Name : ANGELICA MAY C.

CLARITO
Year & block : BPA-4B

I. INTRODUCTION
Quality public service has been the target of the government in the last
decades as it continually adopts to new public management and good public
administration. Public service is usually provided by government to people living
within its jurisdiction either directly or by financing provision services. Public
sector reforms have been forced through to enhance the administrative system
due to developmental constraints. The goal of reforms, particularly Public Sector
Governance Reform (PSGR), is to provide the public sector with high-quality
services and long-term performance. The government's efforts to modernize the
public service and make it more responsive and focused on the needs of the
citizenry remain largely dependent on these. Canlas (2018) stated that since
1986, the Philippine government, under a succession of political administrations,
has pursued a structural policy reform program on several fronts, both economic
and non-economic that leads to inclusive development. This paper seeks to
compare the policy reforms of Benigno Aquino III Administration and Rodrigo
Duterte administration in improving quality services in the Philippines.
II. TABLE OF COMPARISON
Table 1. Policy reforms in the Philippines under Aquino and Duterte
administration
Policy Reforms to Improve the Change without Transformation:
Quality Social Policy Reforms in the
of Public Services in the Philippines Philippines under Duterte
Author: Maria Fe Villamejor-Mendoza Author: Charmaine G. Ramos
Administration: Benigno Aquino, III Administration: Rodrigo Duterte
Tuwid na daan: “Kung walang corrupt, Social policy expansion through
walang mahirap" authoritarian leaders and ‘narrow
universalism.’
Open government that uses e-bidding Duterte's leadership in civil-rights
functions crushing "war on drugs"
Good governance and Anti-corruption Anti-drug operations as security
goals: Transparency, empowerment, threats rather than public health issue
public sector performance, anti-
corruption measures, policy
environment for good governance
Good governance initiatives: Philippine Use of public resources for social
Government Electronic Procurement spending: National health insurance
System (PhilGEPS) program, free tuition in public
universities
Bottom-up Budgeting Top-down approach
Improve Delivery of Public Service: Budgetary appropriations for
Seal of Good Governance, Anti-red country’s conditional cash transfer
Tape, Citizen Satisfaction Index scheme
Name : ANGELICA MAY C. CLARITO
Year & block : BPA-4B

The above table describes the different policy reforms undertaken by PNoy and
Duterte administration to improve the delivery of goods and services in the Philippines.
Both administrations have different strategies on how to cater developmental challenges
nevertheless seeks to be more efficient, effective and responsive. The first column
shows governance reforms of Aquino administration that focuses to combat corruption,
improve public service delivery to the poor and enhance business and economic
environment of the country as whole. This creates reforms in government procurement
through PhilGEPS, utilize bottom-up budgeting, good governance and anti-corruption
goals and use of open government. On the second column, the focus of the Duterte
administration is on social policy expansion that becomes a tool for political legitimation.
This administration focuses on expansion of access to social goods and services - the
narrow universalism spectrum. Ramos (2020) emphasized social policy reforms of
Duterte that includes “war on drugs,” free tuition fee in public universities, national
health insurance program and the conditional cash transfer scheme to cover the effects
of higher indirect taxes. Top-down process was utilized as mobilizational power of
liberal middle classes.

III. PHILIPPINE POLITICS UNDER DUTERTE: A MIDTERM ASSESSMENT

David Timberman (2019) confirmed that the political economic dynamics of
Philippine politics impact the social changes that Duterte is pushing in his article,
Philippine Politics under Duterte: A Midterm Assessment. He talked about the three
tempered facets of Philippine politics: the uneven record of elite democracy from 1986
to the present; the achievements and setbacks of the administration of Benigno Aquino
III (2010–2016); and the peculiarities of the 2016 presidential election. "Elites dominate
legislative and policymaking processes, successive governments have failed to adopt
and implement socioeconomic policies that address the needs of the poor and middle
class," he notes in his study of the persistence of elite democracy since 1986.
Timberman (2019) also emphasize the notable policy reform of Aquino administration
that was supported by Mendoza. This entails enacting legislation pertaining to
reproductive health and "sin taxes," instituting a twelve-year basic education program,
and continuing public financial reform. Finally, Timberman and Ramos (2020) concurred
that the lower middle class is somewhat frustrated and dissatisfied with Duterte's social
reforms, which is partially due to the fact that the poorer classes are suffering the most
from the drug war.
IV. CONCLUSION
The past 50 years of government reform in the Philippines have yielded mixed
results, including an unwieldy organization and structure with overlapping functions, red
tape, graft, and demoralization of the political and economic elite. To put it briefly, public
sector reforms are essential to the advancement of the country. Reforms are not
Name : ANGELICA MAY C. CLARITO
Year & block : BPA-4B

considered systemic and sustainable if they do not institutionalize new or altered

behaviors and practices that produce these improved outcomes for citizens. This will
result in the rich getting richer, the middle class expanding but staying unstable, and the
poor getting poorer.

References:
[1] Canlas, D. (2018) . “Philippine policy reforms and infrastructure development: a
historical account.” The Philippine Review of Economics. University of the Philippines
School of Economics. Vol. LIV No. 2, December 2017 pp. 61-87
[2] Reforms to Improve the Quality of Public Services in the Philippines1 Maria Fe
Villamejor-Mendoza, DPA https://ncpag.upd.edu.ph/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/The-
Quality-of-Public-Services-in-the-Philippines_Villamejor-Mendoza.pdf
[3] Ramos, C.G. Change without Transformation: Social Policy Reforms in the
Philippines under Duterte https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/dech.12564
[4] Timberman, D. (2019) . “Philippine Politics under Duterte: A Midterm Assessment.”
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
https://carnegieendowment.org/2019/01/10/philippine-politics-under-duterte-midterm-
assessment-pub-78091