Despite two bodies consisting of the Congress and the Consultative Committee discharging duplicating roles of reviewing the 1987 Constitution, any fear that “two many cooks will spoil the broth” is foreclosed because the principal chef in Malacañang controls the recipe.

The Congress, which is mainly subservient to the President, and the Consultative Committee recently constituted by the President, are expected to endorse President Rodrigo Duterte’s insistent call for the adoption of a federal system.

The congressional leaders and the supermajority in both Houses are unanimous in backing the shift from a unitary to a federal government, while not a few of the appointed members of the Consultative Committee are known to favor federalism.

The crucial question is whether many of the proponents of federalism and the people who are to ratify the constitutional amendments in a plebiscite are fully aware of the reasons, proffered advantages and resultant pitfalls of shifting to a federal structure.

Meanwhile, the impasse on how to constitute the constituent assembly and the mode of voting by Representatives and Senators was just frozen but not resolved.

EDCEL C. LAGMAN