REVIEW QUESTIONS FOR PA 604 - PHIL.

ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEM MODEL

DOC ED MENDOZA

1. Explain the evolution of Philippine Bureaucracy. Its origin and how it has evolved all these
years?

In order to properly appreciate the context of Philippine public administration, it may be

helpful to retrace the history and evolution of the broad discipline of Philippine Bureaucracy and
examine the various strands and influences it may have in theory and practice or the well-
introduced praxis of public administration in the Philippines. It is also of value to examine the
interplay between bureaucracy and political dynasty, for it share an identical timeline in history,
demanding fuller understanding and critical analysis of the implications that bureaucracy and
political dynasties, have on each other and how their relationship influences policymaking and
governance in the course of our history.

According to scholars, the discourse on political dynasties cannot but confront the very
basic social unit or structure where all the discussions in Philippine bureaucracy emanate—the
Filipino family. It was asserted that the family is a more effective political unit than an individual
as its reputation, loyalties, and alliances are deemed transferable where one family member
shares the traits of the others. The political structure in the pre-colonial Philippines provided the
most primitive service to the people. This local institution, known as the barangay, was headed
by datu or rajah and was assisted by a council of elders who were responsible for the
maintenance of internal peace, tribute collection, and administration of justice before. In short,
the authority given to the datu is so high as He performs the role of a judge, lawmaker and
implementer of laws.

During the Spanish period, a highly centralized colonial administration was established.
The once independent barangays are now at the bottom of the hierarchy, listed under the
pueblos that were under the provincias. There was no separation of church and state, and
resulted into institutionalized values and traits that influence public administration, among these
are the so-called pakikisama, utang na loob, and hiya. It is argued that these values partly
explain the rise of graft and corruption, nepotism and favouritism, and patronage. A civil service
was established with people performing integral executive, legislative, and judicial functions.
However, the bureaucracy under Spain was perceived to be corrupt.

Following the declaration of independence in Malolos, a representative and democratic

form of government with executive, legislative and judicial branches was established. However,
when the Americans gained control of the Philippines, they retained the centralized form of
government, more importantly, introduced the principle that public office is a public trust,
making civil servants accountable to the people they serve. The 1935 Constitution contained a
separate provision stipulating that all appointments to government positions should be made
only based on merit and fitness to be determined in a competitive examination. While, the
advent of the Second World War put the Philippines under the Japanese occupation, during
which time the bureaucracy was kept relatively small with only six ministries. After the war, the
Philippines began to restructure its bureaucracy and tales of graft and corruption and
incompetence were common as more unqualified personnel were brought in by the appointing
powers of the time.
 The Philippine bureaucracy has evolved over a period of time. From the Post-war era
until the current administration, a lot of reforms have been introduced all intended to make the
bureaucracy respond to needs and the demands of the citizenry. The bureaucratic structures
and models have undergone a series of changes and a lot of innovations and reforms, both
substantively and superficially, yet some of the things remain the same. It is as if all those
initiatives undertaken barely scratched the surface of the problem.

From the above points, we can actually see dozen trouble spots in Philippine
bureaucracy that confront the public, civil servant and the policy makers and why it has
evolved all these years. These troubles include duplication and overlapping of functions in
personnel and agencies, a permanent fixture of Graft and corruption that correlates with Red
tape and inefficiency. While we have already an anti-red tape law in place, a lot remains to be
done in terms of enforcing the policy, complicated procedures when transacting with
government agencies have impede not only investors from doing business in the country, but
most importantly, it discourages citizens’ engagement and participation. Problems in personnel
administration are probably a lifetime concern of the bureaucracy. Even with the on-going
government-wide rationalization plan, reports of overstaffed yet undermanned agencies are all
too common, especially in areas where political patronage is high.

The reason why this bureaucracy still exists as far as the Philippine context is concerned, is
that there is undeniably a disproportion in the effect of practice, study, and politics have on the
Philippine public administration. There is also complexity in its practice and which can be
attributed due to the instability of who holds the power in our public office. In short, this
bureaucracy will still exist for more years to come for as long as our government structure and
system doesn’t change.

2. National and Local Governments both observe development administration. In your

observation, how does implementation of administration contribute or lessen development in
local governments. How does the Civil Service rules and regulations contribute to effective
development administration?

Almost twenty eight years after the enactment of the Local Government Code of 1991
that decentralized power from the national government and devolved services to local
governments, the law has yet to fulfil its promise of building self-reliant communities that
contribute to national development. Many local governments in the Philippines still fail to
address the most basic needs of their citizens. Some local governments lack mechanisms for
transparency and accountability and most local governments have yet to exercise genuine
autonomy from the national government. But this scenario is gradually changing. Many local
governments are now also taking the lead in e-governance, some are raising local revenues,
and others are preparing for the challenges of rapid urbanization, migration, and climate
change. Business and civil society organizations are working hard to improve the quality of their
engagement with local governments. The enactment of this Code was meant to transform local
government units (LGUs) into a self – reliant communities and active partners in nation-building
by giving them more powers, authority, responsibility and resources. Through this, the LGUs were
able to come up with different ways on how to achieve economic growth and contribute to the
whole development of the Philippines. The Philippine government as well as the local
government units where these EPZs are located has a big role in local economic development.
 The Constitution of the Philippines recognizes the importance of local governments. It
provides as a policy that "the State shall guarantee and promote the autonomy of the local
government units -- especially the barangays -- to ensure their fullest development as self-reliant
communities." The Philippines embarked on an ambitious decentralization program in 1991 to
strengthen democratic processes and enhance economic growth. The national government
devolved major responsibilities and revenues to local governments. Decentralization however
goes beyond the transfer of responsibilities and resources to local governments. It requires
reforming governance and empowering the community to participate in advocacy and
decision making. These areas are the current challenges to local governments since power
structures remain traditional and relationship with central government is still paternalistic.
Revenue mobilization efforts are weak and LGUs are dependent on grants from the central
government. The successful experiences of innovative LGUs can inspire confidence that
decentralization can work. Sound policies, political will, systemic reforms and involvement of the
community are key factors in governance.

Local governments constitute the foundation of the entire structure of the government.
The acts of the local government units affect the ordinary citizen more directly than those of the
national government. The average citizen has more and closer contacts with the local
governments and their agencies than with the national or provincial government, and is more
concerned with the local affairs than with those of the national or provincial in scope.

Some of the major salient features of the Local Code are the devolution of the
responsibility for the delivery of various aspects of basic services and enforcement of certain
regulatory powers to the local government units, facilitation of local autonomy through
improved coordination of national government policies and programs, provision of legal and
institutional infrastructure for the participation of civic society in local governance, increase
financial resources available to local government units, and finally, laying the foundation for the
development and evolution of more business oriented local governments.

Local governance for the vast majority of people remains the most accessible level
of engagement with public authority and state institutions. It is the mechanism and channel
closest to the people for accessing basic services and opportunities to improve their lives, for
participation in public processes where decisions affecting their lives are made, and for
exercising their rights and obligations. Effective local governance is key to development that
is inclusive and sustainable, at the local level as well as the national. It is essential in
improving the quality of life of the people both at the urban and rural settings, reducing
inequality in all its forms across the society, and enhancing relations between people and
public institutions. “The principle that economic development is a co-responsibility tends to be
accepted by all tiers of governments and social and economic actors and that The local
government sector has an important role to play in promoting economic development.
However, how this translates into practice remains ambiguous and contested. Each tier of
government is involved in promoting economic development, although in distinct ways that do
not necessarily complement one another.

Given the practice, it is ironic when elected officials turn around and complain that the
appointee is lack of technical skills and cannot be counted on to address national problems.
How could it be otherwise when loyalty rather than technical ability dictates appointments and
the use of funds? Civil service competence and integrity is an important source of contract
enforcement capacity in any economy. The CSC must protect the integrity of the system of
promotion and recruitment within the civil service from political opportunism. This can be done
without any new legislation. According to the existing rules all appointees must meet standards
set by the civil service commission and those who do not have the requisite qualifications need
not be retained. By eliminating favouritism, career officials will not expect to advance their own
careers by securing preferential treatment through political influence. If politicians cannot
interfere with promotion decisions in the bureaucracy, civil servants can concentrate on
developing analytical skills rather than lobbying politicians for budgets and appointments. The
country has no shortage of well-trained personnel, yet the civil service can't find qualified
applicants to fill higher ranks. Inadequate salaries and day- to-day interference through political
appointments and budget manipulation have driven qualified applicants away. The technically
qualified receive no sign that their skills are needed or that they will be remunerated.

The current efforts, or rather the cumulative undertakings of the government, in

professionalizing the civil service may have fallen short in strengthening our bureaucracy.
However, no efforts can and should be taken as stand-alone tools or solutions in insulating
bureaucracy. The passage of supporting measures is highly desirable such as further
rationalization of performance incentives and bonuses to inspire higher performance in the
public sector.

On the part of the CSC, its mandate can only be fully realized once the elected officials
learn to respect the bureaucracy and recognize that a professional core of public servants is a
major partner in good governance. It must be noted that ordinary civil servants are still nation-
builders. For some, there is really a need to “rationalize how the government funds itself, and
how government gets its job done.” After all, the budget we use to support government’s
operation comes from the taxpayers and this has to be complemented by an efficient,
effective, affordable and accountable service from the civil servants. If that would be done, the
CSC will truly contribute to effective development administration.