BUREAUCRACY AND PUBLIC MANAGEMENT IN
DEMOCRACY, DEVELOPMENT, AND GOVERNANCE IN
THE PHILIPPINES
By Ma. Lourdes G. Genato Rebullida and Cecilia Serrano
I. OVERVIEW OF WESTERN INFLUENCES ON
BUREAUCRACY AND PUBLIC MANAGEMENT IN
THE PHILIPPINES
- The terms and concepts used in praxis and theories
of bureaucracy and PM are vital to understanding
Phil. bureaucratic structures, functions and
processes
- Public Administration and Public Management
o Shift from the term “administration” to
“management” in recent years
o Terms are being interchanged but there are
distinctive nuances and competing paradigms
- Overview of the influence of western PA in Phil.
Bureaucracy
Phil. Timeline PA Influence/Model
Early years of the Phil. Traditional PA
Republic (1953 Constitution)
Marcos Regime (1970s) New PA (NPA) then later
Dev’t Admin. (DA)
Post EDSA Revolution (1987 New Public
Constitution) Management (NPM)
A. BUREAUCRACY AND TRADITIONAL PA
- Spanish colonization gave the Philippines its
experience with centralized bureaucracy and PM
- During American colonization and post WWII
rehabilitation, the country learned concepts on
bureaucracy and PM with the setting up of Institute
of PA in 1952
Bureaucracy
- From French word “burel” meaning the cloth used
to cover a writing desk and greek word “kratos”
meaning rule (Rule by Officials)
- According to Max Webber, it is a distinctive form of
organization that is ideal for government and is
o A structured hierarchy of offices and
o of competent and salaried officials,
o vested with an impersonal authority and,
o by virtue of rules in the conduct of official
business,
o engaged in carefully defined division of tasks
and
o rendering rational decisions by application of
rules and the situation.
- It is a distinctive organization administered/
managed by the national and local executive
authorities consisting of human and material
resources to achieve the goals of the state.
- According to Andrew Heywood, it refers to the
administrative machine of the state, inclusive of the
hierarchy of government offices and officials, and
ranks of civil servants undertaking detailed tasks of
government and the state.
Traditional Public Administration (TPA)
- TPA as established by Woodrow Wilson tended to
be compatible with Webber’s model of bureaucracy
o Politics and Administration dichotomy
distinguished political and administrative acts
and reinforced the political neutrality and
career system of civil service.
- Wilson’s PA model pulled away the bureaucracy,
civil service and PM from the spoils system thru
separation of politics from administration and
political neutrality
o Politics = policy makers
o Administration = executive branch
- His model of PA as a field of study generated
knowledge & theories on practices of government
in doing its functions.
o Approaches in organizing and management of
government were derived from different
schools of thoughts in PA
TPA to Modern PA
- Recent innovations in theory and practice redefined
the presuppositions and limits of government
bureaucracy
- Constraints encountered with the bureaucratic
structures and management processes in light of
new challenges in global and home fronts of the
state
- “Era of change” has been stimulated by perceived
inadequacy of traditional bureaucracy and PA to
cope with new scenarios and emergence of
competing paradigms.
NEW PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
- Emerged in the 1970s to address the gaps and
problems generated by TPA model and as a
response to the changing times with its emphasis
on the new norms of equity, access, responsiveness
and participation
o While rule maintenance, efficiency, economy
and effectiveness were continued, the trend
was to make programs responsive, accessible
and affordable to the clientele beneficiaries
DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION
- As the Philippines was considered a developing
state, there was a search for an applicable
development model.
- Theories and models were formulated to explain
the conditions of development and
underdevelopment
- Development Administration refer to the different
theories and approaches for bureaucracy and PA to
achieve development in its political, economic and
social dimensions
GOVERNANCE, DEMOCRACY AND
DECENTRALIZATION
- Post EDSA 1, the new 1987 Constitution paved the
way for the democratization of the Philippines.
- President Cory Aquino to initiate changes in the
bureaucracy to veer it into the re-democratization
process and governance framework
- Bureaucracy faced the challenge of having civil
society groups as stakeholders
- Shift from PA to PM and “government” to
“governance” since government is no longer the
sole decision-maker and holder of social and
political power
 o Is instead shared with CSOs and the business
sector in terms of policy agenda, advocacy of
policies and legislations as well as
implementation.
- Hence, there had been changes on the structure
and behavior of bureaucracy by enabling
participation of civil society and private businesses
in policy implementation and delivery of services.
o Civil Society groups channeled their track record
in development work and advocacy during the
Marcos regime into the mainstream of the
Aquino government’s service delivery and
public administrative system.
o Local Government Code of 1992 also
transformed the bureaucracy through
decentralization by devolution to include
involvement of CSOs which changed the power
relationships between the national and local
level
New Public Management (NPM)
- Influenced by discourses of Ted Gaebler and David
Osborne, bureaucracy has to transform to:
o Become entrepreneurial
o Adopt features of the private business
organizations
o Link with the private and other sectors
- NPM became the alternative school of thought as it
is call for a public sector reform, public
accountability, empowerment, as well as quality
management and performance of the bureaucracy
- Bureaucracy has a vital role in policy-making
compared to TPA
- Shift from PA to PM where the former refers to the
use of resource and attaining results while the latter
conveys the traditional perspective but expanded to
cover managerial trends.
o Recognizes that bureaucracy is present in all
branches of the government that interact in the
process of policy-making
- Philippines has been challenged by the NPM as it
grappled with re-democratization and its
participation in globalization processes.
II. PHILIPPINE BUREAUCRACY IN POLITICAL AND
HISTORICAL CONTEXTS
- In the operations of bureaucracy, changes over time
in its organization and system were related to the
changes in the Phil. Constitution and to directives
contained in executive policies, legislation and
judicial decisions.
- Application of “diachronic analysis” highlights the
historical stages/phases of time within whose
changes in the Phil. Bureaucracy had taken place.
A. PRECOLONIAL PHILIPPINES & SPANISH
COLONIZATION
- The country before and at the point of Spanish
colonization was:
o composed of settlements called barangay,
o each with territorial chief/”datu” who
exercised executive, legislative and judicial
authority and is chosen by tradition, merits,
wealth, inheritance and capacities.
- Spanish colonizers laid down centralized system of
government in ascending levels (e.g. barrios,
pueblos, cabildos and provincias)
o There was unity of church and state establishing
the power of the friars over and on the Spanish
colonial government of the Philippines.
- This period shaped the values, norms, beliefs and
practices of the Filipinos that continue to this day
and has characterized and shaped the bureaucratic
and administrative behavior of Philippine Politics &
PM with positive and negative effects.
- Spanish colonial rule established a central
government system that is:
o ruled by special/privileged persons (usually
Spanish)
o Positions were either sold to the highest bidder
or given by the King as a favor/payment
- This centralization has negative and positive effects
which persist until today:
o Resources and decision-making were
concentrated/centralized in the seat of power
o “Hacienda System” shaped the basic social
structure, economy & power structure in Phil.
Politics, bureaucracy and PM
B. MALOLOS REPUBLIC TO THE AMERICAN COLONIAL
PERIOD
- The Malolos Republic was the Philippines’ first
experience in establishing a popular, representative
and democratic government with separate
branches in 1898.
- During this period, Mabini distinguished appointive
positions from those filled by competitive
examination
- The Americans, upon their arrival by the end of
1900s, retained the centralized political and
administrative system while adding new
departments.
- They introduced modern bureaucracy characterized
by a system of accountability for public resources
and the posts of property officers and auditors
- Bureaucracy was engaged in the delivery of services
mostly related to education.
- Philippines became independent on July 1946 as a
democratic and republican state with the
Constitution crafted in 1935 after WWII & the
Japanese occupation.
- The structure of the bureaucracy and the
presidential style of the time were the crucial issues
of Phil. Bureaucracy and PM
C. INDEPENDENCE AND DEMOCRATIZATION
Structuring the Bureaucracy
- Phil. Bureaucracy experienced its own institutional
development and relationship with the 3 branches
of the government from 1946 – 1972 based on the
1935 Constitution. In this democratic phase:
o Norms of merit, political neutrality, public
service and public trust were introduced in the
ranks of the civil service
o Each branch of government had a bureaucracy
to perform their functions including the local
government.
 o Bureaucracy was centralized and the leadership
of the electoral president focused on policy
implementation
o Bureaucracy helped in drafting laws and policies
but not in an active way of shaping policy
agenda.
- The Civil Service Commission (CSC) has been
reorganized and they looked into:
o Creation of personnel offices and officer
positions
o Managed performance rating and promotion
system
o Ensured observance of public service ethics
- General Auditing Office looked after auditing and
settlement of all accounts using government
revenues and receipts.
Presidential Style
Another crucial issue in this phase pertains to the
dynamics of its relationship of the President and his/her
political and management styles
- Work of the bureaucracy depended on the
president’s programs and agenda:
o Magsaysay made contributions in the
suppression of communist insurgencies
o Garcia started the “Midnight” appointments but
was nullified by the Supreme Court; His “Filipino
First policy” limited foreign control on the
country’s economy
o Macapagal Sr. held off appointment of his own
qualified men to allow incumbents to finish
their term.
o Marcos’ first term did not require civil service
eligibility for casual workers and qualified
appointees in positions; Focused on rice
sufficiency, infrastructure and other
development-oriented programs
- Generally, presidents could avail of the items of for
casual employees for their appointees with CSC
heavily constraining the “Spoils System” which used
the bureaucracy as a reward to supporters.
- Some civil servants did not practice political
neutrality and engaged in electoral campaign &
relationships with politicians leading to widespread
perception of graft and corruption.
D. MARCOS’ AUTHORITARIAN REGIME
- Sept. 21, 1992 ushered his authoritarian regime
with his declaration of Martial Law
o Bringing the executive and legislative powers
under his control
o Bureaucracy was used in full power for the
purposes of the regime (Politicization of
bureaucracy)
- Two scenarios had implications on the roles and
performance of the bureaucracy:
1. Implementation of development programs
along the track of Marcos’ political agenda and
personal interest (Duplicity)
2. Growth of socio-political movements in the
countryside against the regime who initiated
models for alternative development that
challenged the bureaucracy’s performance
under the regime
- Bureaucracy lost its political neutrality and was
dominated, coopted and subservient to the regime
- Process of regionalization began dividing the
country into specific regions in order to resolve red
tape and respond to the New Administration norms
of equity, access, responsiveness and participation.
o However, Marcos’ personal interest marred the
development process described as the “Politics
of Plunder”
- Contributory factors of Marcos’ downfall are the:
o National public debt incurred on behalf of his
cronies and in the name of development
o Failure of the bureaucracy in reaching people in
far-flung areas and only served the interests of
the privileged class
o Human rights violation
- 1986 EDSA Revolution ended the Marcos Regime
and the ascension of Cory Aquino as the new
president
E. EDSA 1, REDEMOCRATIZATION AND EDSA 2
- The Aquino administration attempted drafting and
ratification of the 1987 Constitution as a way of
“De-Marcosification”, removing the remains of the
regime in the bureaucracy.
- Restored liberal democratic traditions of the 3
branches of government
- Purged civil servants but lead to claims of errors on
removing deserving employees and retaining those
undeserving.
- The 1992 Local Government Code established
political decentralization/devolution which changed
the power relations of the national and local
governments.
- Governance and NPM was initiated for the Phil.
Bureaucracy and PM system in order to cope with
the re-democratization (post EDSA 1) as well as with
the effects of globalization in the international level.
- Legitimized the participation of Civil Society in
decision-making bodies and processes
o This became a challenge for the bureaucracy
o Civil society groups attempts to empower the
people for the development and achieved more
than the government in various ways.
o Civil society’s alternative development
strategies offered the new government and the
bureaucracy with new perspectives and
approaches
- Ramos’ Administration brought these development
alternatives to mainstream in the national
government’s programs and projects.
- From 1990s to present, the bureaucracy faced the
challenges of the state’s commitments to various
international initiatives
- The bureaucracy was burdened with new
legislations containing new concepts and
approaches with some advocated by civil society
groups
- In Estrada’s Administration, the bureaucracy
focused on pro-poor policies and programs but was
cut short due to EDSA 2.
- In Arroyo’s Administration, the bureaucracy
pushed for public sector reform and new PM by
streamlining and reengineering the line
 departments, agencies and other programs for
development and governance.
o With devolution in its place, bureaucracy
adjusted to the new roles and functions vis a vis
local governments in service delivery and policy
implementation.
III. CHALLENGES TO PHILIPPINE BUREAUCRACY
Since 1986, the capacities of bureaucracy and PM
system have been challenged by global and national
imperatives for democracy, development and
governance. The following are the challenges and some
responses provided:
A. THE CIVIL SERVICE AND CAPABILITY BUILDING
- Issues experienced by the bureaucracy are:
o With devolution as the form of political
decentralization, a percentage of civil service
personnel moved from national agencies to
LGUs
o The Local Government Code caused a decrease
in personnel at the national level and increase
in the local level
o The Attrition Law abolished positions that have
become vacant causing a decrease in personnel.
o Competencies at local government levels need
upgrading to carry out their devolved functions
o Civil service also needed adjustments in their
training on the recent concepts and norms of
NPM
o Despite recognition of performance through
awards, the lack of funds for salary upgrading
and career development
o Bureaucracy has threatened personnel
motivation and efficiency as well as induced
graft and corruption.
o Bureaucracy will have problems from
devolution with the local officials oriented
towards maximizing votes and lack technical
expertise for development policies and
programs
o CSC continues to face political interference.
- As a response, the government provided training
programs to address issues of professionalism and
competencies.
o National departments provided staff training
and technical assistance to local government
despite inadequate funds
- NGOs have also included government personnel in
their training programs
- Yet, bureaucracy’s competencies are still perceived
as inadequate to cope with new legislation and
innovative paradigms and development
management.
B. REENGINEERING, PRIVATIZATION AND NPM
- Downsizing and reengineering have taken place at
national-level offices but some departments have
yet to fully work-out the process at their regional
offices
- The reengineering plan of the Department of
Budget and Management aimed at restructuring the
bureaucracy with rationalization of compensation,
human resource development system and other
support.
o Other institutional reforms are aimed at curbing
corruption and unethical practices
- Privatization formed part of the reengineering
process for government bureaucracy and public
sector reform.
o Proclamation 50 launched the policy by the
disposition of government’s non-performing
assets to deal with numerous government
corporations and the huge debt incurred by the
Marcos’ Regime
o Public Enterprise Reform called for the
abolition, merger, retention or privatization of
government corporations.
- Impact of globalization lead to the shift towards
new PM strategies and methods:
o Total Quality Management was introduced in
national and local government agencies aimed
at developing awareness among workforce,
quality production of social goods and services,
quality client service orientation, people
empowerment, among others.
o The successful cases proved that public sector
organizations and government bureaucracy can
achieve improved performance using
innovations in NPM.
C. THE NATIONAL-LOCAL GOVERNMENT
INTERFACE
- With devolution mandated by the Local
Government Code of 1992, the national
government devolved powers and responsibilities
to LGUs over basic services as well as some
regulatory powers and licensing to bring
development closer to the people and be
appropriate to local needs and resources.
- For programs and policies, the national government
enjoined different stakeholders (civil society and
business sector) to participate in decision making
and policy implementation.
o Bureaucracy will harness multisectoral
participation, render technical assistance to
local government and will no longer be the sole
provider of services but become an enabler.
- At the LGU level, civil society groups are mandated
to be members of the local council, committees and
boards.
- International funding organizations and donors also
participate by providing financial and technical
assistance to national and local level.
Prepared by:
BRIANN FRED V. LIPARDO
MPA 621 (1ST Semester 2019)