Complaint Management in the Public Sector Organization in the Philippines

Participatory governance is a democratic process intended to involve citizens in the management of public institution. By providing them platforms through which they can access the government, transparency and accountability in public governance is enhanced.  The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) acknowledges its importance through the establishment of different platforms of communications wherein clients can raise their concerns.  The study aims at   describing and evaluating the Complaints Management Program of the DPWH Nueva Ecija 2nd District Engineering Office based in Cabanatuan City. The analysis was drawn from Fifteen (15) client feedbacks received in 2017.  The   data were gathered using qualitative and quantitative approaches while multi-stakeholders framework for complaint management was adapted to measure the effectiveness of the feedback and complaint management mechanisms of the agency. The study  found that the agency : a)  institutionalizes and observes procedures in handling complaints; b) resolves complaints based on the principles of fairness, accessibility, responsiveness, efficiency , trust and citizens participation; however, there are limitations identified in regard to the administrative support in terms of  personnel assigned, training and availability of vehicle  use to verify various complaints on the ground. Civic engagement is an effective tool to promote democracy and enhance open government. They are proven to create enabling   environment  that tends to yield positive   political outcomes and policy implementation results. Keywords: Participatory governance, Complaint management ,Feedback mechanism, DPWH –Philippines DOI: 10.7176/PPAR/9-2-0

Office Bullying in the Philippines and the Need for Public Policy

There is an urgent need to solve the problem of workplace bullying in both private and government sectors. Bullying at work creates serious negative consequences to the victims and the organization affecting their productivity. The magnitude of the problem necessitates state intervention to correct market and government failures. This policy paper studies office bullying and the need to legislate to realize efficient and effective allocation of government and private resources. It is guided by the Constitutional mandate that maintenance of peace, harmony, health and safety at work is an inherent duty of the State because of its inherent power to issue orders and command obedience to mitigate its effects. Using Cost Benefit Analysis, Institutional Analysis to policy making, and Rational-Decision making as tools for analysis, crafting and passing upon a statute is the most feasible means to address the problem of workplace bullying. The need to legislate a national policy on workplace bullying is necessary to mitigate its negative consequences both to employees and organizational productivity. Office bullying as a public issue also requires strict monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of similar or related laws may also address the problems cause by the same destructive behaviors but are inadequately explored in many researches

Transparency and Accountability in Local Governance: The Nexus Between Democracy and Public Service Delivery in the Philippines

Transparency effectiveness cannot take place without accountability. Democracy as a form of government necessitates popular support which cannot be given by the people unless trust and confidence to a public institution are maintained. The study discusses the concept of transparency and accountability in the context of a democratic system and its role in enhancing people's trust to public institutions. From the perspective of democracy, the direct link between public service delivery and democracy through the intermediacy of transparency and accountability is established. Keywords: Democracy, transparency and accountability, local governance, popular government, public service delivery, the Philippines DOI: 10.7176/PPAR/9-7-04 Publication date:July 31st 201

Roles of indigenous women in forest conservation: A comparative analysis of two indigenous communities in the Philippines

The roles indigenous women play in forest conservation represent the spaces allocated by society on the basis of their gender. The study employs a comparative analysis of two indigenous communities in Nueva Ecija in the Philippines to describe the role of indigenous women in forest conservation and how the intersectionality of gender, ethnicity, and traditional knowledge creates an impact on forest conservation. The theory of Eco-feminism, mixed methods of qualitative, quantitative, and documentary analysis, is employed. The study shows that gender-restrictive indigenous communities create a greater degree of environmental degradation. There is a link between women and nature reflecting the different degrees of women’s subordination in patriarchy and the levels of women’s participation in forest conservation. Women of indigenous communities identified inadequate access to resources, education, and sources of income as the major challenges they face in forest conservation. It is, therefore, a challenge to indigenous women to dismantle structures encapsulating them in a situation of subordination to free the forest from the grinding effect of poverty resulting in the exploitative extraction of natural resources