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    Nature and State of Local Government in the Philippines

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    98 views16 pages

    Nature and State of Loc Gov (Tapales)

    Uploaded by

    clang arzadon
    Nature and State of Local Government in the Philippines

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
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    of 16
    The Nature and State of Local Government* Proserpina Domingo Tapales Professor College of Public Administration University of the Philippines While activities and programs of national government such as foreign relations, currency, and defense are essential tothe lifeblood of its citizens, equally important are services residents get from their immediate communities and the larger local government. In the Philippines, however, as in some other countries, even mundane problems of day to day living are blamed on the national government, largely because the national government indeed gets involved in certain aspects of local administration, It is therefore useful to know about what local governments are, how they relate to the national government, and what they can do or actually do for people in a polity, This essay provides for clarifications of basic ‘concepts and presents the situation in the Philippines. Local Government Delineated Local Government as Territorial and Political Subdivisions In most countries of the world at least two levels of government exist. At the upper level is the sovereign nation, or the government of the whole country. A sovereign national government is able to chart its own Reprinted from Hnrodton to Public Admmration i the Philippines: 4 Reader edited by Vieoria A Bautista, Ma, CnoepionP.Afile, Danilo R Reyes and ProserpnaD. Tapas. Quezna City Collegeof Public Administration, University ofthe Pilppnes,1993:355-367 Proserpiea D. Topoles ‘The Nature and State of Loeal Government 5 affairs and is able to command recognition from other nations. Below the nation are the governments of the parts, which levels may vary according to the political pattern and historical experience of each nation. In federal governments like the United States, Canada or India, there are second layers of government which are described as “quasi-sovereign” states (sometimes called provinces) which have some aspects of sovereignty but otherwise subordinate to the nation. These states supervise units which can be described as “infa-sovereign” local govemments (Humes and Martin, 1969), those which do not have any aspect of sovereignty. In unitary states like the Philippines the supervision over local governments is done by the national government, as there is no intervening layer of government between the sovereign nation and the local units. ‘Thus, from the point of view of the local units, the central government ina federal government are the states or the provinces. In unitary systems the central government isthe nation as a whole. The element of subordination appears in any definition of local government. By nature, local governments are subordinate entities, having no inherent powers and must look up to the higher governmental level for delegation of authority. ‘The United Nations defines local governments as “political subdivisions of a nation or state” (UN, 1962); some authorities refer to them as “parts” ofthe government of a nation or state “of'a country,” non sovereign communities... with “subordinate status,” governments which are “below the central or senior government.” Another element in the definition of local governments is the territorial boundary of their governance. They are, in the words of the International Union of Local Authorities, “geographic subdivisions.” Other authorities say that they operate in “restricted geographic areas, dealing ‘with those matters which concer the people living in a particular locality.” ‘Two important elements are therefore found in any definition of local ‘government ~ the presence of a higher authority and territorial boundary. 6 chapter 1 Decentralization and Local Government rf a merece es Local Governments as Legal Authorities Providing Services While local governments do not have inherent powers, they do have legal authority to exercise their powers. ‘The UN qualifies that local governments are “constituted by law.” They possess “the rights and the necessary organization to regulate their own affairs” (UN, 1962). These affairs are determined in each local government unit by a body of officials who are locally elected or selected. These officials determine the manner and scope by which services can be provided for the inhabitants of the area, within the boundaries provided by law. In some areas local governments perform more functions while in others they perform less. The actual extent of local self-determination or local autonomy depends on delegated authorities and on local capability. Itis not uncommon to find, inthe same nation or state, little uniformity the exercise of local powers within the same degree of delegation of authority. Much of the deviation occurs because of dissimilarities in local resources and capabilities. Some central governments allow greater authority to local governments to perform their activities. For example, in some states in the United States of America, home rule cities have more discretion in policy determination and implementation. By contrast, many Third World countries have highly centralized systems, such that even trivial decisions are elevated to higher authorities rather than resolved at the level of local governments. However, even in centralized countries like the Philippines, the extent to which local governments exercise authority delegated to them varies according to their capabilities. Salient Features and Distinctions Layers of Local Authority Within the subordinate local governments existshierarchy of authority. Except in Switzerland and very few countries (Humes and Martin, 1969), there ae atleast two tiers of local government. The intermediate units of Proserpina D. Tapales “The Nature and State of Local Government 7 local government coordinate services in a larger area and supervise lower levels of local authorities. These are variously called provinces, counties, prefectures, changwat, or special structure such as regional or metropolitan governments, Below them are the basic units of local government, those performing services for people who live together in a community. ‘These are the cities, municipalities, townships, districts, panchayat, tambon, etc. ‘They perform services which include sanitation, protectin to lives and property, and provision of public utilities. In a few countries a lower and smaller form of local government form the sub-municipal level, typified by the barangays in the Philippines, the parishes in the United Kingdom, and the mahalle in Turkey. ‘The TULA noted that the number of tiers of local government depends ‘on geography, population, number of basic units, and degree of centralization (Humes and Martin, 1969), The Philippines’ several layers may be attributed toits geographic peculiarities, centralist experience, and the historical basis of its barangays. ‘The UN prescribed at least two levels of local government - at the lower level, to assume a sense of community where direct citizen participation in services is possible; atthe higher level, to cover the largest area from which most technical services can be provided efficiently (UN, 1962). In some countries another layer of local government appears - the sub-municipal units where actual face-to-face relationships exist which make for greater participation. In the Philippines these are the barangays, Field Organization and Local Government Although a distinctive element of local government is territorial ‘boundary of operation, local governments should not be confused with field units of the national governments. Field offices perform specific ‘governmental functions in designated areas, and the nature oftheir delegated functions is administrative (Fesler, 1949). Local governments perform @ number of services, and the authority they exercise is political in nature. These political powers include the power of legislation through locally lected or selected councils who also exercise the power of taxation. Field offices perform functions and exercise supervision through the issuance of administrative orders. ‘The heads of field offices are appointed, generally by the head of the national agency or ministry. To them are delegated certain powers, like the appointment of subordinate field employees and budget accountability 8 chapter 1 Decentralization and Local Government oouy me een . i On the other hand, local government officials, as earlier mentioned, make political decisions, like earmarking revenues for different projects forthe public good. These decisions generally take the form of ordinances, ‘Thisis best illustrated in the case of the Philippines. Major agencies ofthe government have field offices in the regions but no area government exists to coordinate diverse services, except in these special are ‘Metropolitan Manila, the Cordilleras, and the predominantly Muslim areas. Local Governments as General Purpose Authorities Another useful distinction is between local governments and special purpose authorities. Local governments may be distinguished from special purpose authorities in terms of functions. Special purpose authorities perform only ‘one (or limited) function. Some have elective members like the School Boards in the U.S.A.; others have appointive members, like the national police operating in local areas. Local governments, on the other hand, perform multiple functions. Most of them have elective Councils while ‘others have appointive representatives of the central government. Examples of the latter are the French arrondisements or districts. Insome areas, like in Ilinois, U.S.A., many different local authorities pperform their separate functions over a general purpose local authority. For example, a municipality may belong to a different park district, a different water district, or may have one or more school boards. Although this occurrence is not much of a problem in the Philippines, itis useful to draw a distinction between different types of local authorities. Local Governments as Municipal Corporations Local governments are municipal corporations. According to US Judge Dillon, a municipal corporation has the following characteristics: A municipal corporation in its strict and prope see, i the body snd corporate constituted by the incorporation ofthe inhabitants of ‘city or town forthe purpose of locel goverment thereof. Municipal corporations... are established by law partly as an agent of the stat to sss in the civil goverment of the country but chiefly to regulate and Proserpna D. Tapales ‘The Nature and State of Local Government administer the loca intemal ast ofthe city town or district incorporated” (Quoted by Sinco and Cortes, 1955: 23-24), ‘A municipal corporation has governmental (public) and private (corporate or proprietary) functions. In the Philippine context, Sinco and Cortes said that a local government performs dual roles: (1) as an instrumentality of the national government, and (2) as a local government. The enactment of ordinances is a local governmental function; the implementation of a national law within the local territory isits function as an agent of the state (Sinco and Cortes, 1955). ‘The power to create municipal corporations “is inherent in sovereignty.” The Constitution generally provides for the manner of creation of municipal corporations, but that power is “usually vested in the legislature,” which in tum has no power to delegate its authority, but they usually recognize the existence of communities” existing corporate power (Sinco and Cortes, 1955: 37). ‘Thus, Congress by law creates local government units, although plebiscite among the affected residents is a prerequisite before actual operation. Similarly, Congress may alter boundaries, with local consent. Rationale for Local Government Inmany countries territorial governments antedated the nation state. ‘The emergence of central governments weakened the strength and sovereignty enjoyed by the city states. However, they continued to exist to perform certain functions, foremost of which is providing a sense of identity to disparate communities. In Third World countries where centralization of government was brought about by colonization, the leaders ofthe local communities served as useful mediators forthe invaders consolidating their powers. In contemporary times local governments continue to exist. Their relative ‘strengths depend on the nature of central government policies. Nevertheless, their existence is guaranteed because of the necessary fnctions they perform. In the classic Area and Power edited by Maass, local government is presented as a manner of dividing power by area or territory. An essay by ‘Yivisaker in the same volume pointed to liberty, equality and welfare as 10 chapter * Decentralization and Local Government reve rationale for local government. On the governmental and individual level, according to Yivisaker, local government promotes liberty by “providing additional and more readily available points of access, pressure and control;” itpromotes equality by providing for wide-scale participation and fostering, on the partof the government, “responsiveness and flexibility;” it provides welfare, or service in terms of assuring “that demands will be heard and that needs will be served” (Maass, 1959: 34) Pierce explains the potentially inconsistent tasks of local government: (On the one hand, local governments are to act asthe vehicle of local democracy, providing services responsive to loal needs and conditions. On the other hand, local governments must constitute the local branch of| the nation-state administrative apparatus, executing state polices in key poliy areas (King and Pierce, 1990:2) ‘Thus, local governments exis for the dual purposes of providing for greater people's participation as they provide services consistent with national policies. Maddick points out that the creation of local government units is “advantageous for the promotion of rural development.” One reason is, thatit can “overcome sectoral divisiveness of separate government agencies” (Quoted by Siedentopf, 1987:12). Siedentopf amplifies: Local governments also provide a better understanding of the relationship between the desired project objectives and the resources available to implement them. In the proces of mobilizing local resources they also promote participation of the people (Siedentopf, 1987: 27), There are other reasons for local government. In the classic concepts of division of powers, local government is a means of dividing functions, powers and services by area. It is also a means by which people identify themselves individually and with each other, especially in ethnically homogeneous communities. Local Government Systems Although typologies are often restrictive, they are useful in terms of| understanding similarities and differences. Proserpina D. Tapales ‘The Nature and State of Local Government 11 ‘Alderfer (1964) classified local government systems into four (4) basic types: the French, English, Soviet and traditional. The French pattem is hierarchical, centralized, characterized by executive domination and legislative subordination. The English is decentralized, characterized by legislative dominance. The Soviet pattem is hierarchical but decentralized and is led by one party. The traditional pattern, though dying out, still persists, with many powers exercised by a headman and a council of elders. ‘The International Union of Local Authorities (TULA), observing “an obvious resemblance between the structures of local government in neighboring countries (Humes and Martin, 1969), classified local government systems in terms of geography and culture (including language, religion, governmental traditions and philosophy, and closely related history). Thus, it came up with the following classifications - Anglo-Saxon group (United Kingdom, Australia, Union of South Africa, Canada, and the United States); the central and Northwest Europe group (Germany, ‘Austria, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg); and the East Europe group (Soviet Union, Poland, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia); the South Europe group (France, Italy, Greece, Spain and Portugal); the West Asia and North Africa group (all Islamic countries, mostly Arab or Arab-influenced); the South Asia and East Africa group (India, Sri Lanka, ‘Malaysia, and Burma, Sudan and Ethiopia which, except for Ethiopia, were former British Colonies); and the East Asia group (Thailand, Philippines and Japan) which have had different factors affecting the development of their local governments. Although the IULA classified the Philippines within the East Asia ‘group, the Philippines can be easily categorized as resembling the Southern European patter (in the IULA’s classification) or the French (following ‘Alderfer’s taxonomy). The local government system in the Philippines is a colonial experience transplanted by Spain and continued by America, Local Autonomy and Related Concepts Local autonomy is the degree of self-determination exercised by a local government unit vis-d-vis the central government. To attain local autonomy, a necessary pre-requisite is decentralization. Decentralization comes in two forms - deconcentration and devolution. Deconcentration is administrative in nature; it involves the es 12. choptert Decentralization and Local Government ase seanene ze RomNE BEN Reeesem Rape 1 transfer of functions from the national office tothe regional and local offices. Devolution, on the other hand, connotes political decentralization, or the transfer of powers from the central government to local government units. Siedentopf makes a clear distinction between these two forms of decentralization: “Deconcentration means the redistribution of administrative responsibilities only within the central government “agency,” while devolution “isthe strengthening or creation of independent levels and units of government.” In devolution, local governments are “perceived to be separate levels over which central authorities exercises less or no direct control” (Siedentopf, 1987:16) For instance, the Local Government Code of 1991 (Republic Act 7160) devolved to local governments the administration of five basic services heretofore conducted by the national government - health, agriculture, maintenance of public works and highways, social welfare, and environmental protection. ‘The Local Tax Code (Presidential Decree 231) earlier provided local councils the authority to impose taxes to raise the revenues needed for their projects, within the ambit of the law. On the other hand, to the branches of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the local ‘treasury offices are deconcentrated the function of tax collection. An autonomous local government is one which has attained a measure of decentralization, or devolution. This involves greater taxing powers, as ‘well as greater prerogative to determine priorities in the administration of certain services or the earmarking of resources. The extent of autonomy varies according tothe policies ofthe central ‘government units as well as tothe capability of respective local government units to exercise devolved powers. For instance, the central government may authorize local units to levy certain taxes, but the ability ofthe local ‘units to tap these services and to fund activities from these new sources

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