Restoring Trust and Building Integrity in Government: Issues and Concerns in the Philippines and Areas for Reform

In most general terms this article addresses the issue of the continuing decline of trust in government and the imperatives for reform. The decline on trust in government has been brought about by many factors including the inefficient and ineffective delivery of services, waste of public resources, graft and corruption, lack of integrity in government, poor leadership, excessive red tape, ineffective reorganization and structural changes, too much centralization, among other things. In summary, unresponsive governance has been responsible for the continuing decline of trust in government. The article introduces a framework of areas of reform imperatives with the general objective of restoring trust in government. These areas include the following: (1) reforms in institutions and structures, including reforms in organizations, processes and procedures; (2) reforms in mindsets, paradigms and behavior; (3) reforms in leadership at various levels; and (4) reforms among citizens, i.e., citizen engagement and/or citizen participation. We begin by reviewing various examples in the Philippines including continuing efforts to address graft and corruption, red tape, and inefficiencies in the government’s politico-administrative environment

Public policy (not the coronavirus) should shape what endemic means

Endemicity is not only a biological and health event but has several inter-dependencies cross-cutting with the management of the economy, including governance and policies. Within the context of the discourse on inequity, what does endemicity mean for poor and low-income families, where policies on social inclusion and social welfare need to be re-calibrated

Public administration in the Philippines : overcoming conflict and post-conflict challenges

Philippine Public Administration, as a discipline and a practice, has played a key role in institution building and capacity development over the years. This has been true even during conflict and Post-Conflict periods. The chapter delves into how conflict situations have affected Philippine Public Administration by discussing it through an inter-state and intra-state conflict that the country has been confronted with through different periods of its history. The first case discusses the various public reorganization and civil service initiatives within the ambit of the inter-state backdrop of post-World War II reconstruction. The second case tackles how public administration mechanisms and institutions have been designed and set up as a response to an intra-state conflict in the Southern Philippines, more popularly known as the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, that has seen armed struggle since the 1970s brought about by the Muslim minorities’ rebellion against the central government

Harmonizing Objectives and Outcomes at the National and Sub-National Levels through Citizen Engagement and Capacity Building

This paper is divided into nine sections. The first section discusses the context within which intergovernmental transfers occurs. The second section discusses the framework of the paper that tries to look at the bigger picture suggesting that the system of intergovernmental transfers occurs within the policy framework of decentralization in general, and fiscal decentralization in particular. Additionally, the principles of good governance – accountability, predictability, transparency and participation – impact upon the implementation of intergovernmental transfers. For instance, the predictability of transfers to sub-national levels of government enables rational and realistic planning. The third section of the paper discusses the rationale, objectives and outcomes of intergovernmental transfers. It suggests that, at the end of the day, outcomes – operationalized in terms of the delivery of appropriate basic services – have to be “harmonized” with the objectives of the transfers, which are essentially, to provide adequate financial resources to fund the functions that are delivered at sub-national levels. Parts six and seven suggest that both citizen engagement and capacity building may be important components in the design of intergovernmental transfers and contribute to the harmonization of objectives and outcomes. More specifically, these sections point out the objectives of the transfers and the general outcomes. The paper also includes some examples of some countries that suggest that citizen participation and capacity building may contribute to the general objective of harmonizing objectives and outcomes.intergovernmental transfers,decentralization,

LGU Access to Official Development Assistance (ODA) : Status, Issues, and Concerns

Statistics on the distribution of ODA loans show that the local government sector is the smallest direct recipient of this funding source. While it has been observed that the amount of ODA grants and the number of ODA grant projects have been declining over the years, several factors could explain why LGUs have not been able to have a substantial share in ODA funds. The study discusses barriers to the greater of LGUs to ODA funds and provides specific recommendations for action by policy makers.official development assistance, local government units, ODA programming, grant financing framework, cost-sharing, foreign borrowing act, Philippine Development Forum