A participant of Edsa 1 from Davao who had served in the Cabinet under four Philippine Presidents, said that the country’s dysfunctional democracy should be replaced with a new form of government.
Lito Monico Lorenzana, a Harvard-educated political technocrat and one of the founders of the Centrist Democratic Party of the Philippines, told Edge Davao that the elders of this country who led the Edsa 1 revolution failed the youth of today.
“We have had experiments in youth leadership relative to governance and nation building. Indeed, the government created the Sangguniang Kabataan or SK in order for the youth to be exposed to the arcane methods of running the government. However the system itself is rotten and the idealism of youth is thus perverted,” Lorenzana said.
Lorenzana said “it is apparent that after several decades, our society has deteriorated.”
“You can see around you evidence of decay – corruption in all levels of governance, impunity, stark poverty and widespread malaise,” he said.
He said “this was not the future the elders envisioned then.”
“But with some glimmer of hope, I trust on the resilience of youth and find comfort in the words of Pearl S. Buck, a Nobel Laureate in literature – I quote: “THE YOUNG DO NOT KNOW ENOUGH TO BE PRUDENT, AND THEREFORE THEY ATTEMPT THE IMPOSSIBLE, AND ACHIEVE IT, GENERATION AFTER GENERATION.”,” Lorenzana said.

1. Do you think there is a need to change the government? If yes, what type of government is best suited for the country?

Our kind of democracy has long been dysfunctional and so too are the institutions that logically flow from it. And we perpetuated a political patronage system developed over centuries that bred a political leadership with practices and culture embedded in the 1987 Constitution of PNoy’s mother.
So what does the Philippines need? We need a market economy with clear social safety-nets (Social Market Economy) underpinnings, uplifting the less privilege among us and all these guaranteed by a strong state – one that is borne out of the “rule of law”. We need to go for a shift from a highly centralized structure of government to one of power-dispersing autonomous regions that eventually, sometime in the future lead to the establishment of a Federal System. We need to go for a shift from a colonially imposed presidential to a parliamentary form of government; the latter practiced in most of the advance economies of the world. We need to push for the establishment of a real political party system that allows our people real choices of leaders that govern them steeped on a set of values and principles espoused by each political party. 
I am one of the main adherents of Federalism in the country so therefore I believe that the only way to correct the political defects in our country is thru an overhaul of the current democratic system. As of the moment, we have a centralized and Unitary Republic bestowed to us by our foreign predecessors that completely manifest a “trickle down approach” and gives ultimate power to oligarchs, cronies and political dynasties. With Federalism, these will all be eradicated since all regions in the Philippines will experience a “bottom-up approach”, in other words autonomy, and subsidiarity - the key to real development. 

2. Do you think Federalism will solve the problems of the country?

I will not guarantee that Federalism will IMMEDIATELY solve the conflict in Mindanao but I am sure that Federalism will take its positive effect in the long term. So why is Federalism the answer? 
For many decades the Peoples of Mindanao, the Cordilleras, the Visayas, Bicol, Illoco and other regions of the Philippines have been demanding the reform of the Philippine State, from the centralized unitary system to a decentralized system of autonomous regions towards a vision of a federal state after a reasonable transition period.
It took an armed rebellion by our Muslim brothers in parts of Mindanao to force the decision makers in Manila to finally accept their demands for an authentic regional autonomy. 
Now, is it necessary for another armed conflict? No. 
Strong regional autonomy is not endangering the unity of the Philippines. Just the opposite: Following the principle of subsidiarity, allowing the regions and their ethnic groups the powers and competences that they need for their own development, the autonomous regions (States) can now attend to the myriad and diverse problems of local interests; while the National (Federal) Government can now focus on issues of national concern. 
What is granted the Bangsamoro by law must also be given to all the other regions that long for regional autonomy. Political and cultural self-determination; a fair share of local & national wealth; and the opportunity to develop their own socio-economic models responsive to their needs and strengths are what the regions want. 
So our cry is: “What is Good for Bangsamoro is Good for the BangsaBisaya, BangsaIloco, Bangsa Tagalog and the Whole Bangsa Filipinas”
Unity in diversity, strength through freedom and subsidiarity – this is where we must go, if we want to overcome the problems of poverty, lawlessness, violence, corruption and failing democracy in the Philippines.

3. How can the young contribute to the strengthening of democracy?

In these disasters we learn critical lessons and experiment with structures and institutions guided by the vision that the youth of this generation, will carry on the delicate task of nation-building.
The youth must have a stake. In reference to question number one, the young population should participate in the democratic process by involving themselves in their respective localities and make themselves vigilant towards the betterment of their constituents. There are opportunities and means by which they can participate, learn and invent ways that will sharpen skills at governance based on certain ideological and ethical standards. One such example is the YOUTH WING OF THE CENTRIST DEMOCRATIC PARTY – the Centrist Democratic Youth Association of the Philippines. 
This can be their training ground for creating a totally different kind of political reality – one different from what it is today: backsliders, people with no vision, with questionable morals but constantly elected into office. Thus the truism “…we get the kind of government that we deserve.” 

4. Do you think it is timely to have an EDSA 3 given the issues against PNoy today?

The EDSA people power revolutions have become a remarkable model in the history of politics in the Philippines. While it may be true that we have become more empowered, it is also necessary ask and take note: Did the Philippines change after a series of peaceful revolutions? Was it able to eradicate the perennial problems we experience each year? 
No, I don’t think we need another EDSA 3. What we really need is an open mind to make sure that the mistakes of the past will not be repeated once again. After all, what shall happen if PNoy is ousted? Are we prepared of his replacement? Do we think it will solve the problems in the Philippines?
We need to re-structure our government and our economic-political-socio-cultural systems. We need a change in our Constitution.