Philippine

Administrative Thoughts
and Institution
PUAD 102
Theories of Bureaucracy
1. The Classic Bureaucratic
Model

- it sees an organization
chart as indispensable for
fitting men in the slots and
positions in the hierarchy.
 Two components:

a. structure or design of the

organization

b. the ways by which people

and work are managed
within the organizational
design.
2. The Neo – Bureaucratic Model

- It considered the analysis of

policy decisions and justification
for the use of certain processes in
decision - making.
3. The Institutional Model
- it focuses on the organization
structure of government.

- it describes the relations among

different hierarchical level and it
studies what is being done at each
level.

- It is more concerned with

constitutional, legal and administrative
rules as bases for administering the
affairs of state.
4. Human Relations Model

- it affirms that organization

is people.

- It is the individuals who fill

the positions and not the
positions with the description of
the functions to be performed.
5. Public Choice Model

- It emphasizes provisioning
of goods and services by decision
makers at different levels.

- Its proponents supports the

view that authority be allocated
to all organizational levels.
 THE GENERAL
STRUCTURE OF
PUBLIC
ADMINISTRATION
1.1 - THE STATE AND ITS
CONSTITUTIONAL BASIS
The Legal basis

a. The Philippine Constitution

of 1986 - defined the broad
parameters of governance in the
country as they apply to the
different departments of
government (Legislative,
Executive and Judicial), the
Constitutional Commissions and
other bodies, and local
government, including provisions
 Subsequent laws, however,
delineated the finer details as
regards specific powers,
functions and structure of the
various levels and branches of
government. Such laws are:

b. The Administrative Code

of l987 (also known as Executive
Order 292)

c. Local Government Code of

1991 (also known as Republic Act
Central and Local
Government
NATIONAL GOVERNMENT

- The national government

promulgates general laws,
defines policies and enforces
rules and regulations.
- In 1991, the national
government devolved some of its
powers to local government units
(provinces, cities, municipalities),
particularly the direct delivery of
services in the areas of social
welfare and development, health,
LOCAL GOVERNMENT

- Local government units

have the power to create their
own sources of revenue and to
levy taxes, fees and charges
which may accrue exclusively for
their use and disposition and
which may be retained by them.
They also have a share in national
taxes which is automatically and
directly released to them.

- Local governments,
litical, Fiscal and Administrative
Autonomy
oThe Philippines is a republic,
which:

elects its President and

Vice-President every six
years.

Senators are elected every

six years and may serve no
more than two consecutive
terms.
 Congressmen are elected for
three years and may serve no
more than three consecutive
terms.

 Elected government officials

in provinces, cities and
municipalities are also elected
every three years and may not
serve for more than three
terms.
 In the House of
Representatives and the local
legislative councils, there are
provisions for sectoral
representation for women, for
workers and for such other
sectors, including but not
limited to the:

• urban poor
• indigenous cultural
communities
• disabled persons
• the elderly.
Members of the national and
local bureaucracies are
appointed under rules and
regulations promulgated by
the Civil Service Commission.
Except for those positions
which are classified as
primarily confidential, highly
technical or policy
determining, bureaucrats
enjoy security of tenure and
may not be dismissed without
cause.
1.2 - TRENDS AND
DEVELOPMENTS IN
PROGRESS
 - Reform efforts are ongoing
in the area of right-sizing
government and reengineering
both local and national offices, in
response to public perception
that government needs to be
more efficient and must redeploy
its people to frontline services
while thinning out the
traditionally people-heavy central
offices.
 - A Presidential Committee on
Effective Governance oversees this
process. Practically all Presidents
undertake reorganizations upon
their assumption, but current
efforts are focused on minimizing
overlapping or duplicating
structures, ensuring optimization of
human resources and the abolition
of offices whose functions have
been rendered marginal over time.
 THE LEGAL
DIMENSION OF
PUBLIC
ADMINISTRATION
Main Strong and Weak Points
- The strength of the
Philippine administrative system
is its plethora of laws, rules and
regulations on every imaginable
area of administration. This may
also be its greatest source of
weakness. Over-regulation, in
many parts, provides
opportunities for so called fixers,
people who facilitate transactions
for a fee, to ply their trade in
government offices. One-stop
shop arrangements have been set
ublic bidding” Practices and Procedu

• An entire chapter of the

administrative code is devoted
to contracts and public
bidding.

• There is a manual prepared by

the National Economic
Development Authority on the
hiring of consultants for
foreign-assisted projects
alone.
• There is another issuance by the
Department of Budget and
Management pertaining to the
hiring of local consultants.

• The Commission on Audit also

has its own rules relative to
bidding, hiring and contracting.
• it is possible to synchronize
these rules, they are separately
issued and require different
submissions to these various
government agencies.

• The utilization of the budget

requires separate and different
reports to various authorities,
necessitating additional
personnel for this purpose.
• There are continuing calls for
deregulation, but this process
is largely left to the discretion
of the operating managers and
there is little incentive for
undertaking a really thorough
review of regulations that may
already be irrelevant, outdated
or unnecessary.

• International competitive
bidding - this is usually done
only for foreign-assisted
projects or for big-ticket items
Legal system protecting the
citizens against the decisions
of public authorities
• There are plenty of
administrative tribunals as well
as regular courts where citizens
can dispute decisions of public
administration authorities. As an
example, a dispute relative to
the claims of a worker for money
related to his employment would
theoretically have 14 doors
available for possible resolution.
An ombudsman system exists
which is provided for in the
national Constitution.

There is a Public Attorney’s

Office for litigants who feel
that they cannot afford private
counsel.

There is a Commission for

Human Rights that looks into
possible violations of rights of
citizens.
• Many of these offices can look
at problems, motu proprio or on
their own initiative. Quite often,
however, there are enough
cases on file to keep the dispute
resolution bodies occupied. The
complaint often is that the
wheels of justice, whether
administrative or legal, grind
exceedingly slowly.
CIVIL SERVICE
Recruitment and Career

oThe civil service forms part of a

constitutional mandate premised on
merit and fitness.

oThe Civil Service Commission used to sit

more than 500,000 people annually for its
professional and sub-professional
examinations.
• It still undertakes regularly
scheduled examinations but is also
able to conduct these on demand
through a computer-assisted test
system that allows for immediate
results.

• Applicants for positions for which

skills, rather than the usual paper
and pencil examination, are
needed, have to take trade tests
with the Technical Education and
Skills Development Authority.
• After one passes the examination,
one applies at his or her preferred
office where additional
requirements may be imposed by
the hiring office.

• The final decision to hire belongs

to the office even as the Civil
Service Commission may
disapprove an appointment for not
complying with the rules,
regulations or standards.
 Duration of Tenure:

• Tenure is usually up to age 65 unless

one is separated for cause earlier.
However, there are certain officials
and employees who, because of the
nature of their jobs have tenure that
is co- terminus with the appointing
authority.
• Drivers and private secretaries
(primarily confidential positions) of
political appointees (policy-
determining) and those who are in
very specialized fields (highly
technical), like nuclear scientists, are
not required to go through the
competitive examination system.
They are expected to meet the
education requirements, however.
• Another distinct category of
employees are those who are in
casual or contractual positions. By
definition, they are not tenured and
are allowed to work seasonally or for
the duration of a particular project.
 Three Levels of Positions in Civil
Service:
• First Level:
- consist of those who are in manual,
clerical, custodial, or trades and
craft groups.

• Second Level:
- includes the technical and
professional group or those who have finished
college degrees with certain
specializations. They form the salary band
between salary grades 11-24.
• Third Level:

-the executive class, forms the government’s managerial corps

and occupies salary grades 25-33. Salary grade 33 belongs to the
President while salary grade 1 is assigned to a laborer.
System of Promotion:

• The system of promotion requires

progressively higher qualifications.

• Seniority was a major factor, but

increasingly performance is being
given more weight, thus allowing for
what is known as “deep selection “ or
the movement of people, not
necessarily next in rank, but who may
have shown better
performance.
• A lateral system of entrance is
allowed even for higher positions,
particularly for second level positions
where the pool for selection is the
entire bureaucracy.

• The choice for first level promotions

usually revolves only among
personnel of a particular office.

• Career executive service officers are

appointed to a generic rank and may
be assigned anywhere in government
for as long as there is no diminution of
aining and Human Resources Policy
• The government has active human
resource development programs that
include subsidized degree programs
for people who pass competitive
examinations, continuing training for
more specialized needs like computer
literacy, value formation, service
orientation and similar subjects.
Employees also have access to
counseling, job enrichment, cross-
posting and other HRD interventions
that allow them to gain additional
skills.
Social Security

• There is a Government Service

Insurance System, which is a
contributory fund towards retirement
and pension payments. This is
separate from the Social Security
System, which takes care of private
sector employees. In 1994, a law was
passed that allowed the
portability of social security benefits
even if one went from the public to
the private sector and vice-versa.
etirement and Pension
• Retirement entitlements are variable,
there being a number of retirement laws
applicable to different sets of
employees.

• Reforms are underway to ensure parity

in the future for all public personnel.

• Government employees, on the

average, get pensions of up to 20% (or
a maximum of P 12,000/$300) of their
highest monthly salary received while
employed. This, however, requires at
BASIC STATISTICS RELATIVE TO
THE CIVIL SERVICE

Presently, the ratio of government

employees to the population is 1:60.
While this does not seem bloated in
comparison to other countries in the
region, the general feeling is that there
are too many employees in the central
offices and not enough in the local
areas where services need to be
delivered.
 CIVIL SOCIETY
CONFRONTING
PUBLIC
ADMINISTRATION
 Public opinion polls

• Public opinion polls are published

every quarter which, among other
things, measure public satisfaction or
approval of government policies and
government officials.

• These usually influence the conduct

and direction of government plans
and programs.
o There is differential perception of
public officials, there is a general
sense of disaffection for the
bureaucracy in general because of
the long-held views about red tape,
graft and corruption.
 Place and role of non-
governmental organizations
(NGOs)
• Non-governmental organizations
form part of the Philippine
governance tradition.

• Initially, they were mainly charitable

institutions connected with the
church to help the poor and
underprivileged.
• Eventually there arose groups
dedicated to political purposes and
espousing specific ideologies. But it
was only after the People Power
Revolution in l986 that a flowering of
NGOs really came about. At that time,
NGOs numbered more than 100,000.
• NGOs in the Philippines are mainly
advocacy groups and revolve around very
specific issues such as women, children,
the disabled, human rights, education and
training for the unskilled etc. They are
acknowledged in both the Constitution
(“Role and Rights of People’s
Organizations”) and in subsequent laws
that provide for sectoral representation in
legislative councils or policy-making bodies
 System for improving the
citizens participation in policy-
making
• As to human rights, these are again
enshrined in the Constitution, which in
1986, for the first time in Philippine
history, provided for an independent
Commission on Human Rights which
may investigate, on its own or on
complaint by any party, all forms of
human rights violations.
•As a new system, it suffers from
the transitional problems of all
pioneering organizations: the
absence of a clear model to
work from and the need to
orient and educate the populace
about human rights.
ETHICS AND THE
PUBLIC SERVICE
Legal Basis:
The Constitution provides a basis for
laws regarding the behavior of public
officers.
Article 11 of the Philippine
Constitution has 18 sections
devoted to the accountability of
public officers.
Code of Conduct and Ethical
Standards for
Public Officials and Employees
(Republic Act 6713)
Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act
ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEM OF
ACCOUNTABILITY AND CONTROL
• This is inherent in every office where
the appointing authority also becomes
the disciplining authority according to a
system of offenses and penalties issued
by the Civil Service Commission.

• There is a resident ombudsman in

every office as well as a national
ombudsman to whom cases of
administrative discipline may also be
referred.
• The Civil Service Commission and the
Ombudsman enjoy concurrent
administrative jurisdiction over
government officials and employees.

• Findings of the Ombudsman may

move to the Sandiganbayan where
penal sanctions, in addition to the
usual administrative sanctions, may
be applied to erring employees.
 SENSITIVE
BRANCHES OF
PUBLIC
ADMINISTRATION
 Higher Education

• Higher Education used to be part of

the Department of Education until
1994 when a Commission for Higher
Education (CHED) was created as part
of a wide-ranging
program of reforms under the
educational sector.
• CHED promulgates policies and
implements this through a national
network of regional offices.

• CHED regulates both public and

private higher education in the
Philippines.

• A system of subsidies for excellent

schools has been established and
schools which have consistently
shown poor performance in their
passing rates in licensure exams and
 Existing special bodies

• Special private bodies exist that

reinforce the work of CHED.

• There are accreditation centers for

private schools, a Fund for Assistance
to Private Education, a pension fund
for private school teachers,
association of Catholic schools and
consortium arrangements to optimize
curricular offerings.

ENVIRONMENT
• Environmental issues have become a major
focus of government and have generated a
significant amount of public awareness. This
comes as a result of major public disasters that
have been traced to environmental
degradation.
• Today, government issues environmental compliance
certificates before any major project can be started.
Even the cutting of a tree requires government
permission. Despite all these, illegal logging continues
unabated and certain forms of fishing found
detrimental to marine life continue. This is often
attributed to lack of funds and the lack of manpower
to monitor activities in far-flung areas. Critics,
however, attribute this to lack of political will.
 Existing special
bodies
• There are a number of NGOs devoted
to environmental issues. They either
work with or operate as a watchdog to
the official acts of the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources,
which initiates, promulgates and
implements laws and policies in the
area of the environment.
 SOCIAL POLICIES
• Social policies are coordinated by the
National Economic and Development
Authority, even though this area
covers the operational concerns of a
number of departments, such as the
Department of Labor and
Employment, the Department of
Social Welfare and
Development, the Department of
Health and the Department of
Education. Essentially, these units
deliver programs that enhance
employability, incomes and livelihood
 Existing special bodies

• Special public and private agencies

exist that support or check the
activities of these agencies. In
government, there are the Philippine
Overseas Employment
Administration, the Overseas
Workers Welfare Administration, the
Provincial Employment Service
Offices and the Technical Education
and Skills Development Authority.
• Outside of government, there are the
labor unions and various people’s
organizations, the representatives of
which sometimes sit in the boards of
specialized agencies to represent
their particular interests. The results
in this area are generally seen as
successful.
 THE MOST
IMPORTANT
CHALLENGE OF
PUBLIC
ADMINISTRATION IN
THE PHILIPPINES
• The most important challenge of
public administration is the lack of
credibility of government structures
and officials which renders the
implementation of projects difficult, as
the initial reaction of the public is
usually cynicism or skepticism. Much
can be done within existing public
resources, but it seems that much
time and effort are lost because there
is lack of faith on the part of the public
and a general tendency to explain
after the fact. Social marketing is
probably a major requirement here.