this post. Also, the photos are from PuebloPhilippines.com. I just wanted to post this as I have been planning -- for the longest time -- to do this one day. Only this disclaimer is the author's own, nothing else.

Here’s my itinerary during my recent trip to Dumaguete, Oriental Negros and Siquijor Province for 6 days and 5 nights:

Day 1 – Iloilo to Bacolod, Kabankalan Tour

10:30am – Arrived at Oceanjet Terminal in Muelle Loney, Iloilo City, Iloilo Province
11:20am – “Iloilo – Bacolod” Oceanjet Ferry ride, 10:45am trip (P300 roundtrip promo fare)
12:00nn – Arrived at BREDCO Port, Bacolod City, Negros Occidental

Tricycle ride to SM City Bacolod (P10)
“La Salle / Shopping” Jeepney ride to Northbound Ceres Bus Terminal near Libertad Market (P7)
12:30nn – “Kabankalan” economy Ceres bus ride (P79)
4:00pm – Arrived in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental
Kabankalan City Tour



Wednesday, June 13, 2012

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