MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. on Thursday said the Philippines has taken the "first step" towards a federal form of government that would spread political power that has long been held in the capital, Manila.

In a speech during the oath taking of new Partido Federal ng Pilipinas members in Malacañang, Marcos said giving power to local government units was a "central principle to what we are doing."

"In all but name ay ating ginagawa...ibinibigay ang discretion, ang power, ang function hangga’t maaari sa pinakamababa na level na maaari nating gawin," said the President.

(We are giving the discretion, power, functions, as much as possible to the lowest level.)

"So, we are doing the first step of the federation — federal government for the Philippines in all but name, and that is what we will continue to do," Marcos added.

Video from RTVM

Having multiple power centers instead of just one in Metro Manila "makes for a more stable political structure and makes a more stable political life," Marcos said.

"If the power centers only belong here in Manila, then pabagsakin mo ‘yung Manila, bagsak ang buong Pilipinas," he said.

"But with the power centers being given to the local governments, to the local districts... kung may mangyari sa isang lugar, kahit bumagsak ‘yan, basta’t nasira, hindi na talaga puwede, nagkagiyera, whatever, tuloy pa rin ‘yung mga iba. Hindi nasisira ang buong sistema. And that is what we – that is the central ideology of the PFP.

(If the power centers only belong here in Manila and it falls, the whole Philippines will fall. But with the power centers being given to the local governments, to the local districts, if something happens to a certain area, it falls, it is devastated, or conflict erupts there, the others will carry on. The whole system is not destroyed.)

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He said this was "the central ideology of the PFP."

Marcos added that his party was "preparing for all the political cycles," including the October 30 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan polls that would "have a big effect on how the 2025 elections will turn out."

"Kasi kung tayo magiging kandidato, mananalo tayo sa 2025, kailangan ay kailangan natin ng suporta ng barangay level. So, that is why it was incumbent upon us to now immediately try and organize ourselves so that we are prepared because there is always a synergy," he said.

(If we become candidates and win in 2025, we will need the support of the barangay level.)

Marcos' predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, the first President from Mindanao, had promised to shift government power away from "Imperial Manila" in the run-up to the 2016 elections.

He also called for a shift of the system of governance from unitary to federal, saying this would spur countryside development, but the move did not prosper.

Analysts earlier said federalism might be unclear in a Marcos administration as his economic team is "basically" made up of the same team that told former President Duterte that setting up a federal government through charter change was "too expensive."

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