Consider for example the long-standing and much-extolled ideal of local autonomy. To institutionalize local autonomy or self-government, the Local Government Code was enacted in 1991 (R.A. 7160). To enthrone such leaders within the framework of a federal system will only serve the purposes of scofflaws and shameless political monopolists. The success of a federal system lies in the extent to which people at the grassroots participate in government. Unless they’re actively engaged at their level, a federal system would merely create additional layers of bureaucrats and politicians, entrenching family dynasties more solidly.