Bicol

JESSE M. ROBREDO INSTITUTE OF

University
3RD FLOOR AQUILINO
GOVERNANCE P. BONTO BUILDING,
AND DEVELOPMENT
bu-jmrigd@bicol.u.edu.ph
BICOL UNIVERSITY LEGAZPI CITY

In partial fulfillment of the requirements in the subject

PA 12
Philippine Administrative
Thought and Institutions

Submitted by:

Carlos Dean D. Moriones

______________________________________
BPA 1A/1B
Bicol
JESSE M. ROBREDO INSTITUTE OF
University
3RD FLOOR AQUILINO
GOVERNANCE P. BONTO BUILDING,
AND DEVELOPMENT
bu-jmrigd@bicol.u.edu.ph
BICOL UNIVERSITY LEGAZPI CITY

OUTLINE OF PRESENTATION

I. Introduction

This requirement will focus on the issues and problems of the Philippine Bureaucracy which
will be stated later on and to give the citizens of this country the information that they need to
accumulate in order for them to achieve the way of living that they deserve wherein the effort
that they exert is enough to sustain a life without experiencing deprivation form their rights and
needs. Even before the pandemic, many people in our country suffer from poverty, lack of
education, drug or substance use, crime, and unemployment. Stating the issues and problems in
the Philippine Bureaucracy would aid us to decrease the problems that we face because we can
never fix a problem if we never know what the problem is. This capstone project will serve as an
eye-opener to people who are still blinded by the lavish spitting of flowery words by politicians for
them to get the trust of the people.

II. Identified Issues and Problems of the Philippine Bureaucracy

The funds are not properly used in the barangay thus they use it to have beer plazas,
basketball games, beauty pageants rather than focusing on long-term projects which will greatly
help the people, they do this for the people not to forget their names when the election comes.

Days before the elections, there are several people inside the barangay and it even included
some of the barangay official wherein they are the ones who front for the vote-buying and this
shall not be tolerated but it seems that it is just a normal situation that they have been caught
up for a long time.

Transforming local government is critical to developing countries like the Philippines. Local
government units (LGUs) grapple with problems related to poverty, peace and order, social
vices, as well as environmental change and natural disasters. Many LGUs are burdened by
bureaucracy or red tape, limited financial and human resources, as well as corruption. On top of
these, apathy from external (community) as well as internal (employees) stakeholders continue
to challenge the LGUs. These daunting problems gathered through interviews with leaders and
employees in our multi-case study of nine local government units (LGUs) in the Philippines that
have undergone successful transformation served as impetus for change.

How did the LGUs transform themselves? The transformations of the LGUs appear to have been
catalyzed by three inter-related elements: vision, LGU leadership, and citizen engagement. The
LGUs developed a vision that was typically articulated first by the governor or mayor (local chief
executive/LCE). In turn, these leaders engaged and rallied the citizens around this vision of
change.
Bicol
JESSE M. ROBREDO INSTITUTE OF
University
3RD FLOOR AQUILINO
GOVERNANCE P. BONTO BUILDING,
AND DEVELOPMENT
bu-jmrigd@bicol.u.edu.ph
BICOL UNIVERSITY LEGAZPI CITY

Leadership played a critical role in initiating and sustaining transformation across the LGUs.
Aside from having a clear vision for the local government, the LCEs likewise demonstrated
competence in driving the program of government; showed effective management skills
especially in planning, systematizing work and monitoring output; was visible and accessible to
the citizens; as well as modelled credibility and ethical behaviors. The local government leaders
in the nine LGUS were also risk-takers that demonstrated political will and courage in upholding
the common good. The LGU leaders ensured the success and sustainability of their change
initiatives by ensuring citizen engagement. The local governments instituted mechanisms to
counter apathy and promote participation by citizens. These included consultative planning,
community consultations through public hearings and feedback mechanisms, volunteer
involvement in LGU projects, as well as forming sectoral organizations and alliances. One leader
shared that their roads “…were mostly rough roads. So when there was a road project, we
called on the neighboring barangays who would eventually benefit from it to work on the
project… They were the ones who constructed the roads while we provided them food. The
money intended to pay for labor was reallocated to buy materials. So instead of constructing a
one-kilometer road, we were able to build longer ones because we did not have to pay for labor.
It’s the people who did it.” In line with the leaders’ and the citizens’ vision of change, the LGUs
in the study focused their efforts on transformation or reform in the following key areas:
improvement in systems and organizational structure, culture-building, human resource
development, as well as policy and program development. Ensuring that transformation
initiatives will be institutionalized entailed reorganization and the creation of new units and
positions.

All nine LGUs engaged in efforts to improve processes and procedures by enabling equal and
efficient access to government services mostly through information and communication
technologies. To address corruption and red tape as well as promote transparency in service,
the LGUs instituted systems for results-based performance management. There were also
deliberate and regular efforts to monitor and assess projects. Leaders in almost all of the LGUs
mentioned culture-building as critical in managing and sustaining change. As such the leaders
engaged in efforts to promote a culture of service, professionalism, discipline, continuous
improvement, and pride among LGU employees. Changing the culture was not only necessary
from within the LGU. It was also critical to change the mindset and behaviors of their citizens.
One of the LGU leaders expressed that “The greatest challenge is (changing) the mindset.
Culture is one of the most important things in getting what we want to achieve and in going to
our chosen path. Culture resets the perspectives of people”.

Infrastructure development (such as building farm-to-market roads) was among the main
priorities of the LGUs. This was supported by numerous programs to spur employment,
livelihood, and other economic activities. The reforms as well as new projects/programs were
backed by ordinances and executive orders to make sure that these would be continued by
future leaders. Although the LGUs’ context and priorities varied, the changes reported by the
various LGU informants suggested common outcomes related to local governance (transparency
and democracy), quality of life (social equity), and citizenship (sense of pride).
Bicol
JESSE M. ROBREDO INSTITUTE OF
University
3RD FLOOR AQUILINO
GOVERNANCE P. BONTO BUILDING,
AND DEVELOPMENT
bu-jmrigd@bicol.u.edu.ph
BICOL UNIVERSITY LEGAZPI CITY

Aside from heightened engagement and vigilance among the people, success is seen in the
remarkable reduction in poverty incidences and the productive economic life of the community.
There was also an increased sense of pride among the citizens. Transforming local governments
in the Philippines seemed like squaring a circle. Yet the stories of the LGUs illustrated how the
confluence of vision, leadership and citizen engagement can make it happen. [1].

The intermittent water and electric supply is still a problem for most of the Legazpeños here
in our city. Sometimes even if there is water supply it is not suitable even for taking a bath.
During busy times wherein electricity is much in need, the power suddenly goes off and goes on,
this results to damage in the appliances of the consumers.

In the provincial level, during the surge of the COVID-19 Virus, the Bicol Regional Training
and Teaching Hospital (BRTTH) lacked in bed capacity and facilities and attending to the
incoming and current patients efficiently. They came in a situation wherein they strictly accept
COVID-related patients only. The provincial government must pay attention to this matter
because we are not sure if until when this pandemic is going to last.

Another problem for the province of Albay is the low minimum wage for the employees and
laborers. Workers must be compensated properly in order for them to live without deprivation
from their basic needs. Every laborer has a different life situation wherein some of them just
needs to have job in order for them to get experience, but some of them do their jobs because
they help their family to pay the bills, maybe they send some of their sibling or even children to
school in order for them to have a promising future, and many more reasons to give our
laborers higher salary.

Illiteracy in reading comprehension in the Bicol Region is also a problem. More than 70,000
elementary students in Bicol cannot read in both English and Filipino, according to the
Department of Education (DepEd), citing initial results of a 2019 study. Of this number, 18,143
are pupils in Grades 3 to 6, data released by Grace Rabelas, education supervisor for curriculum
and learning management division of DepEd Bicol, showed. Rabelas said the rest of what she
called “nonreaders” were in Grades 1 to 2.The data were based on results of pretests
administered by the Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (Phil-IRI) between July and August
2019.The finding is another proof that the Philippines’ ranking last in reading among 79
countries and economies in the 2018 Program for International Student Assessment (Pisa) is not
a fluke. Rabelas said DepEd had “called the attention of the regional monitoring evaluation and
adjustment division” to come up with the basis for determining the reading abilities of lower
grades and the tools that were used to come up with the results.Phil-IRI, an initiative of the
department’s Bureau of Elementary Education, is an informal reading inventory consisting of
graded passages designed to determine a student’s performance in oral reading, silent reading
and listening comprehension.
Bicol
JESSE M. ROBREDO INSTITUTE OF
University
3RD FLOOR AQUILINO
GOVERNANCE P. BONTO BUILDING,
AND DEVELOPMENT
bu-jmrigd@bicol.u.edu.ph
BICOL UNIVERSITY LEGAZPI CITY

It is anchored on the flagship program of DepEd’s “Every Child A Reader Program,” which
seeks to make every Filipino child able to communicate proficiently in both English and Filipino
through effective reading instruction.5BsIn the wake of Phil-IRI’s findings, the DepEd regional
office has directed all teachers and school heads to give more emphasis on their reading
proficiency program.“Every learner should not be left behind, particularly in reading, and that is
why we are promoting the 5Bs (Bawat Batang Bicolano Bihasang Bumasa) in every school,”
Gilbert Sadsad, DepEd regional director, said in a press conference at the agency’s office here on
Feb. 10.Sadsad said the program was also aimed at meeting the department’s challenge that
every Filipino student should know how to read. Asked about factors that led to a lot of students
becoming nonreaders, Rabelas said: “It could be lack of materials. It could be also there are
teachers who don’t have skills to teach the proper way or manner of reading, or the child has
special need or visually impaired. That’s why he is having a hard time or difficulty in learning
how to read [3].”

Cases of child stunting in all the provinces of the Bicol region have significantly decreased
amid the prevailing coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, the National Nutrition Council
(NNC) here reported on Monday. Arlene Reario, the NNC-Bicol regional coordinator, explained
that this is an offshoot of previous interventions implemented by concerned government
agencies, particularly local governments, in the past years. “It does not mean that because the
decrease takes place or recorded in 2020 because of the nutrition interventions this year. It
could be due to the previous programs too but only paid off this year,” Reario told the Philippine
News Agency. Data from NNC-Bicol show that Albay posted the lowest percentage of child
stunting with 14 percent in 2019 and 12 percent in 2020, or with a 2 percent drop; followed by
Camarines Norte with 15.8 percent in 2019 and 14.9 percent in 2020, or with 0.9 percent drop;
Sorsogon with 17.1 percent in 2019 and 15.7 percent in 2020, or a drop of 1.4 percent; and
Masbate with 21.2 percent in 2019 and 18.6 percent, with a significant decrease of 2.6 percent.
Catanduanes posted 22.5 percent in 2019 and 19.2 percent in 2020, with 3.3 percent, the
biggest drop in all provinces; and Camarines Sur with 23.5 percent in 2019 and 21.3 percent this
year, or a notable 2.2 percent decrease in child stunting in Bicol’s biggest and most populous
province. Overall, Bicol has posted an over 2 percent average drop in child stunting cases, or
from 19.0617 percent in 2019 to 16.95 percent this year. Reario said that one of the factors that
could have significantly contributed to the decrease in child stunting cases is breastfeeding as
preferred by most mothers over bottle feeding. “We are glad at NNC to note that Bicol posts a
high percentage in breastfeeding,” she said. She explained that the most effective way to
prevent stunting is to breastfeed the child during his/her first 2,000 days from birth. “This is
because the milk of the mother contains the needed nutrients that a child needs to have a
complete body development,” Reario said. She added that supplemental interventions as the
child grows including supplemental feeding, giving nutritious food, and good hygiene could help
prevent stunting [4].
Bicol
JESSE M. ROBREDO INSTITUTE OF
University
3RD FLOOR AQUILINO
GOVERNANCE P. BONTO BUILDING,
AND DEVELOPMENT
bu-jmrigd@bicol.u.edu.ph
BICOL UNIVERSITY LEGAZPI CITY

Corruption is a significant obstacle to good governance in the Philippines. A review of recent

literature suggests that all levels of corruption, from petty bribery to grand corruption,
patronage and state capture, exist in the Philippines at a considerable scale and scope.
Significant efforts have been made to combat corruption, which include putting in place legal
and institutional frameworks, as well as efforts by civil society organisations and the media.
Donor agencies are also actively involved in building capacity to curb corruption in the
Philippines. The success of these initiatives, however, is far from guaranteed and many
observers believe that structural obstacles such as entrenched cronyism continue to undermine
anti-corruption efforts [5].

RULE OF LAW in the Philippines remains one of the weakest in East Asia and the Pacific, as
the country’s ranking slipped three spots in the World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Index
2021. The WJP Rule of Law Index, which is based on surveys of more than 138,000 household
and 4,200 experts in 139 countries, showed the Philippines fell to the 102nd spot this year. The
Philippines’ score also dropped by 2.9% in this year’s index to 0.46 on a zero to one scale. A
score of one indicates the strongest adherence to the rule of law. The score placed the
Philippines at 13th out of 15 countries in the East Asia and the Pacific region, unchanged from
the previous index and ahead only of Myanmar and Cambodia. The country slumped to 18th out
of the 35 lower-middle income countries, from 13th last year. “Significant trends for the
Philippines included a deterioration in the factor measuring order and security,” the WJP said.
For order and security, the Philippines ranked 110th with a score of 0.63 from 0.65, previously.
The Philippines placed 120th in the factors measuring criminal justice with a 0.31 score, and
123rd for fundamental rights with a score of 0.39. On the other hand, the country stood at 71st
place with a 0.50 score in the factor measuring open government, and 77th spot with a 0.44
score for “absence of corruption.” Topping the WJP Rule of Law Index are Denmark, Norway,
and Finland, the same as last year. On the other hand, the Congo Democratic Republic,
Cambodia, and Venezuela, remained in the bottom three. For the East Asia and the Pacific
region, the top three countries in the index are New Zealand, Australia, and Japan. Japan
replaced Singapore as one of the region’s top three countries last year. Singapore slid to fourth
place this year. The WJP said this year’s index showed more countries declined in overall rule of
law performance for the fourth straight year. “With negative trends in so many countries, this
year’s WJP Rule of Law Index should be a wakeup call for us all. Rule of law is the very
foundation of communities of justice, opportunity and peace. Reinforcing that foundation
should be a top priority for the coming period of recovery from the pandemic,” WJP Co-Founder
and CEO Bill Neukom was quoted as saying in the statement. The Philippine’s overall position in
the WSJ Rule of Law index has steadily declined since 2015 when it ranked 51st, dropping to
70th in 2016. It ranked 88th in 2017 and 2018, and 89th in 2019. Asked to comment on the
country’s drop in ranking, Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra said in a mobile message that
the general crime rate “has been on a downtrend, and that our law enforcement, prosecutorial,
and judicial institutions, while not perfect like all other human institutions, are nevertheless
functioning as they should.”
Bicol
JESSE M. ROBREDO INSTITUTE OF
University
3RD FLOOR AQUILINO
GOVERNANCE P. BONTO BUILDING,
AND DEVELOPMENT
bu-jmrigd@bicol.u.edu.ph
BICOL UNIVERSITY LEGAZPI CITY

In a mobile message, University of Santo Tomas Political Science Professor Marlon M.

Villarin said the decline in the Rule of Law Index is likely to continue “until the government
would be able to resolve…all issues pertaining to abuses committed by government agents on
the implementation of (President Rodrigo R.) Duterte’s war on drugs.” A 2020 report by the
United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights estimated that there have
been more than 8,000 deaths related to the drug war since it started in July 2016. Last month,
the International Criminal Court announced that it will open a full investigation into the
Philippines’ war on drugs and the alleged Davao Death Squad. University of the Philippines
Political Science Professor Maria Ela L. Atienza added that illegal drugs remain a problem in the
country, hence there is a “continuing dominance of (Mr. Duterte) and the Executive branch vis-
a-vis the legislature and the judiciary instead of the checks and balances principle being
observed, continuing cases of graft and corruption, and threats to freedom of speech, assembly
and the press.” National Union of Peoples Lawyers President Edre U. Olalia in a phone interview
said this result is “both a wakeup call and a sad commentary on the state of rule of law in our
country.” “The fact that the Philippines, in the index, failed in fundamental rights and criminal
justice system means that there is something terribly wrong, (and) this does not give any
comfort in the public’s confidence in the justice system,” he added [6].

III. How does it affect the Philippine Government?

Let us start in the smallest unit of government in the Philippines which is the barangay.
In the barangay, when conducting events such as beer plazas, basketball games, and
pageants, it is impossible that there will be no corruption when it comes to using funds and
many politicians who run for the local government had their experience in the barangay
wherein the funds that are given is still small and at this early stage they learn how to cut
money from the budget, if they can do corruption in a small scale, what more in the bigger
scale, this cycle will continue on rolling until they run for the office in the national level if
ever they have the guts to do it.

The vote – buying which clearly happens in almost all of barangays before the Election
Day affects the Philippine Government in a way that when they win in the elections, the
money that they gave away to the people in order for them to be voted for a position in the
public office will be tripled whenever they cut money from projects that has a huge amount
of budget.

The problems related to poverty, peace and order, social vices, as well as environmental
change and natural disasters and also the red tape, limited financial and human resources,
as well as corruption affects the local government in a way that it hinders the government in
making progression and economic development which is indeed needed for the overall
improvement of the country.
Bicol
JESSE M. ROBREDO INSTITUTE OF
University
3RD FLOOR AQUILINO
GOVERNANCE P. BONTO BUILDING,
AND DEVELOPMENT
bu-jmrigd@bicol.u.edu.ph
BICOL UNIVERSITY LEGAZPI CITY

When you are a resident of Legazpi City, the intermittent water and electric supply is
one of the everyday problems that you will encounter. This matter is endured by the
Legazpeños for a very long time. This problem has a direct impact to the government
wherein it makes the incoming investors in the city to think twice of their decision whether
they’re putting up a business or not because this can affect their business establishment
including on how it will run coherently. Without the investors, the rise of the economy in
the city will be drastic.

During the surge of COVID-19 cases in the province of Albay gave us the reality that the
Bicol Regional Training and Teaching Hospital (BRTTH) lacks in bed capacity and facilities in
order for all the incoming, current, and outgoing patients to be accommodated effectively.
This problem can affect the government wherein if a sudden drop of population happens
due to COVID-19 related cases or even other diseases altogether, this will affect the
economy of the province because the people inside of the province are the ones who makes
the economy work. Without the people, the government will experience difficulty on how
they will replace their loss in the working sector for the economy to continue without any
hindrance.

Laborers and workers that are experiencing low minimum wage in the province has an
effect to the province but it is commonly unnoticed but when the workers are fed up with
this kind of situation, there’s a tendency that they will look for other job opportunities
outside the region and if ever this thing happens, the economy of the region will crumble bit
by bit and this can be a problem for the Provincial Government.

Illiteracy in reading comprehension among students here in Bicol Region will have a
direct impact to the government because if students has shortcomings when it comes to
reading, it will be difficult for them to comprehend the lessons that they need to learn in
school and in this kind of situation, schools will experience difficulty in producing globally
competitive people who can blend in into the fast pace of progression of our country. This
can affect the government wherein these individuals who are still in school can lose the
interest in finishing their studies because they cannot appreciate the essence of studying.
The economy will slow down for the reason that there will be lesser people that are
qualified in having jobs and we all know that jobs in this country boost the economy which is
best for everyone.

Child stunting or Malnutrition will affect the government in a way that the future work
force that we look forward to be productive and efficient will not be met. A barren work
force will push down the economy of the country and we all know that economy plays a big
role for the continuous progression of the country towards the ulterior which will be
unstable if ever we do not address this problem double-time.
Bicol
JESSE M. ROBREDO INSTITUTE OF
University
3RD FLOOR AQUILINO
GOVERNANCE P. BONTO BUILDING,
AND DEVELOPMENT
bu-jmrigd@bicol.u.edu.ph
BICOL UNIVERSITY LEGAZPI CITY

Many politicians and persons that are in the public office always give their whole pledge
to end corruption. In a greater sense, the corruption that is happening throughout the
country will struck the government wherein it will damage the morale of employees and
deteriorate the judicious reputation of government offices. It will lessen the productivity of
the government to change their old ways because they are used to what is occurring inside
their respective departments. The people will lose the respect that they gave to the
government and it will hinder the government to intertwine with the people. In progression,
it is not always the government that makes a move, without the people that belongs to this
country, the government is useless.

The weak rule of law is abused by many people inside and outside the government but it
is commonly roughed up by those who has a high-ranking position in the government. When
the rule of law is weak, those who are incumbent will not hesitate to do things that should
not be done. It will affect the government wherein the weak rule of law will be a gateway
for them to take advantage of the power that has been vested to them by the people. There
will be a chance that the government will give birth to Anarchy and the whole country will
be devastated of the pernicious events that can happen afterwards if the rule of law and
justice will not prevail.

IV. Analysis of the cause of issues and problems

Using the funds in the barangay improperly is happening because they want to get the
attention of the people. Every move that they make will eventually benefit them because a
name of a candidate before elections must be loud and clean; free from controversies and
issue of corruption.

Vote buying in the barangay is caused by the politicians taking advantage of the poverty
among the residents of the barangay in order for them to accomplish their goal and it is to
win the elections. After winning the elections, it is the chance of the politicians to get the
money back that they gave to the people.

The major cause of problems related to poverty, peace and order, social vices, as well as
environmental change and natural disasters is the lack of research and study corresponding
to the different problems mentioned. If only the government prioritize the research and
study to create a certain provision for allotting a higher budget on different research and
studies, it can help us overcome this difficulty, we may find a solution little by little. When
talking about this situation, we cannot guarantee the change immediately, we need the
experts that has different practices related to these problems which can aid us in addressing
them.
Bicol
JESSE M. ROBREDO INSTITUTE OF
University
3RD FLOOR AQUILINO
GOVERNANCE P. BONTO BUILDING,
AND DEVELOPMENT
bu-jmrigd@bicol.u.edu.ph
BICOL UNIVERSITY LEGAZPI CITY

Intermittent water and electric supply in Legazpi City is caused due to the bad service of
Philippine Hydro Inc. (PhilHydro) and Albay Power and Energy Corp (APEC). The government
must create a resolution that will push these two mentioned service providers to give better
service to the consumers. The consumers are paying their bills properly because of their
additional charge if you don’t pay on time, but they are not doing their part for the
consumers to experience the better service that they are wanting for a very long time.

The Bicol Regional Traning and Teaching Hospital (BRTTH) is considered as the Provincial
Hospital of Albay Province. The lack of bed capacity and facilities in the hospital may cause a
higher mortality rate in the province. Nothing will be lost if the government will make a
move to provide additional bed capacity and facilities in the Provincial hospital. All of the
residents inside and even outside the province will benefit their move if they initiate to
construct new buildings for additional bed capacity and facilities.

Laborers and workers experience minimum wage in the Province because the
companies and corporations that benefit from huge profits in their business pamper on
greed and they don’t want to give their employees proper compensation. There are even
situations wherein there is a delay to the salary of the workers. The government also has to
do their part for the sake of the workers to have proper compensation from their job.
Creating a resolution for increasing the salary of the employees would be a great help.

Students experiencing illiteracy in reading comprehension is usually caused by poor

teaching in school especially now that we are in a pandemic, the students are on their
houses studying on their own, and we cannot rely to the parents of these students because
they are busy in doing their jobs to support their family. Schools are under the Department
of Education and Deped must hold a higher standard for hiring teachers that has the
perseverance to teach the students without losing their patience because no matter how
little progression a student had, it is still progression.

We can say that child stunting or malnutrition is caused by lack of vitamins and minerals
to help not just the physique but also the cognitive performance of the children. Let’s put
into our minds why this deficiency occurs, it is because the parents of the children cannot
provide the right amount of nourishment, maybe the food that they put on their plate is the
best that they can do and in a greater sense that they do not have a good salary and the
price of goods keep on spiking up that they need to budget the money that they earn for
surviving the whole week.
Bicol
JESSE M. ROBREDO INSTITUTE OF
University
3RD FLOOR AQUILINO
GOVERNANCE P. BONTO BUILDING,
AND DEVELOPMENT
bu-jmrigd@bicol.u.edu.ph
BICOL UNIVERSITY LEGAZPI CITY

All of us know that corruption is a major problem here in the Philippines. We cannot
eliminate corruption and it is because of the lack of transparency and accountability that
needs to be strictly implied on all of government departments. There is also a study that
some of us inherited this characteristic of being corrupt from the Spaniards that colonized
our country for 333 years. Privacy is power. What people don’t know, they can’t ruin. If only
there is a policy wherein all government offices are required to show how they used the
allotted budget that has been given to them, it may not eliminate corruption but it can
lessen the amount of money that are being stolen from the people.

We can admit that the rule of law in the Philippines is weak because not all of the
people inside and outside the government that needs to be punished of their wrong doings
are penalized because the truth is if you have the money and resources that you need to get
an attorney that knows the different technicalities of the law, there is a certain possibility
that you can get away from the lawsuit that has been filed after you. The purpose of court
hearing is to give the accused a chance to defend him/herself with the help of a lawyer who
knows the ins and outs of the case. If you file a case against someone, its either one of you
will win according to the decision of the court.

V. Implications of the issues and problems

The improper use of funds in the barangay can result to loss of opportunity in putting up
long-term projects wherein all of the people inside the barangay will benefit from it. The
fund of the barangay must be used properly and not just for amusement.

In vote buying, it is your choice whether you will take the money or not. Even if you take
the money from the politician, you have to vote for the betterment of the majority. We all
know that vote buying is illegal but there is nothing we can do to stop it because it is already
there for a very long time. It is difficult to go head to head with a politician because you
reported them to the Commission on Elections for vote buying wherein you are just a
normal citizen living a simple life.

The problems related to poverty, peace and order, social vices, as well as environmental
change and natural disasters and also the red tape, limited financial and human resources,
as well as corruption which is happening at the Local Government affects us in a way that it
is difficult for us to live the life that we want. The people are the ones who will keep on
experiencing the consequences if the government is stagnant and does not make its move
to fix this issues and problems.
Bicol
JESSE M. ROBREDO INSTITUTE OF
University
3RD FLOOR AQUILINO
GOVERNANCE P. BONTO BUILDING,
AND DEVELOPMENT
bu-jmrigd@bicol.u.edu.ph
BICOL UNIVERSITY LEGAZPI CITY

The intermittent water and electric supply is an additional burden to the people living in
the city. It wastes a lot of their money when it comes to broken appliances because of
sudden on and off of the power. When it comes to the intermittent water supply, it wastes
their time on waiting whether what time the supply of the water is going back for them to
take a bath, wash their dishes, do their laundry, and many more. This problem is also caused
by irresponsible use of water and electricity. We all know that the resources needed to
produce electricity is not unlimited and the water dams usually go down to its critical level
when it is summer time. We must also contribute on saving the supplies because money is
useless if the source of electricity and water is gone.

The already stated problem in the provincial level which is the lack in bed capacity and
facilities in the provincial hospital amidst the pandemic is not only the fault of the
government but also the people. Several counter measures for COVID-19 virus were
implemented like lockdowns, social distancing, wearing of masks and face shields, home
quarantines, and many more but the people are stubborn and hard to govern that’s why the
cases of COVID kept on rising. We must cooperate with the government and discipline
ourselves to follow the protocols in order for all of us to go back to our normal lives once
and for all.

The government must take care of finding a solution on how they can give the workers a
higher salary. We know that the purpose of having a job is to earn money but we also don’t
know why they need that hard earned money so bad. Maybe they send some of their
siblings or even their own children to school, some of them may have relatives that are in
the hospital and they need that money to pay the hospital bills, and many more reasons in
why the government must give the salary of workers a raise.

Illiteracy in reading comprehension may hinder the dreams of the pupils. While they are
still young, there is a tendency of them looking in front of the mirror and imagining that
he/she will become an engineer, a doctor, a lawyer, or even to become president in the
future. The DepEd must help them in overcoming this difficulty in order for their dreams to
come true and for them to create a better world for everyone.

Child stunting or malnutrition greatly affects the performance of the children in school,
without the proper nourishment that their brain and body needs, it will be difficult for them
to comprehend the lesson that are being taught in school. This can also result to the
weakness of their immune system and they can have diseases. The government must make
a policy in keeping the students in check if they are obtaining the vitamins and minerals that
they need in order for the children to have better performance in school and be more eager
to study.
Bicol
JESSE M. ROBREDO INSTITUTE OF
University
3RD FLOOR AQUILINO
GOVERNANCE P. BONTO BUILDING,
AND DEVELOPMENT
bu-jmrigd@bicol.u.edu.ph
BICOL UNIVERSITY LEGAZPI CITY

The corruption in our country makes the rich people richer and poor people poorer. The
transparency and accountability that we are longing for must be given by the government
because it is our right to know where our taxes are going and how do the different
government departments spend it.

The Philippines having a weak rule of law is a major problem for the poor people of the
country. They don’t have the resources that they need in order to fight for their rights, even
if we have the Public Attorney’s Office which is designated for those who can’t avail a
private lawyer, they only serve as a legal representation for their clients. There is a situation
wherein a murder happened and several people are accusing a person who is not the real
murderer and he was convicted because he cannot hire a private lawyer to defend him
properly in the court, it is not right that he is inside the bars of the prison while the real
murderer is free to do the things that he want because he is not in prison. The government
must strengthen the rule of law among everyone living in this country putting aside whether
you are rich or poor or even if you came from a prominent family.

References:

[1] Teng-Calleja M. (2018, June 7) Squaring the circle: Facing the challenges of local government
transformation in the Philippines. Inlogov. Retrieved May 22, 2022, from
https://inlogov.com/2018/07/06/squaring-the-circle-facing-the-challenges-of-local-government-
transformation-in-the-philippines/#:~:text=Local%20government%20units%20(LGUs)
%20grapple,resources%2C%20as%20well%20as%20corruption.

[2] Keck, M. (2022, January 11). The Pandemic Pushed 4 Million More Filipinos into Poverty in First Half
of 2021. GlobalCitizen. Retrieved May 22, 2022, from
https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/philippines-poverty-covid-19/

[3] Jaucian, M. (2020, February 17). 70,000 Bicol pupils can’t read – DepEd. Inquirer. Retrieved May 23,
2022, from https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1229537/70000-bicol-pupils-cant-read-deped

[4] Toledo, S. (2020, December 07). Child stunting cases down in Bicol’s 6 provinces. Philippine News
Agency. Retrieved May 23, 2022, from https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1123983

[5] Nawaz, F. and Bridi, A. (2008, August 17). Overview of corruption and anti-corruption in the
Philippines. U4. Retrieved May 24, 2022, from https://www.u4.no/publications/overview-of-corruption-
and-anti-corruption-in-the-philippines
[6] Añago, B.A. (2021, October 15). Philippine rule of law remains one of Asia’s weakest. Bworldonline.
Retrieved May 24, 2022, from
https://www.bworldonline.com/top-stories/2021/10/15/403771/philippine-rule-of-law-remains-one-of-
asias-weakest/
Bicol
JESSE M. ROBREDO INSTITUTE OF
University
3RD FLOOR AQUILINO
GOVERNANCE P. BONTO BUILDING,
AND DEVELOPMENT
bu-jmrigd@bicol.u.edu.ph
BICOL UNIVERSITY LEGAZPI CITY