The Political Economy and Civil

Service Reforms
By: Leonor Magtolis Briones

GRACE ANN M. GONZALES

 Appointments in the civil service
shall be made according to merit
and fitness.
-1987 Philippine Constitution, Art. IX, Sec. 2(2)

What are we in power for?

- Jose Avelino, Senate President, January 1949
 R E V I E W O FLI T E RAT U R E

01 02 03 04

ASSESSMENT STUDY ON ABUSES OF

HISTORY OF DEMOCRACY POLITICAL
OF THE
THE CSC AND POWER
PHILIPPINE
BUREAUCRAC BUREAUCRAC CORRUPTION
Y Y
THEBUREAUCRACYI NTHEPH ILI PPI
NES
Onofre D. Corpuz
1. Vulnerability to nepotism
(1957) 2. Spoils system in the civil service.
3. As an institution, it was not an
independent power in Filipino
politics.
4. Highly vulnerable to attack by
external parties to tamper with the
merit principle of the service.
5. Civil service in the Philippines
did not have the independent power
to resist encroachment upon its
integrity.
A History of the Civil Service in the Philippines in the
Time of the Americans
Jose N. Endriga (1985)

EFFICIENCY ECONOMY MERIT

Merit or Patronage: A History of the Civil Service in
the Philippines
Jaime B. Veneracion (1988)
CULTURAL

PHILIPPINE
CIVIL
SERVICE

SOCIAL ECONO
SPHERES
MIC
REORGANIZATION: A NEVER ENDING STORY
“Reorganization is implicated in
the political process not only
because it seeks to reallocate
power, organization, authority
and resources, but also because it
alters policy”
Jose B. Abueva (1969)
 BUREAUCRACY AND DEMOCRACY
The Dynamics of Executive-
Bureaucracy Interaction during
Governmental Transitions
Ledivina V. Cariño (1992)

“Bureaucracy against democratization is something universal;

bureaucracy tends to accumulate and concentrate power of
decision making, while democratization tends to devolve and
decentralize. “
 POLITICS OF PLUNDER: THE PHILIPPINE UNDER
MARCOS Belinda Aquino (1987)

The book of Belinda A. Aquino entitled “Politics of Plunder:

The Philippine under Marcos reveals in excruciating detail the
dynamics of the systematic plunder of the Philippines and the
manipulation of bureaucracy.
 THE FAMILY THAT PREYS TOGETHER

• The Ties that Bind: A Guide to Family, Business and

Other Interests in the Ninth House of Representative
(1994) by Eric Gutierrez
• Pork and Other Perks: Corruption and Governance in
the Philippines
• Betrayals of the Public Trust: Investigative Reports on
Corruption
LEGAL BASES OF THE CIVIL SERVICE SYSTEM IN THE
PHILIPPINES
Public office is a public trust.
Public officers and employees shall
serve with the highest degree of
responsibility, integrity, loyalty and
efficiency and shall remain
accountable to the people.
-1973 Constitution, Art. XIII, Sec. 1; 1987 Constitution, Art. XI, Sec. 1
 SPANISH REGIME

The history of the Philippine Civil

Service dates back during the
Spanish regime. There was
prevalence of the culture of
nepotism which has been carried
over through generations.
Apolinario Mabini’s decalogue

The development of a professional

administrative class started with
the provision that personnel chosen
through examination could not be
removed with a change in political
administration
Malolos Constitution of 1899

Title VII is on "The Executive

Power." An interesting
provision is Article 57 which
provides for "the most liberal
policy of decentralization and
administrative autonomy."
1935 Constitution and Commonwealth Act 177
Article XI on the Civil Service
reiterated existing legal provisions like
appointment according to merit and
fitness to be determined by competitive
examination, the ban on partisan
political activities, prohibition of
double compensation, and so on. The
guaranteeing by constitutional
authority of an open competitive merit
system.
 1973 Constitution
the right to self organization prohibition against partisan
of government employees, political activity

1 3 5

2 4
standardization of
provisions for the selection guaranteed protection for compensation for
of the members of the employees, government officials
Commission
 1973 Constitution
a ban on double
compensation

6 8

7
prohibition of elective
officials from appointment
to a public office
prohibition of losing candidates
from accepting appointments in
public office within a period of one
year
 1973 Constitution

It also includes Article XIII on Accountability of

Public Officers which contains the immortal lines
“Public office is a public trust”.
1986 Freedom Constitution

A massive reorganization was set in motion.

This was promulgated in Article III. The
objective was to "promote economy,
efficiency, and the eradication of graft and
corruption." The reorganization was
followed by a purge.
 1987 Constitution

equal access to maintenance of

opportunities for honesty and
public services integrity in the
role of women in public service
nation building
the protection of prohibition of political
the rights of dynasties
the establishment workers as well as 6
4
of a Career
Service
2 promotion of
welfare

3 5
1
 1987 Constitution

positive and
effective measures
against graft and
corruption a policy of full public
disclosure of all
7 transactions involving
public interest

8
 The Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for
Public Officials and Employees (R.A. 6713)
The law builds on an earlier republic act- RA 3019 or the Anti-
Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. The Code sets out in great detail
the duties of public officials and employees.
Section 7 includes a litany of prohibited acts and transactions.
Section 8 requires public officials and employees to submit two
documents under oath: the Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net
Worth, and a Disclosure of Business Interests and Financial
Connections. Section 9 provides for divestment from shareholdings
or interest in any private business enterprise.
 Women in Development and Nation Building Act
(RA 7192)
• Promotes the integration of women as full and equal partners
of men in development and nation-building and for other
purposes.
• In the public service, it is true that there are more women than
men; however, they are concentrated in the rank and file levels.
As one climbs up the organizational ladder and reaches the
executive positions, the number of women diminishes in
relation to men.
• Anti Sexual Harassment Act of 1995 (RA 7877)
“Civil Service reforms are getting
“betterer and betterer”; actual
practices are getting “worser and
worser.”
-Ledivina V. Carino
Authoritarian Succession
Marcos initiated sweeping reforms of the
Civil Service which he enshrined in the
constitution itself. He created the
Development Academy of the Philippines
(DAP), which was tasked, among others, to
develop training programs for different
levels of career officials. PD 6 which allows
summary dismissals, followed in the wake
of the reorganization. Purges which took
place in 1973 and 1975 saw the removal of
thousands of personnel.
Redemocratization and the Civil Service
The Aquino reorganization was
characterized by summary dismissals,
deletion of positions in agencies, frequent
changes of heads of agencies, and the
creation of even more positions. The major
justification for this wholesale purge of
government officials is "de-
Marcosification." Furthermore, the
distinction between career and non-career
officials was blurred.
THANKS FOR LISTENIN
G