Public Administration

59
\\ =-a Ss= td ,4r- f'- Hs TErere a 't fhiflippf;xae Fubtf;s Admimistratfioxa ? * .a'' RAUL P. DE CUZMAN Yes-there is a Philippine Public Administration as there is American Public Administration, French Public Administration and Thai Public Administration. But it is not enough to raise and answer that question. There is a need to ask and answer other questions such as: What is the reference when the phrase "public administiation" is utsed? Is it to government in action and to the public bureaucracy? Or to public administration as a field of study? or to the profession of managing the affairs of government? If the reference is to the public bureaucracy, what are the structural features which are uniquely Filipino and which are common and which are shared with public bureaucracies in other countries? What are the behavioral characteristics or patterns of behavior presumed to bre bureaucratic which are, again, uniquely Filipino and which are similar to bureaucratic behavioral patterns in other sociocultural settinqs? If the reference is to public administration as a field of studv, are there models and analytical concepts which Filipino scholars have formulated to help explain the interrelated processes in politics and public administration as weil as to assist in unravelling the potentials and complexities of these phenomena? is there a body of Iiterature in the field which could be used as teachinq material? This article wili attempt to answer these questions. It will describe and anaiyze the structural and behavioral characteristics of the public bureaucracy in the, country and determine whether some features are peculiarly Filipino or are shared with other large public orgarizations. It will provide some illustrative oReprinted from the Philippine Journal ofPublic AdminisLrailon 30(4) (Ocrober 1986): ,r tj:l

Transcript of Public Administration

Page 1: Public Administration

\\=-aSs=

td

,4r-

f'-

Hs TErere a't fhiflippf;xaeFubtf;s Admimistratfioxa ? *

.a''RAUL P. DE CUZMAN

Yes-there is a Philippine Public Administration as there is American PublicAdministration, French Public Administration and Thai Public Administration.But it is not enough to raise and answer that question. There is a need to askand answer other questions such as: What is the reference when the phrase"public administiation" is utsed? Is it to government in action and to the publicbureaucracy? Or to public administration as a field of study? or to theprofession of managing the affairs of government?

If the reference is to the public bureaucracy, what are the structuralfeatures which are uniquely Filipino and which are common and which areshared with public bureaucracies in other countries? What are the behavioralcharacteristics or patterns of behavior presumed to bre bureaucratic which are,again, uniquely Filipino and which are similar to bureaucratic behavioral patternsin other sociocultural settinqs?

If the reference is to public administration as a field of studv, are theremodels and analytical concepts which Filipino scholars have formulated to helpexplain the interrelated processes in politics and public administration as weilas to assist in unravelling the potentials and complexities of these phenomena?is there a body of Iiterature in the field which could be used as teachinq material?

This article wili attempt to answer these questions. It will describe andanaiyze the structural and behavioral characteristics of the public bureaucracyin the, country and determine whether some features are peculiarly Filipino orare shared with other large public orgarizations. It will provide some illustrative

oReprinted from the Philippine Journal ofPublic AdminisLrailon 30(4) (Ocrober 1986):

,r

tj:l

Page 2: Public Administration

4 (9 DEFINITION AND SCOPE

cases of patterns of bureaucratic behavior in the Philippine bureaucracy. In thelatter part of this article, the changing emphasis in the content of publicadministnation as a field of study in institutions of higher learning shail be

described.

What is Public Administratlon?

From a very broad perspective, public administration may refer not only

to those activities involved in carrying out or in implementing the policies and

programs of the government but also to the processes and contents of these

policies and programs. From an even broader perspective, public administration

may refer to cooperative human action whether within the public bureaucracy,

the private sector, or in nongovernmental organizations aimed at delivering

services to the people.

Public administration is also a distinct field of study; it is considered both

a professional and scholarly discipline. As such, it is concerned with public

policies' and programs, their formulation and implementation and thesocior-rrltrrral economic, and political factors bearing on them. [t deals with the

systematic study of institutions and processes and the interplay of factorsinvolved in authoritative decisionmaking on goals, in implementing them, and

in achieving desired results.

Fublic Adrninistration as Governrnental Bureaucnacy

_--/StructuraL Features 'i t'

There are sevefal generally accepted organizational features common tO

all public bureaucracies. These are: (1) hierarchical structure of authority;(2) creation of subunits based on differentiation of functions or specialization;

(3) recruitrnent and promotion based on merit and competence; and (4) a

system of rules and procedures to guide action in the organization.

The bureaucracy in the Philippines exhibits these structural characteristics.

The government is organized into departments, bureaus, divisions and sections

and into regional, field offices and local governments which are hierarchical in

structure. They generally perform sets of specialized functions based. on

responsibilities for particular progfams (e.g. Department of Educaiion, Culture

and Sports or the Bureau of Plant Industry), geographical areas (development

authorities and local governments), clientele (e.g. Office of Muslim Affairs) and

processes/proceoures (accounting/auditing office), The fundamentai and other

$

- .t+'4t

dliry

Page 3: Public Administration

$

PHILIPPINE PUBLIC A DMINI5TRATION lc,

laws of the land have provided for the adoption of the merit principle as thernain basis for recruitment of personnel in the bureaucracy. Policies, rules andregulations covering practically all aspects-both substantive and procedural-hav',e-also been adopted in government agencies to guide managerialdecisionmakers, program/project implementors, the rank-and-file and the generai

pubiic.

While the Philippine bureaucracy may have these structural features,

formally differentiated or specialized agencies, hierarchy of authority, recruitment

based on merit, and a body of rules and regulations, the norms or valuesappropriate to these new structures have not been fully accepted by publicfunctionaries and the people in general. The traditional values have not been

quite displaced by the new norms, and they continue to influence to a great

extent the behavior of government officials/employees and the general public.

Moreover, family, kinship, religious, socioeconomic, political and othergroups continue to impinge on the performance of government agencies and

personnel. ln turn, public adminiptrdtors and employees continue the search

for flexibility in their operations witfrin the restricting confines of a hierarchical

bureaucratic structure and a body of poiicies, rules and/eg-ulations which define,

beforehand, whgt they can do and what they cannot do. As a consequence,what may be formally prescribed in government may not be effectively practiced.

B ehau io raL Characteristt cs

While opinion may vary on what kind of behavior could be labeled as

bureaucratic, one view is to emphasize "normal, desirable, functionai traitsassociated with attainment of the objectives of bureaucratic organizations." Carl

Friedrich (1940) stressed traits such as objectivity, precision and consistency,and ciiscretion.

On the other hand, other authors like Victor Thompson ( 1 961 ), Fred Riggs

(1964), and Robert Merton (1952) highlighted dysfunctional behavioral traits

which develop from the rationalistic orientation of the bureaucracy and the

structural features designed to maintain it. These negative behavioral patterns

tend to frustrate the realization of the goals toward which administraiive agencies

are Supposed to be working. For example, strict adherence to rules and

regulations induces conservatism and extreme caution, even timidity, on the part

of administrators, Emphasis on impersonality may lead to conflict in relations

with the general public transacting business with bureaucratic organizations.Other negative traits include lack of initiative, unwillingness to delegate. rigidityand inflexibility, red tape and buck-passing.

Jf,

.

Page 4: Public Administration

O DEFINITION AND sCOPE

To illustrate the conflict between what is formally prescribed and what is

actually practiced, some case reports will be presented. The cases will show also

what is being done by pubtic administrators to achieve some degree of flexibility

within a bureaucratic system that emphasizes accountability through its body

of rules and reguiations'

The "50-50" Agreement. The "50-50" agreement was a scheme devised

by members of the House of Representatives in tf,e Old Congress whereby the

filting up of all new positions in the 1959 budget would be divided on a 50-50

basis between the Executive (Malacanang) and the Congress' The plan was

arrived at after newly-elected congressmen from the majority party complained

that their recommendees for the new positions in the budget they had approved

were being ignored or not acted upon by the department heads and bureau

directors. Instead, preferential treatment was given by the department secretaries

and bureau directors to recommendees of the president and/or the veteran and

more influential members of Congress. The neophyte congressmen felt that

their inability to place their constituents in jobs had affected their credibility and

reputation, The 50-50 plan would allow for a more equitable distribution of

vacancies in new positions on r regional or geographical basis. While the

congressmen were asked to submit their recommendees, they were requested

to observe the qualificatign requirements for the vacant and new positions (de

Cuzman i963). --'-/,,".'

This experience characterized the irhplementation of the merit system in

our country and showed hov; partisan politics, geographical ties, the compadre

system, familial obligations and personal factors influenced public officials. It

showed also how they had attempted to reconcile the formally prescribed norms

with the apparently conflicting demands of particularistic interests and the

traditional values in society. This may be considered typical of what has

happened in the Philippine bureaucracy in regard to the merit system.

Administrators generally accept civil service eligibitity as a minimum requirement,

but between two or three civil service eligibles, they could then choose the one

recommended by a politician, a compadre, or a relative'

The implementation of the merit systern under a different political

leadership may reveai, however, different results. ln a number of cases, there

may even be a complete disregard of the civil service eligibility requirements.

Change ord.er No. L Change order No. i was a modification of a

nnr rnrornart nrnieqf in the old Bureau of Public works of the Department of PtlblicLVUf rLsr Yut t Yl

Works and Communications. It would have used savings in the amouqt otp4,143.44 from a P1OB,BB0 NEC-AID project for the construction of twenty

observation wells. The Change Order went through a series of nineteen

clearances in four agencies and took 273 days for its final approval; the

construction of the wells was finished in twenty-one days (de Cuzman 1963).

-itr

rsjp

Page 5: Public Administration

6&l

fp

&#E''

,

PHILIPPINEPUBLICADMINISTRATION O

This case illustrated the problem of delay in processing paper work in

govefnment. The document needed to implement the change order was held

up for long periods awaiting review and signature of certain officials. As brought

outjfl-the case report, it seemed nobody was sufficiently interested in the Change

Order to follow up with the officials suPposed to approve it'

In Philippine public administration, one has to sPeed up the process of

getting permits and licenses or approval of project proposals, appointment

papers and customs release documents by personal follow-up or by contacting

friends, relatives, mililary officers, politicians, religious leaders, and/or other

influential persons. or one has to give a bribe to secure prompt action on the

papers.

There are many other cases before and even now to show that one cannot

rely on policies, rules and regulations to get Some action on one'S request fron"f

government agencies. One must know whom to approach and how and what

is the'price for quick action.

Views on Craft and CorruPtion

There are t*o prevailing points of view on graft and corruption' The first

which is generally followed in Western countries is the pubiic-office centered

definition. This means that an action, a, decision or a behavior is judged using

the norms or standards of thp, pilUti. office as a basis. As stated by

Heidenheimer, the core of thir definition is "the concePj_of public office and

the norms binding on its incumbent" (Heidenheimer 1W0)'

The second point of lview which is dominant in developing countries

including the Philippines is the public interest centered definition of graft and

corruption. This means that the public official's action, decision or behavior is

judged on the basis of whether the power or authority is used to promote the

public interest or the personal gain of the public official' According to

Heidenheimer, this line of thinking uses the compatibility of an act with public

interest as a decisive element by which it could be judged as corrupt'

ln a project on bureaucratic behavior, practices were studied in several

government offices. ln some offices, the approving authority and subordinate

officials did ask for straight ten percent commission. ln other offices, the agency

heads who approved the contracts or the pqrchase of supplies' materials and

equipment did ask also for a ten percent commission. But the commission

rnoney went lnto an office fund to be used for payment of overtime services of

employees who otherwise could not be compensated properly for their extra

work in view of stringent government rules and reguiations on the matter' And

in some cases, the agency heads asked for donations in the form of equiPment'

Page 6: Public Administration

{ol DEFINITION AND SCOPE

e.g., typewriters, airconditioners, and micro-computers which could not bebought for lack of funds for the purpose or because of government prohibitions,but which were badly needed for efficient operation of the office (Carino 1986).

Public administrators in the Philippines generally would see nothing wrong

with the latter example. From their point of view, as long as one does not use

the commtssion money for one's personal gain, then it is acceptable or at least

tolerable. One is able to acquire resoufces needed for the attainment of agencygoals.

But public administrators in Western countries would have no doubt thatthe above examples constitute acts of corruption. If one needs an airconditionerin the office, one must present that as a separate request and not get it throughbloated pricing for certain supplies and materials. One must secure the lowest

price for these items a9d-rebates should properly be entered in the books.

,, b"''

Foundations and Other Similar Arranqements

One recent phenomenon in Philippine public administration is theincreasing number of foundations which have been established and attached togovernment agencies and io universities and colleges. tn the Llniversity of thePhilippines alone, easily there are m.ore than twenty-tive University-College- ordepartment-based foundations. Even the Commission on Audit has establishedone. 1

The foundation serves as a mechanism to provide some flexibility in thereceipt and disbursement of funds without observing all the accounting and

auditing ruies and regulations of the government which impede the efficiencyand effectiveness of agency operations. In some cases, the foundationmechanism has been used to privatize or "launder" public funds. The search isfor flexibility in the handling of funds, and consequently easier management and

.implementation of programs/projects.

ln other cases, one does not need to resort to a foundation mechanism.One needs only a special directive or Executive Order to set aside all Office ofBudget and Management (OBM) and Commission on Audit (COA) regulationson the operation of the project, the task force. or of a new agency.

Public Adrninistration as a Field of Stttdy

As mentioned earlier, public administration is considered both as a

professional and scholarly discipline. It is generaliy offered in the Philippines at

the graduate level and serves as a second field of specialization. More than sixty

.f,}sr

tr

jF

Page 7: Public Administration

tr

PHILIPPINEPUBLICADMINISTRATION O

universities, colleges, and schools now offer degree programs in publicadministration. But what is being taught to the siudents-American or Philippinepublic administration? Reference is made to the Americans because many books

stilt used are on American public administration, and, at one time, in the College

of Public Administration there was even a course on "State Governments in the

u.s." but not many courses on the Philippine Administrative system.

Additional questions could be asked: Would curricular programs in public

administration enable the students to acquire a broad understanding of the

process of social change and the various cultural, social, economic and political

factors which influence the development effort in the country? Would theprogram equip the students with the specialized knowledge on and the analytical

ability to understand the development goals, the structure and dynamics of

political and administrative institutions, policy issues, and programs/projectlmplementation problems? Would the programs and the component courses be

too "theoretical," academic, and prescriptive in approach? Would there be

discussion on ethical issues and qUestions?

Some colleagues in the College of Public Administration actively involved

in the Association of Schools of Public Administration in the Philippines (ASPAP)

nnay have rnore knowledge about curricular programs in the different schools,

their faculty, teaching'rnaterials and the teaching methods and techniques being

used.

During the early years (the 50s and the early 6Os) in the then Institute

of Public Administration, the emphasis in the curricular program was on internal

management-and the staff functions in government-organization andmanagement, personnel and fiscal administration-with some courses in localgovernment. Later on, courses on public administration and politics, theeconomy, and social change were introduced to give students a betterunderstanding of the ecology of puQlic management in the country and of the

dynamics of social change. ir*.

rolicyin the seventies, courses on program administration and public p

were added for students to get better acquainted with at least some major policy

areas or programs, e.g., health, agriculture, education and housing, a feel of

pnoblems in "line" or Program/project management. ln the eighties there is

renewed concern about accountability in government which resulted in the

reintroduction of a course on ethics in the public service.

More recently, there has been a reexamination of the concept of "public"

in public administration. For a long time, that has been interpreted to rnean

"governmental" and therefore teaching and research efforts have been focused

primarily on problems of the public bureaucracy and on the issue of increasing

its adrninistrative capability. Now, "public" is being interpreted to refer to

g,

&rs.rt+'

Page 8: Public Administration

' .rI I

ili0 (o) DEFINITION AND SCOPE

"people"-public administration is administration or delivery of services to thepeople. lf this interpretation is fully accepted then the students of publicadministration could rightfully look into alternative delivery channeis, e.g., theprivate sector, nongovefnmental organizations and cooperatives and on how tcr

strengthen the capability of receiving systems to benefit from the services.

There is still the continuing problem of achieiing relevance and realismin the teaching of public administration in the country. The needs are thefollowing: (1) getting fac[rlty members who have both the academic qualificationsand administrative experience; (2) the produ.ctiopiand use of indigenous teachingmaterials: (3) the use of innovative teacliing methods and techniques; and(4) the formulation of more relevant models and analytical concepts.

Concluding Statement

It has been observed that public administration is inevitably ethnocentricor culture-bound. The sociocultural, economic and political setting in whichpublic managemenl operates has long been recognized as a major determinantof the patterns of administration that evolve. Similarly, the influence of theenvironment of public administration is an increasingly strong determinant forchanges in the system. Consequentlf, in each country, the patterns of publicadministration that develop are in some degree distinctive.

ln 7947, Robert Dahl published in the Public Administration Reulew an

article on "The Science of Public Administration: Three Problems," He wrote:

... Conceivably there might be a science of American public administrationand a science of British public administration and a science of French publicadministratlon, but can there be a 'science of public administration' in the senseof a body of generalized principies independent of their peculiar nationalsetting? (Dahl1 947: 8).

In 1956, Cornell University started a quarterly publication called fheAdministratiue Science Q.uarterlg, The lead editorial then expressed the hopethat within a ten-year period administrative science would be recognized andaccented At this stace that ooal is still far from beinn realized.

Refenences

Carino, Ledivina V.

1986 Bureaucratic Corruption in Asla. Quezon City: JMC Press.

Dahl, Robert1947 The Science of Public Administration: Three Problems. Publlc Admi.nrstraLlon

Reuiew. 7 (1),./

r.*s

-F+

Page 9: Public Administration

'I;

l

' PHTLIPPINE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION O 11i"'-De Cuzman, Raul P. ,, '\

1963 Patterns in Decisio:i'Making. Manlla: College of Public Administratlon,: University of the Philippines.

:i Friedriqh, Carl

i 1940 Fublic Policy and4he Nature of Administrative Responsibility. ln Cari J. Friedrichand Edward S. Mason, eds. Public Policg. Cambridge: Harvard UniversityPress.

Heidenheimer, Arnold

i 1970 Political Corruption: Readtngs in Comparatiue Analgsis. New York: Holt,Rinehart and Winston.

Ma rlan Fnhart

i 1952 Reader in Bureaucracg. Clencoe, lllinois: Free Press.

r ' # Riggs, Fred W,# ^' 1964 Administration in Deueloptng Countries: The Theorg of PrisrnaLic Socletg.

Boston: Houghton Mifflin.I

Thompson. Victor. 196 I Modern Organtzation. New York: Knopf.

.r4. '\

s

Page 10: Public Administration

Es There a FhitippineFubtric Adrninistration ? *

OI.JOFRE D. CORPUZ

One of the most important concerns of the coiloquium, but is not includedin the nroflram is the issue of the scone of oovernmentr.-:J.",!lll|llLl'|1.

There has been a rjghtful discussion on the role of government becausegovernment occupies an importanl part of life. But there is another equallyimportant aspect of life that distinguished human beings from citizens, the privatenonpolitical aspect. that has to be preserved beyond public authority. One mustthink both of the role of government and the scope of that role, so that one willknow the scope of one's life that remains his private dominion, inviolable frompubiic invasion.

That the scope of government has not been discussed is not strange. Theconstitutional commission (Con-Com) has written a fundamental law to governgover-nment, but rt does not seem to have debated the issue.r After the role of4^\/prnmont hac hoan AatiaaA h^", r-1.eq this irnninnc lnOn thC nrivatc rinfi15 inJ-'"',' ul-lvr i Ll l! Hl I vqLL t lLl

soctety, upon the rights of its members as private persons? This is the moralquestion. lt goes wilh a pragmatic question: How much can governmenteffectively accomplish. having in mrnd its financial and manpower resources?These crrestions must be asked not onlv to establish the nronrietv of novernmentar-tion hrri also fo establish the efficacv of novernment aciivitv One r-annot"' y" vrrL L(

even henin to diq,r-rrsq the fin:nr-inn nf an,.rernrnpnl prz.pnt fr rtilelrr hofnro f hauvLrr uLYlrr Lv urJ!uv.) Lrr! r,"ul,!irry vl yvvLrlrlilsrrL. sn\gPL luLllgly, uctulc Ltlc

seone of nrnner.t.\/p-'rmprr anfirritr, [6t been dgfingd.v""

One is yet to hear of any seminar;dmong Filipinos on Lhe role ofgovernmenL thal did nof end with the cSnclusion lhat this is good, theieilore

'Reprinted fr om the PhiLipplne JournaI

368-382

$

-s

r&

c:I Public Admlntstration 30(4) (October 1986):

Page 11: Public Administration

frlif PHILIPPINE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION' O 13

the gov'ernm ent must do it; and this is bad, therefore the government must dosomething r-:bout it; or this is being done in some foreign country,, then tnegovefnment must do it too; and so all these things must be put togethE, andmaltb-sure nothing is left out because the government should do everything thatis good.

And this is bad. ln times ofi economic hardship, after the Marcosgovernment has mopped up the ek:cess liquidity even of the poor, and the leaderstolen from the nation's treasure, it is tempting to assuage the people's anxietiesthrnrr- h ev na nrlo61 66yprnmenl ar-tjOn. The SUCCeedinn Covernment haS,, -,rf", llLLurrty VvvEltttllgtl

probably iueled escalating popuJar expeclalions. It is unfortunate that the Con-Cnm i''r-l'rdes r)e'q^nq 'r,hn.ln n-l ..t\/ .Are.\n,2 inr-nrqg laXeS fOf tlfg SUnn.-,rrrv LUnLJ rvr (ltL JUPF/vl L

nf nrrr Fpnrrhlin Th-^se DeTsons have nOt asked themselves: IS it the-.\\tat n'mo.,'c .^lo tO aliajn frrr the noonlo evarr t\;na f l2f it thinks iq noOd fOfv.,t-, itrty LtlqL lL Ltttlli\J iJ \,]u\

them? And: ls il not right that the people defrne lheir good for themselves,anrl fhai rhe floveTnment noverns for the nrTn-qp nf cnahlinn thom tn aft;J_'-' ..._ r *.r __ _ , _..JIn asmuch of that good for anci by themselves? If the latter, then the governmentcan focus its efforts on the poor and the unfortunate who cannot adequatelyattain the good by themselves.

There'is an expressed apprehension for the government and for thepeople if the Con-Com draft constitution were to be ratjfied; the people wouldhave been asked to authorize what amounts to a blank check in the matter oflhe score or whai thc 'rnvprnmFni sholrld do'lhe aovefnment'S UrnbOUnded'- v"',rhlinalinn< rvorill be f ac-cy'' wilh tne neonlc's -\vn ]rnhnrrnr]erl cvner-lafinnq anrlhnth -o,,cTnmprr a-rd ncnnl' t' irr ho dpenlv frrrstralej. in thjS SitUatiOn lhepresent government and its successors wiil surely and inevitably iaii.

is ihere a "Philippine Publrc Administration?" The public administtatiohof a country js shaped by three other major jnstitutions: education, politics.and governmenl. These afe so pervasive in society that they reflect many ofthe neorle s basic valueS aS evOlved throlnh the vears and CentUrieS.

Phili ppine Institutions

EducaLIon

Philippine educatjon is weal<est in history and science. Histor;r would tellhow Lire anceslors [ared: it is the story ot how lhe people became,:r fajled tobecome what they wanted to be; it is the door to the past. Science provides

the understanding of the natufe and workings of the physical world; it tells what:- ^1"., -i^-1r., ^^..ible, il is one of marr.:- r'^ ^-:-^:.^^' ...'ndows to the future.15 pnyslcally POSSIL,- "-.lKlliu 5 Prrr rLrPdr wr

\

JIFi

€lr'tj

Page 12: Public Administration

I

T4 O DEFINITION AND SCOPE

But there are still no Filipino histories. As late as 1982, Marcos claimedthat his Tadhanaz was the history of the Filipinos; it is in fact nothing of thekind; its protagrtnists are foreigners: ninety percent of the people it mentionsby name are Sparntards, despite the fact that they were no more than two-tenthsof one nercent of tne native nonrrlatigl. The laCk of a sense of histnrrr at,L v' Lrr! rruL/vL pvpuruL,Utl. itie tdCK Ol d --. J -mongFilipinos is fateful. The schooi system is occasionally expected to provide a brandnew sense of values in the youth not later than the next fiscaJ year. In the civilservice there rs only a fuzzy sense of nationhood; one may establish a USStatehood Movement chapter in most of government bureaus without beinglhn' ,n hi aq hainn r rn-Filininn.,."":J

(-,roat nr.,-fess has been achieved in the craft of inflrrencina massY'"Y'audjences via the medja nowadays, more in the field of illusion and imagerather than of news and reality. The new Philippine Airlines (PAL) advertisingnifch is that the Philinrires iq ''a corrntrv nf a million heroes." This is a currentr,....,"'"')"'indication of inhospitality towards science and technology-the field of fact andrcality. Many seem ro believe that standards of precision and quality are anuisance. The government pays no altention to the Bureau of Standards; it isrhe most neglected bureau in the Republic; locai consumers are plagued byw;shv-washv nrndr,ct.r-)rms.hanhaz'.4 ^ t>l:rv nnnfr^i is a mainr ricierrqnl lgvvrJrry wqJlry Hruvu!L rlvllrrJt ttaYttuLut rJ u rrrqJvr svLLrr\

'he 2cr-r:ntanr-e nf ernort iihes. Precision is blitheli, avoirled the resrrlt nf which'-') " ';s havinn the'mnsl r''n-her nF n.nfcssors in the world because even elemgntarirarade lear-hers ara -2lla-l n.nroccnrS" It iS the Same reaSOn fOr the fantasv of91 qur

having many jntellectuals in the countfy; the litle js not denied to peopie whodo not understand philosophv.

PoLItics

The existing politics is that which is described in western modern terms.It is in fact essentially a djrect evoiution, lirtle changed from ceniuries back, fromSnanish r-nlnnizl evnerienr-c Thc Snanish renime rnalte r-k.i-+i-^. na+ ^i+ivr,urrrJr, !vrvrrrqr u..r ...* -r Jrt.J.r r!yrrrrL rrruu! Lnflstlansr not Cltlzenst

of our forefathers who-rfere not then Muslrms. The peopie were deprived ofanv meanirrnfu] e"nc,ripnr-p in thc 66r:r:^^ ^r -;";r -^"^rnment. The membersu.) ,,iLLrirrry,ur L P(l,CllLC lrr L.lC l-lullLlL) Ul.t-1Yll gUVE

of rhe prLrtcipalia upperclassr who were na'med gobernadorcillos (mayors)of the pueblos (towr-is) were merely figureheads of the friar curates. A hundredproofs of this can be provided. From the seventeenth to the iate nineteenthcenrury it was noted that members of the principalia were spending money toavoid being named gobernadorcillos-servjce then was compulsory.

Nevertheless, the principalia or local uppef class developed a politics ofits own outside the politics of crvii government. This was the politics oftheoueblo relicioLrs fjesta The leadinn nueblo families vied with each other fo'r the

c L"*^^^ -nar.'or the sDonsor and nresidinrr offjcer of the celebrations.PU5L Ul IL(llllalll) ltLvJrt, L,ru Jfv,rJv, qrlu PiqJlul.l9 U"

Tnlc rnct enrailed effort and nersonal exnenditrrres for a few weeks, but it wasl lrrJ PVJL LrllulrLu t,'r",

^2.:oed h' a ferri rlavs of nersonal rrlorv withnrrt abrtse from the Snanish curate.lqryLu uj u luYY uu)J vr ,", Y,",

.$

-{rs

s

Page 13: Public Administration

$

PHILIPPINE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION O 1S

The cievelopmeni of tl-re poiitics of the principalia and the fiesta was

crucial. However ill construed in its essence at times, and however compiex inits marifeslations most of the tjme. the politics oi civil government is always

elevdted by a higher objective. the well-being of the communily. Moreover, the

means employed in this process are normally subjected to community standards.

It was very different with the politics of the fiesta. The end or goal in

this process was simply that one prevailed over his oPPonents; succ,3ss meant

ihe altainment of personaL ambition and the advancemeni of family interests.

This end was entirely private and had r-rothing to do with the comrnon weal'

Under the circumstances there was no need to justify these ends to the

communrty. Freed of this obiigation. the upper class of pueblo society was free

to devise and empioy its chosen means. to success, and there were no formal

community processes for enforcilg p'foper and punishing improper conduct in

this politics.a't-

As for the people, they agarn were kept out of fiesta politics belcause the

post of'hermano mayor was hot public. lt was contested only by the principalia,

the final choice was arranged, often in private, wrih the curate. This old politics

of the fiesta s.eems to be the leitmotif even today, in the politics c,f our civil

governm en i.

The pueblo elites became the basis of Philippine politics into the American

colonial period. The old political ethics did not die away over the brief period

19OO-1946, because it had served the pueblo uPpef class even before 1700

until the end of the nrneteenth century.

The old and the new politicai ethics have become one, a slnr:resis or a

combination of often contradtctory elements, since the beginning of the century'

The victorious elites affirm ihe trrumph of democracy, the victory of the people;

and the laiter listen to finely crafted speeches on nationallsm, socialjr'rstice, and

the popular rvelfare. But the archetypal ttd-er (Ieader) in Filipino politics is still

he who gets the most jobs for his followers, lncreases his income when his faction

is in power.(while paying less in income taxes), and gives the most help' ln various

forms to his folLowers' families. This is the relationship between a Mafia don

and his "soldiers." what is Fiiipino in this is: that the rewards distributed by

politrcians are puDlic resoufces, the politicians who are out oi power rr:gard their

counterparts in power with envy and admiration; and no practitioner of this highly

developed Fiiipino art has even been accused of anything but success'

Gauc'nmenI

Modern govefnment arrived just before the century. The Americans were

efficient in therr way. Each item of equipment from tables to tool:; to books

J#:

w1=:l

Page 14: Public Administration

16 O DEFINITION AND SCOPE

was assigned an officiai service life. Every year, as this service life ended, thecorrespondinct rtems of equipment wefe piled high by the schoolhouse; theproperty officer. the auditor. the town officiais, and the public would graveiywaIch: the concletnned equipment was burned. and official certifications to thiseffect were madt:. There was quaiity in the public administration in those days.There was little of no pilfering of office property,

But government under the Americans v/as first and iast proconsular.rorernment lt was limited and vyas meant to novern the Philiooines as colonv:r" , -. lvJ 9o lvtvt lj

and to maintain the US presence in the Far East in the form of coaling stationsand naval bases. The limited nature of government under the colonial regimers iilustrated in the scheme of responsibilities for operating its most importantsocial program: vocational schools and higher education were funded and runbv the nafinnal noveTnmenf 'neneral hinh <,chools hv thc nrnrrinrizl nnvo'nrncntq.,", y" ,,y,, "*, yvvsr I rr r.v. r!v,

anrl elomentarV sa'hoOls /fhp"e Waq - ^-r:^'^^'^"L^:r" f^' r-'^)^^ F -\ Lri theu'ru LrLIrrurrLqry J!r,vvlJ \L,rLr! wqJ A lldLlUlldl 5Ul-r5lUy lUl \lldUe5 J-l ) D, ,,,-

municipal governments.

Whatever it did not do for the masses, the colonial regime did not disturbthe sociai fabric. F)l)pino soclety continued with lhe old principalia or ilustradofamilies on toD. and the COmmOn neonle or lao m2da rrn fho roct TheArnerieanc thnrrnht in nnn/ faith thai ihpv h:r.l pcizhlichorl e rrrnrkin- lamae,:J _'', ^_'racy;aller all thev had instirrrtcrl ronrrlar elections.r ln faCt the new svstem became."'J '

-nerclv an overlav fn. iha nirl crrcforn ^f lOCai elfteS and lflgir ncrsnnal r-nnr-enlj6n5,,,-,",-I,"-r,",

of ends and means that had taken over the new poljtics of government.

With the establishment of autonomy in 1935, the Filipino notions ofpolitics and government asserted themselves. J.he process began with the schoolsystem. The nal,onal government assdmed totai control over elementary'^L^ - l:- ^ -^) t^' -r.'aA rr1p2<r,r'. it shortened thc arade school vears from seven)Lilu\Jlllig. dllU lUl gvvu,lrLqDur! rr JrrvrLslrlu LrlL 9rquL J J--,--o siv fho evnangigJ-1 of the naltonal rr.vernment has noi stnnncd sinr-c fhen',*':J"vJrlllvllllll,

-..av il onerates the laTresf nrimber of ^'-'^ ^^tt^'^ ^ --.'universities in the whole.J -- - .. -. JLdLC L\JllCgC) Al lL.1

worid relative to the country's resources, cement factorres, steel plants,commercial banks, a gambling casino. an oil refinery, as well as all kinds ofwondrous and exotic undertaktnqs.

With big government has come stifling and labyrinthine regulatibn ofprivate business. In order to escape this. private businessmen have to develop'connections" with the reguiators and the politicians. They pay the price throughthe nose. This is the clear origin of cronyism. There may never again be as

big cronies as there were during the Marcos era. but unless public regulation ofnrirralr. onfarnrico i,--,s soon reduced, cronyism on a smaller scale could mul!Plya hundredfold.

it can then be appreciated now why, even rn the best of times, publicadmintstration cannot perform well in all its varied roles. If it did well in one

$

-s

i$

Page 15: Public Administration

PHILIPPINE PUBLIC ADMINIsTRATION o17pfoject, the isolalted success is hailed as a triumph. Cases in court drag on foryears' recently paved highways are cracking, the Cross National produci (CNp)ts negative and the people's incomes are ravaged, public hospitals and schoolsare rut.down. But then a new bridge or bujlding pro.ject happens to becompleted at long last; ail else is forgotten, and the government is flushed with

. SUCCESS.

Adminrstrations deliberately focus the peopie's attention to these newprojectsl they are state-of-the-art: they are visible and politically ,,sexy.,' Thegovernment pours resoufces (mostly foreign loans) on these projects, and scantiocal funds are provided for epic rnaugurations. There is a series of such projects

S on the drawing boards; the rounds of inaugural speeches-hail the advent ofFilipino'self-reliance and modernizatron; but now Iast year's projects l^iave beenfoigotten, and they have begun to deteriorate. As for the humdrum governmentoffices that service the masses of citizens, fhey languish under conditions ofrnalicious and perverse neglect. Only weJl-organized associations of urbansquatters, because they promise rich votes, receive some attentiorr durincrelection years or in times of disaster

t-fhe tremendous media resources that the national government iras builtover the last two decadeb keep thd sjluation under a steaming lid. Citizenfrustrafion with government services is swamped by news ofthe aJministration'slatest plans and foreign loan negotiations.

{

The list goes on, but it must be clear by now that the Phiiippine case isnot the usual one. The institutions of education, civil politics, and governmentdo not have a contrnuity with the past. They are young institutions dating backto no more than the beginning of the century. The government had been runindependentlv for just the last four decades, managing most of pubiic affairs rna language that is not native to the citizens. The period of nationhood is muchshorter than the history of colonial experience, The mofe thoughtful are ufreasyabout the lack of definition in self-image. The crisis had to be copecl with inthis state fitting together the pieces of new and evolvinq life as best as possible.A good job has not been done of it. but what is on hanl .un only reflect reatity.and therefore, the not so surprisrng conclusion to make is that the existinq publicadministration is faithfully Filipino.

ln government offices the cornfort rooms stink. Trssue in the favoredexecutlve toilets is pilfered. Office personnel and their spouses bring freeenterprise rnto the offices, seliing jeweiry or clothes or food to the staff. Moreimportant, supervisors never rate anv of their subordjnates inefficient orunsatisfaciory-kaauaaLL)a naman,'1 As a result, misfrts are weeded out notthrough the lating system, but via the disciplinary process*after some mischiefhas been perpelrated. The old system of cabinet secretaries and bureau directorsrewarding individual good performers with salary increases disappear",i drlinq

n

ffi

Page 16: Public Administration

18 O DEFINITION AND 5COPE

the previous administratir:n, so that ministries are no longer assigned fundsr forstaff promotions in iheir budgets. Cood civil servants can only desperateJy re:rortto novenas or to political padrtnos5 for recognitron. All this is very Filipino.

No political party has ever stood for serious civil service reform. Asidefrom this not being a politically exciting issue, the fact of the matter is that thc:re

are no political parties. What is there are groupings and factions built arounda leader. in more politicaily mature countries. the majority parties in times ofcrisjs change their government leaders, even their prime mjnisters. and in tfrisway often ride out the crisis. This is because ihe parties as organizations aren..rmallv stron.rer than the individuai leaders. Thrs is not nossible in therLrvlqu' .,". r

Philippine political scene, because the faction's existence depends not on then--rD hrlt 16 tlo 6nc-pan ieadershin And sn 'he nnlitiCal StruCtUre does noty'uui_/ /uL vrl LrrL vr

oifer means [or regarding the public administraIion system technically P{eeiectorate have been conditioned to looking at the civil service only in terms ofara{l and r-n.rrrnlion r-harnes anainsi the nartv in nnwcr ard not in fcrms ofy'-,."r",..I.,

good recruitmerrt. career der elopmenl. technical expertise. and the otherstandards of modern public administration.

The Civil Service Commission js now.hardly anything but a nationalneTqnnnel records office.'Civil service test.s haie become useless as instrumentsfor civil service deveiopment and impiovement. !'heating and collusion arenotorious. One canrrot cure the defects of pubiic administration by just repeatingthe naive formula that the civil service commission shall be a constitutionalcorrmlssion. All th js is the frurt of politicai culture. which affords little room forr)n.\.)",. tho -i' 'l SetV,Ce aS thg fOUndation ni nnvcrnmgpf.'Y.,,',"'Y"

The civil service is like the Pasig River which, in the bygone era, used tobe a pulsing and living arlery of commefce and liie. It wjil always be lhere.whir-hcvcr nrnrn nf nolitical leaders canf 'rrcs 'he flrrvFrnrncnt Todav thc Pac,inu",_, ! \rru I uJry

is silted, dirty, and dead with the detritus of households and industry.

The government grandly declares that they will plan and program andbring about development. provide justice. prosperity, happiness, and safety forthc nennle lt seems f haf if a .r-vprnment cannot keen its inilefs r-lean or cleSj59""v"one dying river and bring it to life, then it can neither govefn well nor attainder,elonmc.t forL-. ^^^^r. ^"^^^r'f--^"^h --^i,.1^nr What iS mOfe Certain iSuL r Lrvpr l r!r.L rvr -.lc PcuPlc. cn LgPL Ll lluu9rr oLLlucrrL.

fa'lrrre for a noverniltcftt thal does not ''nnrnve n'rrlir^ administration.

Ii is all very, well, Filipino. There is consolation in that the government,contrarv lo lhe rrolions of the totalitarians u,ho wish to cantrrre its nower doesnot yet encompass the entirety of the people's lives, and those who are mindedto can still pursue their illusions and interests honorably and worthily in theirprivate worlds, doors closed to ill conceived laws and mischievous regulations.But how about lhose people who do not have the sanctuary of a tolerable private

-. rif,i:

lrII

'6

-#

Page 17: Public Administration

!

I

l

ffi

PHILIPPINE PUBLIC A DMINISTRATION o19life? Presurnably, it will take the space of at least two generations to discrplineand wisen people, in order to have a public administration that will not be anunforgivrng mirror of frailties, but an image of higher ideals and virtues.

Endnotes

'The author is referring here to the Constjtutionai Commission established by presrcentCorazon Aquino after the EDSA People Power's Revolution in 1986. The Constitution drafted bvthis body rvas ratiiied and approved in February 1987. -Editors.

'Tadhana; The Hlstarg of the Fltlpino People was wrjtten in '1976 by Ftrerdinand E.l4arcos, president oi the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. As conceived by the author, the bookconsists of four volumes: (a) Volume One - Foundations of Filipino Culture, from ca.25,OOOB.C. to 1565; (b) Volume Two - The Formation of the Natjonal Community, from 1565 to l896;(c) The Promised State, from I896 to 1946; and (d) Towards rhe New Society, from lg4d to thEp fese nt,

rThis was originally reslricted to males; .there were also age, literacy, and propertyqualificatror-s

:aKaawaaLna naman is a commonly used expression in Fiiipino which can be roughlytranslated into English as "What a pity|'

tPadri.no literal y translales into "godfather" or "sponsor." In the Philipprne context, thepadrino may not be a person related through consanguinity but he becomes a part of the extendedfamity by virtue of affinity.

:

>l?t

itF-tr.

Page 18: Public Administration

Contributions of the Perspective ofP_u.bl ic Adrn in istration *

'o t1\,

LEDTvTNA V. cnnrNo

Whon neonlc ack what irln I have nrown rrsed fo tho hlank ar nrrociivYrrcll PEUPTI uJr\ wtrqL I uv! r tluvL glvwlt usq:u L\J -.._ _, y___",onlng

iaces thal greet my answer: "l teach Public Adminjstration."r I understand theirresponse. The discipline is fairly young in the Philippines, as it was formallyintroduced here only in 1952 as part of the package of recommendatiohs ofthe Bell Report. Many enter government without having a nodding acquaintancewjth the field; most of the 1.5 miliion public servants have never taken up a;course on the subject. except perhaps a traintng program on techniques andprocedures here and there. My questioners become even more surprised whenI iniorm them that a number of my students are not in politics or the civil serviceand have no intenlion of being in either realm. Why, then? What is its role ifmen and women can serve in government without it, while others in it have settheir sinhts on non..r\/ernrnontal r-argg;gJ What Can the pefSpeCtiVe Of PUbliCvrr rrvrryvvrr yyrruL Lqrr Lrrv HLTTHLILIY! vl r

Administration conlribute to both governance and social iife in general?

lwill try'to answer these questions by discussing four dimensions of thenersnective of Prrbjic Administration Thev are: the technical asnect. thenrohlern of demnr-rar-t, anA.2r-.nrsnf2hili+,, +h^ .^l^ nf rl-ra neonlc anrj the iSSUgl_/i vurLl r l ul uLl l ru\l s\) ul lu uLlvu vru vl Lr ru rrvHrg! ur ru Lr rL

of indigenization. These drmensions encapsulate some of the key dilemmasthe field has confronted over time and the new challenges that it is nowembracinc. I submit that the nersoective of Public Administration would be

valuable not only for its scholars and practitioners, but for other concernedcitizens as well.

*Reprinted from the PerspecLiue: The NationaL Education f,lagazine 1O(1) (March1990): 14-17. The Perspectiue is published by the Catholic Educational Association of thePhilippines (CEAP), Manila.

I

-1s

$r rl

l

l

-'sts

I {

Page 19: Public Administration

ffi

@-

\.:''

CONTRIBUTIONS OF PUBLIC *U-,r,r-irTrrSrRATION O .21

The Technical Core

The discipline celebrated the centenary of its formal birth in 1987,ma'rking it from the first pubiication of Woodrow Wilsoh's "The Study ofAdministration'' (Wiison 1953;. in ii. this Princeton political scientist who wtuidIater se:ve as, successively. president of his university and of his country,proposed that serious and concentrated attention be given to the problem ofhow to "run the constitutjon" (Wilson 7953:67), that is, how to translate thenrnmicaq nf rlomne rar-rr tn tho nonnlg. ThiS meanS jOOkinq at qOVef nment aSY-"/', { ?"a field of business, removed from the hurry and strife of politics" (Wilson' 1957:71). To tackle this problem, the field had to learn from the methods ofenoineerino brtsiness administration and economics and to train oec'oie in themthrough knowJedge gained from political science, sociology and psychology. It

meant lhe search for perfeclion of methods of efficiency. econom\/, regularityand effecliveness. From the very beginning. it was, to use a current phrase,"action-oriented."

At its core has been the management of government. That includesthe development. deployment and husbanding of human, material andnrrrpnizatinnal rr.snurces and the oeneration and use of policies and strategies'' 5''{nr ft.a rialivar, ^f nirhlir- services it SeemS tO be a simnle nrrts-and-bOltSnreslinn a nroblem nf techninro nf rnakinn tho Will of thp neonle rnanifestrL PrvPrL rrre

through the deed of administration (Wilson 1953: 73). Knowledqe of thesetcchninrrcs anrl nrgqgsses would make flovernmental services more 6j96rrraie",'"r.Y"'".and salisfaclorv and fheir deliverv faster and more renttlar, This is the dimensionnf thc fielrl thaf rnost Filininos ordinarilv dernand from Public Administration.Fnr nnnrJ rp2qnn it ic slill cnrelrr la.'k' rental <rrqtpnr._.r .-*..rng In our governrr.-.,"-.-r

The Democratic Imperative

vei the nersnective of Pr rblic Adminislration has olher maior r-ornnongp[5

which must domjnate over simnle technical nroficiency lndeeri whilp Wil56p'5rr ivLLu,

searcn for natterns and svstems of imnlomentafion is necessarv to fr.r Ifill societal"l "'\r'-'noal. his deemnhasis of nolitlcs,in that SeafCh-hiS aSSr rnnf inn hoina thar tho9VqrJ. l rlJ usLl l lzr rqJrr vl yvliLr!t rr r Ll lqL J!sr \r (-r rrr uJJur r rHLrvr r vLn, ry LiruL Ltr!

Will is alreadv set and manifest-strinnerj Public Administration of its soul.trffir-icnr-v in fhe exnloitation of the ooor must fs p!iccterl 'cffir-ioncv in theLrirlrlr r"", , rvjlrLLut

pursuit of justice elevated. , For a discipline to teach that goals do not matter-or to ignofe the questions of values that they raise would exalt a robot as themodel administrator.

The history of Public Administration since those initial years has beenmarked hv the decire to recantlre and reenthrone vision as not onlv the noailrrqlr\Lu uy Lrr! u\Jrr!

but the context wiihin which the tasks of administration should be accom.plished.

For tite emphasrs on means independent of their ends gives administratorsn.wer that is undirecled and dannerous,

,&,6'J\-

Page 20: Public Administration

?2 O DFFINITIONAND SCOPE

Fortunately, the discipline from the beginning has assumed democracyas its political context. This is clear from Wilson, whose model of bureaucracywas imporled from militaristic Prussia. but who consciously wished to mold itto serve the needs of popularly elected governments. Thus, accountability tothe people and public service have been its key values from the start, exceptthat these were assumed to be concerns of. politics that enter publicadministration through hierarchical orders ratICr than through institutional andnarcnnal anmmitm^h+-PCI )rrl lol \-ul lll I llLl I ICI ILJ'

Nevertheless, the discipline sought to put them at the forefront even whenthat mechanical concept of responsibility was pervasive. since simple obedienceto the line of command could hardly move organizations to provide justice andrrolfarp tn thp npnnlc Therz rnade minds lneaqv when "ricvelnnrnent '' the coalwLlrqrg Lv rrrL Puv/lg. I llr) ltluuL i

of every new nation. was successiuly peddled as a simple technical problem,rrnnrresfionino aboul and satisfied with the prevailing poverty and inequality of,,.,J -"

the socioeconomic structure. They continued to be enshrtned even where the

civjl service operates under a dictatorship, which closes off avenues of dissent

but finds it profitable to mobrlize crowds for its sharn legitimation. Pressuresfnr fleetinn .elevan.e,and annrnv.el hv the establishment can make disciolinesrur lrLLLrrt!-l rLrv YYtvrv' v)

of Public Administration retreat to the safe grounds of technocracy andmethodoloqv. But tfre democratic'values inherent in the fieid iorce them toengage in ,"ociat criticism as a principal stance vis-a-vis statal rulers who venerate

hierarchy. technology for technology's sake, and concentrated power. That isan especiaily vaiuabie contributron, this stance of Public Administration thatpower must be harnessed forthe common good. As Knott and Miller (1987:257)a sse rt:

The problern of bureaucracy is exactly lhe same as the classic problemof politicaL power that has been addressed by democratic theorislsthroughout history: how to make power accountable.

At the same time, with the discipline unable to ignore the call for action-it is an applied field-it cannot thrive on critique and evaluation alone, for it must

constfuct and effectuate mechanisms for translating goals to the level wherethorr nan reqnnnrl tn prrorrrrlarr necdq -rLi- "^;^^ ^f nritialte theorv and nracticeI I ll> ul ll(Jl I Lrl Ll lLlLiuL, Ll r!vr i ur ru yr u!Lr!ut

applied to the continuous improvement of democratic and accountable public, , t i. : l: -service, is a perspective unique to the discipline.

The Redefinition of the Word "Fublic"

The problems of authoritarianism and developmentalism faced by nmny

countries of the Third Worid have made it imperative for the discipiine to explicitly

declare its commitmenti to democracy and its concomrtant values of freedom

and justice. in so doing, the meaning of therword "public" in its name has

become subject to greater scrutiny and reekamination. The original assumption

$

-,#l',

Page 21: Public Administration

CONTRIBUTTON5oFPUBLICADMINISTRATIONo.23

was that the modifier stood for governmenf (especiatly its bureau!t:ty)' As

such, it seemed to freeze Public Administration into an advocacy of the 'use of

" rni.'f . mechanism, hence u t::Jt*Pf "means divorced from ends'

ln its new incarnation,, ..publiC,' focuses less o!--th"'g:u:lnTqntaI

institution and more on whom it serves, However, it iinot "administration,of

thepubric,,,butadministratjonfor,andincreasingly,bythepe,,oplel:The;;.,il;; ;", ;;t abandoned govern mentat managemenr,-since.tf e bure.aucracy

t r^ - -, ,l-.ti- -^rrrino Rt rfLrrrLrPrrrru rrue """ -- ;;:l^"ot"^tti her I for public service' But

remains the largest employer and hence the main vesse, | - - ^-^!:^ .,-l' '^ ^{::ffrrio,n;:r':";,.; ;;;";iu" ,'.'".r.,unisms, and that democratic value of. -r ru^.-J:-^i^li^^

;":ff;:;;";i"n"u;n;'oi ti,"i,. lives animate the discussions of the discipline.

Theincreasingacceptanceofpeople'sinvolvementinthgplanning'implementation and

"evaluation of needed services, whether by themselves or

with the cooperation and support. of governmental agencies or voluntary

organizarions, is an exciting trend in Punlic Administration'' lt pt.-l::::oaffect

notonlyadministrationperse,butthewholenotionofgovernment-peoplerelations and what it means to be a state'. For instance' the active participation

ofpeopie,sgroupsinconcretizinganddefendingthegoalsoftheNicaraguanRevolutionhasbeenregardedasthefirststeptowardsthecreationofanewtypeofstate(Nolunt-ggg;SanabriaandMorinlg8g).3Itwouldnothaveoccurred had the sandinistas viewed public adnrinistration as the use of the

governmental machinery for ends decidgd Ypo: by'' and intended to profit only,

a few. lts administrative transformation had to break out of the narrow confines

of the old meaning of .,public,, into one where empowerment inform:s even the

government's view of what it means to govern'

Towards A Filipino View of the Discipline

The democratic, public-focused perspective of the universal'disciflinets

further enriched in the philippines by a ielatively new movet":nl towards

indigenization. The desire to Filipinize Public Administration stems in large part

from the need to make the fieid relevant and responsive to the demands not of

foreign powers andelite forces but of the majority of our people'

This trend is not new nor alien to the discipline. Wilson, when he proposed

the screntific study of administration in the united states' was cognizant of the

fact that it had its counterpart in "cameralistics"' which was then flourishing as

a discipline in Europe.a But he did not advocate the importation of cameralistics

because It was

.., a foreign science... Il r.ilters none but what are t" "YrTlllt::::lo""t'Its aims, its examples' its conditions' are almost excl-usively grounded in

the hislories of foreign races' in the precedents of foreign systems' in lhe

lessons of foreign revplutions"' (Wilson 1953: 68)'

Page 22: Public Administration

?4 o DEFrNrrroN ANE€COPE

Ac z ennqa-tton,-a'_ a, 1'

Wilson sounded the firsrf, cdl] for indigenization:

If we would employ it, we must Americanize it, and that not formaiiy, in

language merely, but radically, .n thought. principle and aim as well(Wilson 1953: 6B).

However. current Filipino attempts at indigenization are not a responseto Wilson, for they are not one of those embarrassing items of nationalismimnorted from abroad. Rather. thev nrew orrt nf fhe dissatisfaCtiOn with thellllvvl LLU {lvllr uurvuur .rr"_I

inabilitv of the dtscinline brorrcrht hcre hv Amerir-an technical assistanc'e totttuurttLJ vr Llrv

descnbe and explain the ilis and challenges of public service which are met inthc Philinninec Mnrc nosiiivelv thr^ L ' from the interaction of",,/Y"'-'. -..:y llov€ clllclguLl

scholars with public officials and the common tao and the lessons that haveheon imnartcA zhn'ri Filininn ahilitios and achievements, and the obstacles',H"''hurled against them by the grinding poverty, exploitation and inequality ofPhilippine society. ln other words, the desire to develop Philippine PublicAdministration is footed in Phiiippine exPerjence and aspirations.

This attempt at indigenization is a new thrust of the field. But it is onethe other dimensions cannot do without. For if Public Administration wpuldqcrrrc sn.ietrr hrr analv zina and develoninn techninrres of nnvcrnancc and sef ViCeJL. vL JV!lLrJ vJ uttaty Ltt l9 qr ru uLYLrvFrr

f irrllrr anr-hnrcd nn nnrirrlar :r-r'nrrntAhilitv and neonle's sttnremAcv. it can dOI ll I I lry ql lLl lul Lu vl | ?vYvtut I rLvvr.rrLJ

so only with a clear view of Philippine culture and of the Filipino's needs,capacities and vision for his country.

Endnotes

The convention in the field is lo designate the discipline by capital letters, and to

write out the practice of public administration in lower case,

2This explains the peculiar attraction of the field to staff and voiunteers ofnongovernmental and not-iorproljt organizations

rNolan (1989) describes how from the time of victory in 1979, people's organtzations

formed a Council of State (later known as Consejo del Pueblo) which functioned effectively as

the legislature until elections were held in 1984, as a response to US demands ior traditional

democratic forms, See also Sanabria andMorin (1989). Nicaragua substantialed its commitment

to the peasanls and workgrs.-''- the main support of its revolution - through, among others, a

highly successful llteracy campaign and dramatic improvgirrenls in heallh care, including lhe

reduction oi iniant mortality by one-third in just six year,g,bnd the totai mobilization of peoplejri rnalaria eradication and dengue campaignd'(Collins 1982; UNICEF 1986). UNICEF

credits these achievements not only to "the expansion of government services since health

is also seen as the responsibility of organized people's groups" (1986: 3B).

'1lt is not clear if he was unaware of , or decided to simply ignore, the strides made

in ancient China and India which have contributed methods to Public Administration ln use to

this day, but whjch have never separated the study of administration from the syslematic

improvement of ail of life. See Heady (1984)' and Anisuzzaman (1991)

g

-s

i$l

i

j

Page 23: Public Administration

L --:-

CONTRIBUfiONs OF PUBLIC

References

ADMINI5TRATION O 25

t

$Anisuzzaman' M

-*^ Srate of Education for Public Administrationrqql The state_oi ':,i;;:;;;'inlstraLton tn Asia and| 4;'"1

V' Carino' ed' Public Adm

.l

in Banqladesh' ln Ledivina

Pacifii Bangkok' Thailand:

HeadY, Ferrel1 oR4

UNESCO.

! -^..,ilh trrahces Moore Lappe and Nick Allen " t -1 '-rrrornia'Coilins,.rose w,L, l';'::"^T,i1'"".13'F3,iil"; ;;;;;;tr,n Make?' San Franctsco' \-drrr- "'

1sB2 wnaL Dtffere^': c:1'1.,:,::fi;;;;;i'.t -lnstitute for Food and Deveiopment Policy' l

P ub t t c Ad m i n i s Lr a t'" ̂',,f ''," I ! i 3:: :"":,i,': :."'t l u e N ew Yo rk a nd B3sel

l

f':?::: ;:d";'"i:;l'"a iL;a exPanded edition

Fnglew<iodKnott, Jack n t"oiill; ,,I'Ejr"uu*urr, The Politrcs of InsLitittonaL Chaice'

1eB7 [;iiJ"ii:Y;;'";' -?reritice-Ha*'

rnc

marks made at the

Nolan, Maureen .he process of Socialist state Fot]uli?.1;,^Iirponror"a uy the" " 'e'e ?;Tffi::: ;l*.:T*:J:iii:?:i?'""?'[:";iiil;"J$;;ln'

ou"'on

CitY' B August'

rok of the same title;

Sanabria.RosarioandSonia'!\c'l.'uq"ii:::,::';"}l:::::::;l:'l|;|;.,,.".".le'e [t"":'"::::'";ffi; Z' so'iotogia' -

"'' --

+ff -

Nations Children s Fund (uNlCEF) r. Nu* york: oxford oniverslty Press'

r Llnited l ^-" The State of t'he World's Chtldrer - ^J,-rr r

w son' wooo'"* Tr..,,,y:,r ?:i,1llT.:;*lijllfl :3:-ii#:'ffi:#'il:,i'jJ:Yt;:i'Ab ridge o

Ad'mtitstraLton: A Book of KeauLtLgr'

tr

Page 24: Public Administration

$

Y Toward a Fhitosophy ofPublic Managernent Educatfion *

ROMEO B. OCAMPO

Why "Fhilosophize" and What Does This Mean?

Why should w-e philosophize on public management education? It isbecause, given the sorry state of ouf government and country, we need to haveclear goals and objectives to guide curricular development on the way to thenext century. And if I understand the term correctly, philosophy proviaes thebasic ingredient of values that we need as a beacon for the progr.r, of thescience and art of administration.

At ieast, this is what one may glean from past and fairly currentdrscussions of management in both the public and private sectors and fromrecent legislation to strengthen ethics in the Philippine public service. From thegeneral literature, o-rye-(earns that traditional American thinking on publicadminrstration was much stronger in theorSr thalrthe British, but what the Britishlacked, theytrave made up for with an explicittorientation to vaiues as a distinctthough integral element as weil as a grounding in certain factual assumptionsabout public administration.

Thus, according to a British author, traditional American doctrinesassumed that "(a)dministration can be made into a science,', and that,,(t)hescientific study of administration leads to the discovery of principles ofadministration;" which principles in turn "determine the way in which the goalsof economy and efficiency can be realized" (Thomas i97B: 6). on the otherhand, British doctrini:s argued that "(a)dministration cannot be reduced toscience alone. It is based on science and ethics and this combination constiiries

-sr

s

*Reprinted from the Phitippine JournaL of PubLic Administration 34(2) (April 1990):101-117

Page 25: Public Administration

'r.lxlrlllffiF{ffifW

s

PHiLosoPHyoFPUBLICMANAGEMENTEDUCATIONo2T

y'aphilosophyofadministration.,.Moreover,..(t)hephilosophicalstudyoIadministration leads to the discovery not only of scientific principles but also of

ethical ideais,,,which include a qualitative ratnLer than quantitative kind of

efficiencycue to the ethical element explicitly introduced by philosophy (Thomas

1978:22).

American thinking has since been reoriented by the so-called "New Publjc

Administration" to more substantive values such as social equity' But in private

corporate management, Americans continually discover an{}Sereci-ate the

..importanceofculture,valuecommitments,andethics,,,organizationaIcultures

that stress more than the bottomline of profit and embrace values "representing

responsibiiity to various social groups"-l:":,:"0" u .t'u,tt:l.lllT,":tt" -'

corporate ..exceIlence,, (McCoy 1985: 7,77)' ..The excellent companies seemt

to have developed cultures that have incorporated the values and practices of

thegreatleadersandthusthosesharedvaluescanbeseento'l,]lu^ufordecadesafierthepassingoftheoriginalguru,,(Peters-andwatermanlgB2

26;McCoy

1985: 1i). still, American private mqnageis suffer by comparison with the

Japanese as well as the British ih'terms of,a!: degree to which they

institutionalize social, spiritual, and humanistic values-as "s2Perordinate goals"

of their corporations (Pascale and'Athos 1981 125-129)'

hical discussions deal notBefore we proceed, we may note that philosop

onty with erhical and moral or value questions, but also -lit ?1i9*#*1issuesandepistem'oiogicalones,i.e.,questionsofhowweknow.lnere'areprobably other [ina, of issues. But noi being a professional philosopher' and

having neither the talent nor the time to discourse at length on a potentially

wide range of philosophical issues even in a restricted field' I wili state some

propositionswhichmayconstitutepartsofaphilosophy,ratherthanpresentamenu of philosophies of Public Management education. These ptopos;itions

seiectiveiy toucl-r base with a few urJu, with which we have probably been

pariicularly concerned in the teaching of public administration in the Philippines'

My hope, though, is that this limited iresentation would provoke alternative views

on the subiect.

We Have a Lot to Learn about Values

onthequestionofvaiues,thereisnodoubtoftheurgencyofformiqgtheapprop,,ut"uul,"sforthePhi}ippinepublicservice.Ourrecentlawsandregulationsprescribingethicalbehavior,aswellaspreviousones'testifytothecritical problems of graft, .orrupi'on, Jng oth.e1 fTms of mal- or misc'cnduct

thathaveoeoeviledourgovernmentandsocietythesepastseveraldecades.Thus,..valuesformation,,andethicscOursesaredeservedlyinfashionintrainingand education Programs'

ttii

Jtr

ah.

ru

Page 26: Public Administration

,l{8

28 O DEFINITION AND SCOPE

Just what values to teach, whether ethics should be a distinct course oran integral part of other courses, and how to get values observed and enforcedas well as inculcated, may be important problems for crowded curricuia. Butmore importantly, we have a great deal more to learn about values before wecar reach them effec'Lively. As Jhave pointed out elsewhere. for example, wem2\/ n-l i.<nnrrr evaellrr rrrh.af nr urhir-h valrrec uic rvish tn nrnrnnfp /Ocamnn lOOn\

Cr. perhaps more precisely, it may be easier to identify the range of vaiues wewish to promote than lo realize and reconcile their complex, competing, andnfton r-nrfl:r-linn relafionshins This is because values 6re nnf onlv r-arrierl glgft''"'Y"'by common ideals, but are also rooted in diverse and divergent interests.

Even such simpler virtues as courtesy may collide with others, e.9., theneed for time to do weli in one's paperwork, unless we regard them as an integral^.-r ^r )^i^- ^ ^rnrl ioh For annth^- ^.'^*^r^ " L^- we trv to npt rirl of redPdlf Ul UUIIIg d gU-- )--, ' .,.cI c^dlllPl(::, wllE:ll wL Lr) Lv 9sL rru I

ranr. for ihe sakc of disnatch and efficiencv in service. and at the.same timenrrsh fo. iransDa:enr-r'and hnnectv in nnvernment wc mav also emhafk OnyuJll LUI lrurrJHUrlrr\j/ ull\JllM y"'",r'rrr!r(Lr "-,,,"J

mrrtrrallv frrrstratinn colrr.ses of action.l Then it is time to relearn Herbert Simon'sargument that we cannot maximize any one principle of administration withoutsome sacfifice to others. Aloreover, according to him, for a number of reasonsiirrc.uding cognitrve lrmits or constfaints on our ability to know), we can onlyorr:.-rizc .T "qAljsrir-e' tSi mon 'l954:Ch ll) Recentlv thorrnh there has beenvlrLlll Ii4E vl JqllJl l!! \urt t rur i",J, .,rvvyr It

tlrc more sanguine view that we can arrive at "super-optimum solutions" (SOS)

bcyond ihe resulls of traditional compromises and trade-offs among vaJues

(Nagel 1981).'z

The problem of value relations becomes even more intractable when'modcrn or universalistjc instiLutronal values are pitted against the moretradirional. particu,aristic ones prevailing rn the wider culture. The Japanese are

reputed to have nicely reconciled the demands of their oid culture by

incorporating useful traditional norms into the "superordinate goals" of their

modern institutions (Pascale and Athos 1981: 129). But our own persisting

expei-ience with corruption and incompetence in government and the diversity

of Filipino cuiture would suggest that we may have to make more difficuit choices Sbetween the values we want for the public service and the truly incompatible s'

elerncitl: in our culture that hindcr pfogress in government. Nepotism, political

dynasties, private armies, and local and national oligarchies may have sprung

from our love of the extended family; one would wish that this could be a more

transcendent love of the Filipino nation as a truly extended family.

On the other hand, some caution is called for in how fast and how far we

push public service vaiues from the morai and ethical to the legal level. C-otes

of proper behavior in government can be misused if what is ethicaily improper

is arso made illegal and stiff legal sanctions are applied against infractions, Then,

.oj". of ethical conduct couid constrain efficieni performance and serve to

obscure the really criminal malfeasances. For exampie, limiting the number of

-&

Page 27: Public Administration

1

II;.

ti *Ti 11rr$.i t6.l

;iqI

li

I

il

PHILO5OPHY OF PUBLIC MANAGEMENT EDUCA]TOru O 29

extrapositions(e'g.,corporateboarddirectorships)andComPensationavailableto department heads may help prevent monopoly of power and pelf, but it rnay

alsoinhibittheperformanceofn".",,urydutiesinthecoordinationofpolicyor in contributing technical expertise'

Moreover,thetotalamountofextraincomepossiblefromsuchposil.ionsmaSlbenothing.o-pu,"atothelucreobtainablefrommereinfluence.peddlingwhich..thebigfish,,couldperpetratewithoutextraofficialpositions.Thepointisthat,inordertoavoidsuchadverseincentivesandobfuscationS,wehavetorsift the "mariluana" from the "crack"'and m1V hSve to decriminalize nninor

breachesofgoodconductorleavetr."*tosocialandpoliticalratherthanjudicialmechanisms for correclion'

Politics Should be Separate frorn Administration' But"'

,\l A startinn Ooo, in philosophies ol ?::T admrnistrat'on ''

the relation

between politics and administration. ihe politics-administration dichoioml' has

been a sore and "nl.g issue in our iiterature., we have to sort out what seems

to be ihe confusion of normatiu" porliion una empirical observation here' The

prevaiiing view in much of the literature is that theie should not be a dichotomy

because it cannot oe obserr^ed in actuai pru.ti." But I believe that this empirical

observation is only partly and contli;;;'' t"e' und'that politics could and

should be separat"a iron,"ua-inirtruiio'n q;i,hi" qi"_o:i.l-its' At the same time'

mutual influence and interpenetratigr{ beiween the two processes are possible

and should "", ""1;;" ",r"*.a uut uf ir"ra, but again with'gtain limlts

_Ihisapparentlyconflictirlgviewisimplicitintheconstitutionaldesignof

l]beral.democraucpolitiesandgovernmentsbased,likeours,onthesjmultaneousdivisionandsharingofpowersaSakeymechanismtopromotecompetition'inducedellberatron,andbulidcons"n,,,behindpolicies.Tfielegisiaturemakesthelaws,.lheexecutiveimplementsthem'andthejudiciaryinterpretsthelaws'Butatthesametime,theyul,o,t.'u,"thecentralfunctionofmakingpolicies,with the chref executive's innuenC"

-:o: :,yr]rtq:]:l L{H:::"::? :;Ht;j

approvaI.andthecourts'opportunitiesto.parelaw]l,,-^:"and lurisPrudence'

.[hereshouldbenoquestionaboutthebasicpeckingorderbetween

politics and aaministration. Politics should produce ihe policies that guider

adminrstration, unJ i.uuing more alr".t ,".pon'ibilities to the peopie' politicians

aresuperioItOapPointiveadmini,t*to,,whoarethereforeduty-boundtoobeyrhe law. ln a democratic sysrem, ;;;:;".t are subject to the people's wishes'

,so that ,rhey are ir*ri"nr, on the orfir. sta9e, Administrators are appointed

bypoliticianstoenablethelatter,o"nto,."their..viil.Mostofthoseintheadminrstrativeserv.icearethereto,tuytoprovidecontinultyandstabilityintheservice. ln exchange for caree, -i'r""r.e protection, they are governed by

."cn

;r

,s

Page 28: Public Administration

30 O DEFINITION AND 5COPE

nof ms of political neutrality, whichgains office and faithful execution ofleaders in power.

means loyalty to any party that legitimatelythe poiiicies preferred by the party Jr pojitical

These points deserve restating because of the bad reputation thatpoliticians and politic.s have gained, the seamier side of politics having obscrredits nobler aspects in practice. we have to disabuse the minds of our studentsof this one-sided view of politics, and reassert its meaning as the gaining orretaining and usrng of social power and instiiutional authority to articulatenational varues and pursue pubric purposes. But if onry because tr,e popurarbias agarnst poritics is nor entirery without basis, *" ;ir;;;;. ;ake andobsetve the necessary disrinctions and qualiiicaltons.

"obeving the raw" appiies (or shourd, if it does not) to both poriticiansand administrators, not to mention the rest of ,th6 people. politicians shouldinfiuence adminisrratior{hrough tfrelr raw- or poricymaki;g pord;;l;;J ;;;penetrate deeply intoihe administiative process.with very specifjc controls, e.g,,statutory requirements of periodic reportigg bf executive agencies to legislativecommittees' However, when they exert'influence for particularistjc favors inviolation of established ruies, presumabiy including those of their own making,they exceed the bounds bf propriety. In this ,"n1", "pglitical interference,, is

:',!n,'y denounced. B-rt,not to forget, this goes aiso for administrators, whoalso snare rulemaking functions and coLrld fiil the many gapS often left in policies

as they implement them-and thus also have opportunities for making self-servrng rules. - r..i .

For all these, the Iines between.politics and administration in the philippinegovefnment have to be drarvn more clearly, both structuralJy and functionally.Desprte our adherence to the principles of separation of powers and checks anabaiances, polrti.cs of the Partisan and personal kind has systematically intrudedinto administration through the erosion of the career service since the time offormer President Marcos. presidenriai apporntments have b;;;:;;;na"a, tocare-er levelq that used to be protected by civii service law but are now ,rirl."tl! 1t"t]a"nt],al-dis:fetion.

rExcessive recourse ro rhe require*unr"i,;.;;.",;resignations" from those regarded rightly or erroneously as "political appiiintees;has tended to disrupt both reform processes and bureaucratic routines. Sincesecretaries have been changed in qu)ck succession, each newcomer hasdernanded to bring in his or her own management team as though another partyts coming into por'ver, and the number of undersecretaries, assistant secretaries(co1oquial11, knorvn as usecs and asecs, respectively), and assorted ,,politicalappointees" has proliferated, the civri service has been itself a veritable sgurceof discontrnuity, instabiiity, and uncertarnty in governance. The caree, *r"ia"must be broadened' better protected, and its leadership structure streamlined,without depriving the President of the right to hire and fire key politicalexecutlves,

_ l!4rW1S

I

dfq;F

-B

l- r$i

{riElr{

Page 29: Public Administration

j

1

ll 6: tsirao

iiti

PHILOSOPHY OF PUBLIC MANAGEMFNT EDUCATION @ 31

r\drninistration and Routine are Important

The foregoing suggests thai there is a great deal more to administratiqnthan mgets the jaundiced eye, That administration is important also bears

restating becaus6 it has been anolher victim of bias, evel- in high places.

Administration has been viewed as attending to triviai matters of -routine,

maintenance, and support functions. The whole field of "traditional" public

administration was so reduced to disrepute that many schools switched to

"development administration," "pubiic management," "public policy" or "public

affairs." Of late, the schools oriented to policy analysis have accorded a grudging

recognition of the administrative as weli as poiitical process, but in terms of"*Ur13g"rt'ent," "Organization," or "implementation"-any other wOrd, it seemS,

to avOid "administration." Cenerally, the Americans prefer "managem'ent" aS

the "sexier' term connoting the more consequential roles of key officials, though

the British and some of us have stuck to "public administration" without 'entirelyrejecting "management" as a functional-enough equivalent'

i personally share the latter preferencq for several reasons. First, "public

administraiion" evokes the spirit of public service in the root word, e'g', tominister to the needs of the needy rather than the demands of the greedy'

Seiondly, substilute phrases like "developtnent administration" have nr:t done

muCh b,etter and may have done worse by putting down routine as

inconsequential. "Development administration," for example, may have

persuaded us of the importance of change-orientation at the expense of

administrative routine, so that we have engaged in so many capital-forming

projects without ensuring their operations and useful lives could be sufficiently

sustained at least to recover their costs. The concepi has brought other related

prejudrces that have formed part of the ruies-of-thumb foliowed by "development-

oriented" poiicymakers and evaluators, such as expenditures for big physical

facilities are to be preferred to personal qervices budgets'

Since "sustainability" has become a deservedly fashionable vaiue, we need

to reappreciate administrative routine as a contributofy factor to :;ensible

development programs. But again, we have to relearn March and simon's lesson

that afier engaging in problem-solving. we have to routinize effective soiutions

so we can concentrate our limited cognitive faculties on new problems (March

and simon 1958). I am sure, those whose job is to develop algorithms and

computer progfams will appreciate the importance and difficulty oi this task'

To put it in terms of a wider canvas, the routinization of charisma, as Max Weber

once said, rs ihe basic problem of presidents and leaders thrust to positions of

power by sheer popularity. we refer to a similar challenge when we cail for the

institutionalization of technical innovations, new values, or what may otherwise

remain merely the personal style of a leader .,1:

Although "management" could imply a partiaiity against labor and other

Iesser members of corporate hierarchies, we will not begrudge its contribution

"gi.ry;!4

l

i

lll

rl6(r| -l/'rj rq

Page 30: Public Administration

3? O DEFINITION AI.ID SCOPE

to a reassessmenl of pLrblic administration as being engaged in high policy aswell as trivial tinl<ering. Administrators must contribute their ideas and adviceto policymaking because they have opportunities to develop the relevant values,lunn,,,loAna anrl'oq[6iCal SkillS l9 rln cn ocnociallrr if thev are trrrlv cafgefrr trrlJ uru Llul) \

officials, Civen the accumulation of such resources in the executive branch andthe relative transience of elected leaders and political executives, career personnelhavo a r-nmnellinn -r' ^-r^-^ !L^!'L.v shorrld nrrt fn nn6i u5g.rrovc o lulllPslllil9 OUVClltogc LIIOL Lllcy 5lluulu PUttU gL

However. as we have already implied, administrators do not have the rightLo substrtute therr own poJicy judgments for those of poJitical Ieaders, assuminglhat lhe latter can make up their minds at ceftain points. Moreover. those inthe executive branch should not underedtimate the policy and administrativeacumen that legislators could develop through successive reelection andseniority in legislative committees. Depending on the election and committeerrrlpc in fnrce cnmp lpnicl:lnre ma\/ 6.,,+l--+ ^^lir;^^l ^.,^ntrtirrcq hrr nonaral', ,v, !!r - ,,,-r JULjdSL POltLlCal exe--.,fhnrrnh rrrp hnne fh-+ th^. " ^"1,1 -nt f6p;6 rJrznactieqLt tuugil wc rtrjPc LlldL Ll lgy wuutu I l\JL I -,

Fublic Management Combines Trivial and Floble Pursuits'.i

The introduction of policy analysis has denigrated "traditional" publicadministration where the former replaced or effectively eclipsed the latter, as inLhe case of many American schools where "the guys with the green eye-shades"took over the lnstitutes of Public Administration. Economic theory, quantitativeiechniques, and norrnative criteria were introduced with poiicy analysis to providd:scierrtjfic rigor and stress in the decisionmaking roles of executives. Lately,management has been reintroduced in token form through organization theory

.,,:+1. ^^r:+i^_r analvsis out Of lg3lizarion nf the irnn6;161qe Of ,,inStitUtiOnalalullg wlLIl PUIILILdI-..*._r -. -Jl14qLlull vl Llls llllP\

literacy and modes oi influence." Still, there has been lingering suspicion thatthese terms have smuggled old public administraiion in a new garb into therJnmain nf nnlierr anzlrrqic rr,,hcre rler-is:^- -]-:"^^ ^^l:^.'-rkinc r-nntinr tes in-_*.-ron-onven poilcymL...,,:j *-, .- relgnsupreme as management (Elmore 1986: 70-73).

Whiie this identifjcation of management with policymaking may beflatfr-.ino to manao^-^ L^ ^ '^- :' --rr havc misnerr-eived the more modest role...J .- ...*..*:r€15, IlUWtrVCl, lL llloy ltovc llrlJPElLslvt:i1 has aCtttallV aSSi.nprl f n thern anr1 thpir ann>rontlr/ mn ra f ririial nr rrgg[15.rL rrqJ q!tuqllj uJJrgi r!v Lv

Ar-r-orninn tn Flrnore nr rhlir- and nrivaf c rnananprq "tvnicallv snend the ma;^':+' '*.,.J -- -....*lc. Puulil Grl\r Plry(lLE llrorlc9crJ LyPlLqrry oP!rru LrrL lrrsJUrlLy

ol their time talkjng directiy to people, not thinking, writing, analyzing, ordeeidinn " Most of their time is snent wnrkinn in nrottns intcraetinn WithuL!.urllg. / lvJ! vl LllLlt Lll ,t,,,Y ,'r yrverJt

subordinates and peers rather than superiors, and having flitting. fragmented,anrl rrnnlanncd cnr-rlrrnters Thev "ar-tivplv scek cttrrenf snccific wcll-rjelinedlolluu]lPlqllllgugll!vullLglJ.rllujr!llL'Jrv!l

anrl nnnrnrrtino nrnhlernq rzf her than hroad amornhotts or rortf ine ones:" relvollu I lul ll vuLll lL Pl vu.ll r iJr I qLl rul Ll rsr I Ul VgU, sr I lv/ Hl vr tlut

rnrrrc heavilv nn clral and rrncertaintv-laden communication rather than writtenrllrvr! rrLuYrr) vlr vru

reporting procedufes; and use different channels instead of a single formaine'.work of inforrnation (Elmore l9B6: 73-75).

.,'siliid

rtis

l

-rtr

l

i

l.it

.{il

I

Page 31: Public Administration

&r"{t

#,

ttPHTLOSOPHy OF PU\BLTC MANAGFMENT EDUCATION O 33

,t'.

This view of what manaders actlrallv do srrcnests-a corrnsel of morlpctv.iz- vvur rrll vl r r tvuloLJ

for the functions conceived by both policy analysjs and traditional PA schools.Management is not typically decisionmaking, command, or control. Rather, itiS ned'OtiatiOn. bafC"ininn anl a qoripq.rf narncq nlarzp/ at different levels Whefelvll, yv'

':J, vllv

", y", lLvvlJ' v

rules and decisjons are implemented indirectly rather than directly, This isacncr-iailrr frr re in iha nrrhlir- qccfor uiherc nnlir-iec anrJ nrnnrar-y'rq arp i5nl65n^+^-lLJHLIlul.y tl U! lll LllL Puull! JL!Lvl. wlrglg PVII\lgJ Ul)J Pl VylurllJ qlU llllPtLlllcllLCL]

+hrnrrnh thi.rl narlv arrannemenlq e n r-ontracts infernovcrnrncnfal nranfq".,y-,regulations, and various forms of subsidies. Thus, some authors have concludedthat the lines with the private sector have been blurred and little is gained fromrlisf innr richinn r rniarrolrr nrrhlir- {rorn nrirratr. ckillq /Firnore 1qB5' 74-7\\\",,..''

In this light, we may as well accept the tedium that'often attends bothrnanaoprizl rneandprinns and adminiStfatiVe fOutine and that annears to ffittefr l rur luYUl

time better spent on more substantive pursuits, Academics, surprisingly includingsome oi those in public administralion. are especially susceptible to the feelingthat administration wastes their time for scholarly research and rumination, andlhrrs seem to desnise denartment chairmanshins. deanshins. and other suchLl r uJ JLLj r r Lv uLJHrrL vtHqt '",,,r".

nnsts g.[ilo concprl inn their nrec.ti.e value. Rather, We ShOUld at leaSt take':J '"""

comfort in what an American phllosopher wrote years ago, which applies equallywell to administrative management: "University life is a series of interruptions."a

Yet. this is just one way of looking at management. The:;ummarydescription above suggests a broad and variable range that includes the {nosfcriticai foles. And just which combination of roles is engaged is contingent oncontext and circumstance. A wtder conception of the field would suggest seven

s's aS crucial factors for successful management: Strategy, structufe, Systems,

staff. skills. superordinate goals. and. residually, style. Managerial styies may

differ in terms of whether they emphasize the "hard" or "softer" of these

elements. From a comparative perspective, the style described by Elmore looksmorF .lanancse than American. According to other authors, American private'- "J '-

managers hew more closely to the public policy analysis school in stressing the"cold triangle'' oi strategy. structure, and system. which are particulariy amenable

to "analytical. quantitative, logical, and systematic investigatlon. Jn short. science

of onc krnd or another rigorous observation and conceptualizalion-th inking if

',^', nrp{or-\^/FrF renrired' (italics in nrininal) The .Jananese stress the softeryuu Plsl!i-wLrL rLYurr!v \rLu"!J

and more "artful" elements of staff, skills; and superordinate goals (Pascale and

Athos 1981: 126). Likewise, British philosophy had an earlier appreciation of

human relatlons than American science (Thomas 1978:2p).

For Filipino public managers, the essentiai point is that effectivern2narrFrnent rnvnlves workino these far-tors in annron[iate combinations andr llurrq\JulliLllL rlr tvlvLJ YYVr l\rr

that our conditions call for playing the high games with the low. "Poiitical will"

demands that tough choices be made and options closed after carefulnegotiaiion and deiiberation, and decisions must be implemented or enforced

with determination after the administrative kinks have been ironed out. The

Page 32: Public Administration

34 O DEFINITION AND SCOPE

Japanese spend trrne planning and patiently building consensus down the line

to pave the way for smooth implementation. Both Japanese and American

corporaiions decentfalize'their organrzations and. operations as far as feasible,

but at the same time strengthen central egLlcV, evaluation, and controls tomaintain overall direction and ensure goalrachievement. By contrast, our

government's decentraiization policy sejems in danger of falling into the hands

of centrifugal foices by perfunctory planning methods, sheer neglect of what

should accompany locai autonomy, and doctrinaire application of privatization

principles.

Private management types have dominated the higher rungs of thephilippine public sector for persuasive but perhaps erroneous ideals of business-

like government. Some Americans have continued to ask whether public and

plvate management'are alike only in the most unimportant respects (Allison

lgB3). Not,entirely, but one important difference is politics, which technocrats

have sought to sublimate and banish into the cloistered board rooms of public

agencies as well as privaie ccrporations. But if poiitics, good or bad, cannot be

entireiy suppressed in the private, less can and should it be in the public sector,

where it should retain the commanding heights. And if there is another aspect

to be gleaned from Elmore's summary description, it is that public managers

or adminislrators have bmpler ch'allenges and chances of becoming good

politicians. "Civen the politicaily demanding nature of these jobs," he observes

from another study, "'most career executives are better politicians-in the best

sense of the word-than are their political supervisors" (Elmore 1986: 74)'.

Fublic Adr-ninistraiion Must.tse a science as well as an Art

Having to understand and infiuence complex institutional and

interpersonal relations, play muitiple roies, "work the seams of government,"

and accordingly range from technical to political skills, the public administrator

requires a corresPonding curricuiar menu. Unfortunately, the mofe important

skilis fcr public administrators are not regarded as the most readiiy teachable'

unlike quantitative analysis and economic theory, th€ areas of substantive

knowledge, institutronal intelligence, and modes of influence are more difficult

to teach. in this view perhaps, the Americans may be in agreement with the

British philosophy that administration is an art better learned in practice than

in school, where basic preparation is enough to go a long way. But the class-

bras and meritocratic traditions of the British civiiiservice, plus practices such

as rotation in career pogs, may have concealed a great deal of the training that

went in and goes on for its members'

Fiere we should not overlook thb advantages and advances in the

American penchant for science, such as those represented by the case method'

empirical research, new modes of data analysis, and theoretical development

,..s*

Page 33: Public Administration

dft:i#\..

PHILOSOPHY OF PUBLIC MANAGEMENT EDUCATION O 35

(e.g., theories of implemenlation and interorganizational reiations)' The point

is ir,at a philosophy of public administration cannot progress with ethics and

art alone, but must be underpinned by science if it is to be rooted in the realities

of organizatron and politics. How far administrative science can go' of course'

is subject to debate; some may still argue that we can only engJage in

administrative, political, and social ostudies" rather than science' If it is any

consolation, though, the difficulties'?hat are said to impede the advancement

of human sciences, such as the intrusive effects of human observation on human

events, may not be theirs alone. Physics is said to ha.[ similar problems of

observatton amounting to intervention (Capra 1982: B3-BB)

At any rate, there remain rnany basic issues of fact as well as value, of

cause-effect as well as means-"nd, r."lutions, that we have yet to resolve with

patient empiricai observation and imaginative theorizing' we may have

accumulated a great many data-sets and prescriptive nostrums, but these may

be and rernain incoherent pi".". of information without the appropriate empirical

and normative theoreticai frameworks for organizing, explaining, and interpreting

themandprovidingabasisforprediction.,Inthismann"|'Y"ca'narriveatmeaningful syntheiis instead of being "paralyzed" by analysis, which is the s

Cartesiantraditionoflearningthatmaybegoingoutoffashioninotherd'i;;;;;r ic"o.; 1982). Ab in the matter of ethical values, we cannot effectivelv

teach the central though mutable facts of administration if we do not

systematically know "no,gf'

about them ourselves'

6il:t ,

Conclusion

ln this paper, lhave argued that we need a philosophy of public

administration that combines ethics, art, and science' and presentecl various

kinds of propositions about politics and administration' the importance .of

administration as routine, and the necessary mixes of trivial and noble pursuits

inpublicmanagement,andtheneedforscientificdevelopmenttoproceedalongwiththeethica]and.,artistic,,e}ementsofadministration.lhavetrie<ltodealwith selected issues of probably most concefn to us Filipinos in our cul:rent and

'.$.. Potentiai environment'

Over and above the questions of what' how' and why we should learn

and teach, the issue of who should learn deserves at least a passing remark'

Myanswerisimplicitinthe0niversityofthePhilippines,College"f,l,Sll.Administration curriculum: We have restored the Bachelor of Arts (Public

Administration) degree pfocram out of concern for shaping the vaiue'orientations

as weli as technicai comjetence of the young preservice students' But this

Concefnextendstoourmoremature.MastersofPublicAdministration(MPA)and Doctor of Public Administration'i(ndR) students' who should be able to T?IEsense cf their administrative'experience through jl!itut and scientific

Page 34: Public Administration

,-/

36 O DEFINITION AND 5COPE

frameworks. We all need to philosophize; hopefully not always with the.senseof surrender that "philosophical'1 acceptance of obstinate realities tonveys.

The teachers themselves have the most to learn first before they canteach. Unfortunately, their academic base may not be forthcoming with help.PhD programs do not guarantee a strong grounding in philosophy. "Professional"

DPA programs drop.ihe pretense altogether, though degree titles could be

deceptive.

Endnotes

rExcessive controls contribute to corruption as well as delays, but a modicum of red tapem" combination of dispatchis needed to ensure honesty, The trick is to discover that "rnodicu

and controls that would serve both values.

2Professor Stuart Nagel of the University of lllinois is the exponent of "SOS."

3Politicians do not always make policy, and laws do not always constitute policy, e.g,, thosen:minn nlanpqllqll/lllg PloLLr, I ,

aWiiliam'James as cited by Edman (i938: 137),.\

References

'l:AIllson, Uranam 1., Jr.1983 Public and Private Management: Are They Fundamentally Alike in AIi

Unimportant Respects? ln James L. Perry and Kenneth L. Kraemer, eds. Public'Management: Publlc and Priuate Perspectiues. California: Mayfield'Pu blish ing.

lne lurnrng lrolnt: >crcnce, JocleLaSimon and Schuster.

,i,^t1

ili'r

I

s

jl,

i,,l' .i:'

I tr

C:nra Frifiof

1982 anrl the Risrno Culture. New York:

Edman, lrwin ,

I938 Phitosopher's tlotidag. New York: Penguin Books.',/,,/Elmore, Richard F.

1 986

Marel- ,larnes G and Herbert A.Simon1958 Organizatlons, New York: John Wiley t' Sons.

McCoy, Charies S.

1gB5 . Management.of Values: The Ethical Differente in Corporate Polic*g*and' Performance. Boston: Pitman.

Nagel, Stuart S. :

tsgt Poticg Eualuatton: lvlaking Optimum Declsions. New York: Praeger. i!..

Craduate Education in Public A4anagegrient: Working the Seams of Covernment,Journal of PoticA Analgsis and'Ma'nagement 6(l)'

Page 35: Public Administration

Ocampo, Romecl1 990

Pasca'le;-Richard1 gBl

Peters, Thomas1982

PI..{ILO5OPHY OF PUBLIC MANAGEMENT EDUCATION O SZ

B.The Spirit of Public Service' Message

Newsletter (APril). UP-CPA: 2-4'

Tanner and AnthonY C' Athos

The Art of Japanese Management: Applications focAmerican Executiues'

f'f .* Votfo, Simon & Schuster, Warner Books'

J. and Robert H. Waterman, Jr' . ,,^ o^^t o,,^ /-nat,In Search of ExceLlence: Lessons fiom Amertca's Best-Run Compan[es' New

York: HarPer and Row'

to the CPA Class of 1990' CPA

Simon, Herbert A'1954 Adminrstratlue Behauior:

Ad'm in is tr a tiu e a rg an iz atio nStudg of Decision'Making Processes tn

,New York: The Free Press'

,,

Stokes, Donald E. -r"\1g86 political and organizalio"Jlt nnatysis in the Policy Curriculum'Journalof Paltcg

,q;;igtit and fo anagement 6( 1 ): 45-55'

tn"-"ibT;uu.""N# u ritish phiLosopna 9!llmihistratton:--l^co^p"rison

of tsri.tish and

a ^ "7

i i u' " i ai e a s;

" 1 9 0 011 93 9' L o n do n : L o n g rn a n'

Page 36: Public Administration

13s

Public Administration in the Philippines;History, Heritage and Hubris *

DANILO R. REYES

. .. ,,1- I

The study and practice of public administration emerged in the Philippineslargely as an assembled product of the colonial era. Appearing in the countryas a legacy of various cqlonial regimes, public administration has beencustomized gradually to the idiosyncrlsies of the Fitipino ethos, and representstoday an artful though sometimes confused, blending of WeStern practices andindigenous culture. As a discipline and as a profession, public administration irrthe Philippines today relatively enjoys a rich history, marked by a heritage,ofboth hubris and reproach. As the country thus rriarks its centennial year ofindependence, it becog.es fitting for us to review the emergence of publicadministration as a-profession and'as a field,of study in the country, itsProvenance and its impact on Filipino gove.rnaprfe, and how it contributed to thecountry's nationhood. - "

This article looks at the evolution of the Philippine administrative systemand the introduction of Public Administration as a discipline in the Philippines.It discusses and traces the various historical and colonial forces and influencesthat have figured prominently in the shaping of the administrative sydtem in thePhilipPines from colonial times to the independence period. In this discussidn,significant developments in the evolution of the Phitippine civil service sygtemare outlined to provide-a canvas of the nature of the system at the time thai theformal study;e; Public Administration Was institutionalized in'the country. Itexamines the context and events that characterized the Philippine bureaucraticmilieu that led to the institutionalization of the discipline in the country based at

*Reprinted from Virginia A. Miralao;lea., fire Phitipptne Social Sciences in the Life ofthe Nation, Volume 1: The History and Development of Social .science Disciplines in thePhilippines. Quezon City: The Philippine social science council. lggg:234-260.

-# ' i.1'

3t

i

t_

ffi

Page 37: Public Administration

$

,. HISTORY. HERITAGE AND HUBRIS O 39

the then Institute of public Administrarion at the Unlversity of the Philippines.

Based on this dlseussion; the peculiarities of the discipline in the Philippine milieu

are analyzed as ttrey appeared in the 1950s:..1 _

'. The Phtltppine Admlnlstratlve SystemrInfluences of the Colonial Era

The present Philippine administratlve system can evidently be viewed as

a curious and atmsst uneasy mixture of influenees that integrate indigenous

Filipiqo culture, values and temperament with.those of: colonial legacies' It

represents,an intriguing eonfluence of orthodoxies and heterodoxies that

synthesizes rituais aid formalities with eixpediency ald-"improvisation' Its rhetoric

readily delineates and extols weberian ideal values.of efficiency and effectiveness'

impersonalism and adherence to rules, pregision and unambiguity, but its

dynamics may point to a different direction depending on the realities and

contours of the situation it confronts.,This gap between rhetoric and dynamlcs

may invariably find its rooti in the colonial experience where Filipino leaders

*o,rta openly express supPort to the cplonial administration but may at the same

time undermine its dispensatid secretly to advance their own cause and' aspirations, personal ot otherwise'

It cannot therefore b9 denied that the civil service that the Philippines

knows today is an interesting collection of influences in form and in substance'

in theory and in practice, und in dynamics and processes. lts structure follows

the form of most bureaucratic organizations, but its behavior assumes distinct

Filipino traits and culture that may both be functional and dysfunctional (de

Cuzman 1986; Varela i993). As such, public administration ih the Philippines,

tf," pru"tice and its discipline, "combines to an exceptional degree"' as Heady

maintains, ,,the institutional and behavioral characteristics of both Western and

non-Western administrative systems" (Heady 7957:45)' :Much of the prevailing practices and thinking in modern public admin-

istration in the countiy today have been however adopted from the united states'

But as in the United States, the most notable feature of administrative thought

; ,h; philippines at the time of the birth of the Republic was its weakness'r

Emerging from the ruins of World War II, the Ptrilippines obtained indepen-

dence from America in 7946 and was ushered into a volatile period of

reconstruction and upheaval. ukg in the'united states, the discipline of Public

Administration emerjpd in a country enveloped in crisis, savaged by economic

dislocation brought 6y war, and brutalized by strife and internal unrest 'that

oscillated in almJst every dimension of national life. It was an era of tumultuous

change that far matched if not exceeded the chailenges confronted by the

tCt;;ti;e Movement of Woodrow Wilson's time'z

. .-r

l ,it

. r' j,',:i

l

,.1

l: :-!::4ir.,I.i,

..: j,.ti

.tiE

t"arl,t3

tr

Page 38: Public Administration

40 O DEFINITTON ANb SCOPE i ,

For the Philippines then, civil servlee reform posed a grave and seriousproblern, but it represented a part of a long and erowded list of challenges thathad to be met squarely and decisively. l"{ationhood and independence did notonly redeem the spirit of pride and self-esteem; it also certainly served as a distinctoccasion for the young Republic to grapple with the perversities and rough edges

of democracy and self-governance. In this challenge, it responded by. adoptinga reform agenda largely driven and inspired by its American mentors, an agendacarved out of a maze o,f both good intentisns and hidden motives.

In this respect,'the rise and evolution of the administrative system in thePhilippines offer a good perspective by Which one can appreciate thedevelopment of Public Administration as a discipline in the Philippines. Like mostfields of study, the practice here preceded the discipline. lt is thus compellingthat the circumstances and events that accompanied the inception of theadministrative system in the country be discussed for us to appreciate the comingof the discipline. It is our contention that the character, the nature and perhaps,the idiosyncrasies of Public Administration3 scfrolarship in the Philippines have

been conditioned to a large extent by the circumstances that shaped theadministrative system that it was suPPosed to serve.'

-"Public Adminifraiion u" a'discipline was introduced, bereft of the

intellectual nuances and particulars of painful dficiplinary evolution. It appearedas a packaged product encapsulated in suspended belief systerns, and introducedto arrest the ails of a society and a government that, was rapidly deteriorating,

.

burdened by the weight of its own weaknesses and inadequacies. It was conceived '''''

as part of the prescription necessary for the reform and transformation of a civilservice that by then had reached whqt Corpuz referred to as the "lowpoint" inits history, anguished by "low prestige, incompetence, rneager resources and a

Iarge measure of cynical corruption" (Corpuz 1957:221-222).lt was also a civilservice that suffered from low morale and lack of motivation, trapped in a ruthlesssystem of politics and-politicking where merit and fitness reigned but patronageruled;

' Uke American Public Admiqistration, Public Administration as a disiiptine

in the Philippines dutifully confronted the rigors and challenges of helping reformthe civil service and pubtic administration practice. lt immediately explored andprobed the realities and dynamics of the bureaucratic milieu, examining itscomplexities and recommending strategies to improve it. Its scholars, Filipinos,Americans and other nationalities, individually and collectively, engaged inresearch and consultancy services, launched comprehensive training andeducation programs and took the effort to spread the ways of efficierrcy,effegtiveness, economy and all such cherished values that have been held dearand sacred in the gospel of good administration.

I{I:,:i

Iri

*-1

rj:

i!I

iiir

-ry 1.

lr

l

j

i#

Page 39: Public Administration

s

HTSTORY, HERITAGE ANb HUBRIS O 41

Public Adminlsrration artieulated its sentiments,bnd persuasions on

administrative praetices in the,Philippines in almost every facet of governance,

from the national goverr1ment to lscal units, from the executive department to

the'Te;gislative anJ the judicial branehes, from reorganization to personnel

administration and fiseal management. Theae it artieulated and documented in

numerous publications now captured in scholarly studies and reports as well as

publicatio.,u tt',ut reflect more than four decades of eommitment to the Philippine

ailministrative system. Like American Public Administration, it expanded the

horizons of this practice, which remained intractable. Like American Public

Administration, it generated empirical evidence with which to examine this

configuration and supi:tyrit with specific theories and concepts with {ticn jn1dynamics and processes can be better understood, and the problems identified'and

therefore resolved; :-

Forci:s that ShaPed the PresentPhilipptne Administrative System

To be sure, able scholars have amply chroniiled and examined the

,influences'of the colonial era on the Fhilippine administrative system, and"'bomparativisl'critiques on the subject have ebbed and flowed (Heady 7957;

Corpuz 7957; Endriga 1978; 1985; i9B9; de Guzman 1986; Veneracion. 19881

de Guzman, Brillantes and Pacho 1988; Carifro 1990;. 14uch of what Philippine

bureaucracy is today can be traced to these influences which span more than

three hundred years from the pre-colonial period prior to 1521 when the

Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand r$ag'6llan, in the employ of the Spanish King,

Charles I, landed in Homonhon,s6uth of the province of Samar.

To begin with, it is somewhat difficult today ,o {Iunt for the influ'ences

of the pre.colonial period, sifice, as Corpuz suggests, the Philippines prior to its

colonization by Spain in i521 ."rests in historical twilight" contained and

documented in obscure works (Corpuz 1957: 1). It cannot however be denied

that some form of political, econornic, cultural, social or communal organization

existed and served to regulate conduct of the people then in what can pass as

unwigldy tribal states in the loose sense of the term.

Corpuz maintains for instance that a sultanate was recorded to have been

established in Sulu qs early as the 15th century, and was likewise incipient in

Maguindanao by the next century. This meant, he points but, that '{these'regions

were consolidated politically under the sultan" (Corpuz 1989).4 But he maintains

in an earlier work that "the life, structure, and values of these communities had

not yet laid down the foundations of either an actualty emergent or established

bureaucracy," although the pre-Spanish.'Filipinos were in a state of cultural

maturity having establjshed contaCts witl'r.other civilizations (Corpuz 1957:4).

rlii!

t

it-q5a'Iiiitiil{f]I

Iir_g1-

tI

fi-

Page 40: Public Administration

rll

i

;

it

42 O DEFINITION AND 5COPE

Settlements called barangays composed of extended kinship existedbefore colonial'times under a datu:(ehief) who assurned the position of territorial ,

chief and provided some form of rpaternal leadership to his foilowers. As chief- - Etain, the datu would be the arbiter of eonfliets, the provider of serviees, and themobilizer of community action, in esseRce the edministrator of community life.Citing Fray San Antonio, Veneraeion points out that though some became datuout of inheritance or tradition, "they did not eommonly get their offices by virtueof their'blood, but by their merits or because someone,had more power, more :

wealth, more energy than any of the others." By virtue of this, "the followerswere obliged to aid their chiefs, both in his wars and in the cultivation of his fields;and allto aid one another mutually" (Veneracion 1988: 26-27). They would pledgeto him personal allegiance and loyalty.

The datu then16 pre-colonial Philippines was the galvanizing center ofvarious spheres of activities in the communjl31i much in the same manner thata congressman, a town mayor today or everf'a barangay captain for that matterwould be the nexus of community activities. This pattern of familial relationshipsof person alized loyalties and leadership-c-entered community activities,superimposed in formal structures, would persist even today and would find itselfreflected in the dynamics of contempqrary administrative organizations in thePhilippines and blended.with expligit formaligms of the Weberian bureaucratictheorv construct.

The Spanish Colonlal Regime

i

f.;tt

s,$

The administrative system introduced by Spain when it colonized thePhilippine archipelago began the traditioniof centralization for purposes ofconsolidating its empire. For purposes of government, its colonies weresubdivided into veritable kingdoms called las ind"ias governed by viceroys orgovernors-general- Into this systern was supeiimposed the religious organizationcomposed of archbishoprics, bishoprics and the provinces of the religious centers,where religious orders-the friars-assumed much power and influence (Corpuz7957:12).5 In this arrangement, the clergy exacted much influence o-n the civilianand military authorities on secular affairs. This perhaps is one of the moreoutstanding features of the colonial bureaucracy established during the Spanishperiod. The Spaniards also practically centralized the political life of the numerousnative communities that existed before their coming and introduced in theProcess a system of public revbnues and public expenditures. These wereestablished to consolidate the islands and fortify the government against pocketsof rebellionof which'there had been many

*4.

A special and privileged class of bureaucrats, predominantly Spanish, weremaintained to administer: the affairs of the colonial population as a whole (Endriga1989: 307; Corpuz 1957:24-42).,These public offices were then regarded as agrant or a favor, called merced from the king who disposed of them as he pleased

- t\ri#"

Page 41: Public Administration

',=, ,'''""'

i HISTORY,HERITAGEANDHUBRIS O 43

and based on those who participated in the conquest and pacification of the

colonies including their descendants. Belonging to this group were usually those

that assumed judicial functions (Endriga i9B5: 134).

In a way, this practice could perhaps be viewed as the start of the culture

of spoils or ofihe patronage system and sinecures in the Philippine civii service

which antedates that of the American experience and which we find today

remaining ingrained in our contemporary administrative systems in spite of

vigorous ind sometimes symbolic pronouncements for the upholding of merit

u,id fitn"", based on technical qualifications and skills.

iYstem designed bY theAnother remarkable feature of the civil service : n theSpanish colonial administration was theipractice of filling app.ointments o

basis of purchase where offices were sold to the highest bidders' Th€ practice

was adopted to help augment the coffers of the royal treasury'o Corpuz thus

describes the positions available for sale in Spanish colonies which were called

the Indias: , ,

purchase of office was a regular part of the administration of all colonial

. : regimes in the Indias. An early law of the Recopilacion classified the offices

in the Indias into those which carried judicial authority, and those which:

did not...-

...The law enumerated' a wide variety of offices, which included, for

purpos.es of illustration, the following: clerkships (escribanias) of all kinds

in the central, provincial, and municipal governments; notarialoffices; the

municipal councils); treasurers, assayers, inspectors, etc. (Corpuz 1957:

27- 28).

These positions, as Corpuz maintains, should not be interpreted as

inconsequential ones. "Many of them involved," as he continues to highlight

the significance of these offices, such aspects as "assesgment, collection, and

custoJy of pubfic funds, ps well as the coilection of fees ordinarily charged for

the performance of official acts." .,Thq Opportunities for making money from

these posts were thus numerous, atria it was thus natural for such office holders

to regard their purchase of theiir offices as private investments with which to

enrich themselves (Corpuz 7957:29). Naturally, the pra(tice spawned a corrupt

and abusive administrative and colonial machinery that was denounced then and

now.

Veneracion takes stock of some of these criticisms and cites the Filipino

patriot and one of the' movers of the Propagandd Movement against Spain,

Craciano Lopez Jaena. In 1887, at the time Wilson published his seminal article

calling for a study of administration in the United States, L.opez Jaena made some

significant observations on the then prevailing problems of bureaucratic rapacity

in-the Philippines under Spanish misrule. Lopez Jaena is quoted here in part as

.-,

,l

fi;

,#,

s

r*iilti{i

fr-

Page 42: Public Administration

44 O DEFINITION AND 5COPE

Bureaucratic tyranny and intolerance may seem at first sight to be

; reflections of the backwardness,of the country, and hence effects lrather

than causes] of the commercial, industrial a,nd agricultural crisis. But on

1 closer. examination they afe seen to be among the mo8t direet and

fundamentai causes of the prostration of a people, just as their antithesis,

' Iiberty, is the mainspring of national progress""

...The rapid turn-ov-e/of civil .service personnel is another prolific source

of corruption a-'id confusion in the Philippines' 'as

indeed in all colonial

countries.Thephendmenoncanonlybecorydaredtoaflightoflocustswhich devours u ri"ta of grain while propdgatihg itself

-with fearful rapidity'

: lf to this is added the notorious incapacity of most of these bureaucrats'

it is clear that as wave after walre of them passes through the country

therewillsoonbenothingleft(asquotedinVeneracionl9SB:74).

.

These words perhaps had ominous and ironic.rings to them, for the same

observationsiwould somehow be repeated in 1946 when the Philippines was

engulfed in crisis crying for bureaucratic reform, ex:ePt that during that time,

Filipinos were the ones practicing the very sins that their forefathers denounced.

One notable characteristic that needs to be cited here as perhaps of value

to present students and analysts of the PhiliPpine administrative system is what

Endriga observed as the gap between rhetoric and practice. This is a peculiarity

in thJ behavior and practice of the existing adm.inistrative system in the

Philippines that seems to persist even to the present day' Thus, Enciriga avers: :

...The outstanding characteristic of the Spanis.h colonial bureaucracy in

thePhilippineswasthewidedisqrepancybetweentheletterofthelawwhich upheld idealistic and noble standards and actual practice which was

repressive and oppressive, a fact thqt proved ultimately fatal to the regime

and which explains partly the lack of enduring influences of that

experience on the present-day bureaucracy.... (Endriga 1989: 307).

It may not be entirely correct to suppose that this experience did not

influence present-day Philippine bureaucracy, for the perceptive student of

bureaucracy can note that there are many instances today where the letter of

the law, couched in highly normative terms, fails to pass the test of experience

and is not atrall implemented. There is a fascination to advocate rigid and

symbolic standards that are however set'aside in practice in favor of personal or

private interests. This perhaps grew as a product of the Filipino's Penchant to

say something and do another as a result of the colonial experience of having

to collaborate with superior powers. These idiosyncrasies may have been further

reinforced by the experience in the Spanish colonial regime. In a way, this practice

could have been inherited as part of the legacies of the Spanish colonial

"s

*

i

iI

i

llt,-$I

.i,i .

ir

.'l

.f

il

bureaucracy.

Page 43: Public Administration

.-t

I

il]i-:

tr.t'

;

l

:

l

l

j

i

I

II

I

I

I

t

.lI

q

HI5TORY, HERITAoE AND HUBRIS O 45

The $hort'lived Fhitipptne Repubtic and

Admlnietratlge Fgofesslonalisrn, i.-"

*qdith the triumph of 1y1s'psvolution against.spaln-in 1896' the first

philippine Repubtic walproclaimee in tAbS in liawit, Cavi6 A new Constitution

was accordingly araftei,in a eonveation in Malolos, Bulaean and promulgated

in 1899. This consr,*,ion, inspired nv"*'t* demoeratic philosophies then filtering

in Europe and in the United States, ,*f'*'"n'*d what Agoncillo calls "the first

important ao.L,*.ni ever produced uy'the people's representatives"" It created

"a Filipino state whose gdvernment was 'popular' representative and responsible'

with three distinct bra;ches-tn* u*"utive, the legislative' and the judicial"

(Agoncillo Ig77:rr/o, irtrur.tfre first Republican Constitution in Asia with

genuine democratic features (corpuz 195i: 158). This was perhaps the first

expressionofaFilipinophilosopn.v"rgou*,oun.e,forembeddedwithinitarescattered pronouncements of the incipilnt commitment of'Filipino leaders to a

t.*;niiei-lr rttu, rePresents the popular will'7

Emilio Aguinaldo, was probably "i ; ;i those who first espoused'the cause of

merit and fitness,'careerism and the principles of.accountability in the civilian

,#;;;;. "

r",i, ..r"urared True. Decalogue, which he drafted to serve as a

program ro, u prop*ei Qonstitution, Matini carefully outlined a distinction

between uppointiJJ ptJrt.", und tho,"'that should be filled by competitive

examination.

'Fromthedecalogue,Veneracionquotesanimportantprinciplewhichsuggestedrf,"at*fop*"^tofaprofessionaladministrativeclass:.

Allofficesofwhatevernatureorimportancenotfilledbypopula.relectionwill have their incumbents chosen by competitive, examinations and an

officialsochosenwillnotu"uuu:""lioremoval.Theofficesofsecretaryof *," gou;t'm"nt' heads ofprouint"' and of towns will be-t}e only on€s

exemptr,.*,ii'p.vision.fn"Jin.u.nbentswillbeseleitedbythefree.choiceofthePresidentactingwlthjn.thelimitationsofthisConstitution

. (as qr'roted in Veneracion 1988: 80-81')'

lnyetanotherdocument'adecreeissuedinJunelBgBbyAguinaldo'whichoutlinedtn*p,og,umofthe..revolutionarygovernment''andmadeuPonthe advice of Mabini,r the excesses of spanish administrative practices were

assailed, and a new system was proposea irrat w1ur.a "demonstrate fo the Filipino

pbople that one ;i t,'h" Jrew^nee;fii"ol'on.ju.ts. is to oPpose with a strong hand

the inveter"t" "i;;J;f-p" sqillfl administration"'wilh its luxurv of personnel

andpompousostentation,whichmakesbusinessamatterofroutine,weighty,and sluggish in it, *ouements,, changing it "by anotl6r, more modest, simple

and prompt in the executiorr of public"sJrvice.'.." (as cited in veneracion 1988:

BZ; Endrigu f gZA' 23; Co'Pil z 7957:156)'

Page 44: Public Administration

46 O DEFINITION AND 5COPE

-'/In these pronouncements, one e an -Fee the incipient vision of a

professional career service committed to sirillplhJiiy and accountability. It can also

be nOted that even the aspirations of'decentralization and autonomy were

recognized, as can be seen from the Malolos'constitution, Title vll, Artic'le 57

on the Executive DePartment:

The adminisLraLion of Lhte priutale inLeresLs of Lhe towns' prouinces' and

the state' correspond' respectiuelA to the municipal (populares)

assem,bltes, the prouinciai u'""*bliet' and the admtnistration in

pauJeraccordingtothelaws,andupanthebasisofthemostampledecentralizatton and administratiue autonomg (Emphasis supplied). l

(rtalolos ConsJiiution as ratified, 2lJanuary 1899)'

Much more can be said about these Pronouncements, but the one notable

conclusion that can be reached is that even before the coming of the American

coionial administration vihich is ndw credited with having introduced a merit

system in the bureaucracy of the country, the seeds of these principles had

already been present in the minds of the Filipinos.s lt was therefore not difficult

for the new American conquerors to introduce a system of merit and fitness in

the civilian bureaucracy. It was only there waiting to be operationalized under

more convivial circumstances.

The American Colonial Regime

The American occupation of the Philippines by the turn of the 1gth'

century shattered the early aspirations of nationhood, and instead introduced a

superior and more sy_stematic system of c_oionial administration in the country.

It retained the centralized features of the Spanish era, but it installed a political

system of gou.rnunce that sought to approximate the republican and democratic

character of the American government within the bounds of a colonial setup.

Governmental authority was vested in the Philippine Commission composed of

American nationals until i901 when three Filipinos were apPointed to it. This

Commission exercised executive and legislative powers until 1907 when an all-

Filipino lower house was constituted with the Commission functioning as the

upper chamber. An American Governor:Qeneral served as Chief Executive

occupying at the same time the chairmanship oJ the Philippine Commission

(Corpuz 1957:162;:yyga 1985: 139-140) ,

The administration of the colony waitp.laced under a nonpolitical civil

service constituted in 1900 under Act No]'5 df tf," Philippine Commission which

provided for the establishment and maintenance of an efficient and hone-9lcivil

service in the Philippines (Endriga 1985: 140). The administrative system that

emerged under this enactment provided for a setup "whose philosophy and

principles represented a complete change from that of the spanish period"

(Endriga 1989: 307). It separated thg affairs of churth and state; it upheld merit

;

ffil-1

' -i,'l ', ' ''i rt ,.

q

Page 45: Public Administration

;li

-:

1

iJ

dt{f

l.

s-

HISTOR,Y, HERITAGE ANb HUBRI5 O 47

and fitn'ess, political neutrality, seCurity of tenUre, careerism and professionalism;

it liberalized the entry of Filipinos into mere reeponsible positions in the civil

service.

In fact, Filipinization of the civil service became a basic administrative

policy, and this was clearly embodied in President t"lcKinley's instructions made

as early as 1900, where the Philippine Commission was directed to devote itself

to "the establishment of an educational.system and an efficient civil service

system,,, where "natives of the isfgqrdslare to be preferred, and if.they":ut-t b"

found competent and willing to pejrform the duties...are to receive the offices in

preference to any others" (-orpuz 1957: 164)' On this,En-diiga,Poilt.out that

several factors contributed to the hastening of this development. It wds the result

of a happy confluence of the hmerican colonial administration's own policy of

Filipinizing the civil service, the establishment of a strong pu'blic education system

and the piestige of public office during that time. -fhus, he says succinctly:

i

The most important reason for the Filipinization of the civil service was

the policy of Filipinization itself ,pursued !y the Republican administration.

ThishasbeenwrittenintotheCivilServiceLawitself'Thepolicyalsoseems to have been strictly adhered to in Practice. Fortunately, the

recruitment of competent Fil.ipinos did not'pose any difficulties. The

widespr'ead public school system that was established'in,.the country

g.uduated a iontinually, increasing stream. Many of these grdduates tr,:r;ned

Io the civil service which; because of the benefits that it gave and the

prestige.that it ca.rried, was.the most attractive form of employment

available (Endriga 1985; 142).

tr

These policies had remarkable effects in the civil service for they attached

? good deal of prestige and respect to government Positions. Qovernment

functionaries then were respected simply because theirs were positions that

demanded strict qualifications, were based on.merit and appointment to which

was highly .o*p"iitiue. Civil service employees belonged to the educated class,

for one cannot be absorbed into the government work force if he did not meet

certain educationat qualifications, often a coltege degree' This was significant in

an era where even a high school diploma can be a source of prestige and pride

in the communitY.e':

By 1930, Corpuz estimates that only about 456 Americans occupied

positioni in the Philippines, declining from a high of about 1,307 in 1905 to 948

in 19,18 and less tfran tgO by 7926 (Corpuz 7957:178).'As a matter of fact,

Filipinization, as Corpuz continues, "was practicatly accomplished by 1919, when

the American segment of the insular bureaucracy declined to about six percent

of the estimated 12,8A7 personnel on the civil service during that time" (corpuz

7957:201). ;

In effect, the Ameri.un, introduced a civil service system that replicated

their own, having themselves just concluded a heady and trying ordeal against't

t"'''

/'?/-

Page 46: Public Administration

48 O DEFINITION ANb 5COPE

the evils of spoils potitics in their bureaucracy

Movement in tft" United States gave civil

lfrnot t.t on this, saying that:

in the 19th century. The Progressive

serviee reforms a Push" Endriga i

I

t'

Wl.:....Thetimingofi"int'od'ctionwasalsofortuitous'forbythel900stheAmtirican ciuiirervice system itself had undergone a stormy development

which resulted in the upholding of a principle s::h u: palitical neutrality'

inadditiontotheestablishedonesofmeritandfitnessandeffieiency'ThenewcivilservicesysteminfactrepresentedafavorableconfluencebetweentheidealsthatFilipinoshadfoughtforunderthespaniardsbutwhichthey]didnotget,;;;;["intentionsoftheAmericancivilservicereformerswhowere

"ug*' fo' u'' experiment for their ideas and practices which the new

.ofo"V Jt*ided"" (Endriga 1989: 307)'

ItwasnaturalfortheAmericanstoexperimentontheirnew-foundphilosophyofadministrationwithitsincipientnormsandvaluesintheirnewterritory.Notonlydidthisrepresentace|ebrationofthisnew-foundnorm,butwourd also serve "J","tir"r'the

viability of these principles in another culture'

Moreover, it was necessary to maintain t"rreir hold on the colony and an efficient

machinery *uu .,""d"d to effectively administer what America called its "manifest

destiny" to civilize lpt"pf" that ihey believed.it:d.:9, it' This would be done

through a viable civil servi.",ryri"* as laid out by the first Philippine

Co.mmission,alsol.,,ow.,astheSchr)rmanCommissionwhichoutlinedinlS99thepolicyoftheUnitedStatesonthePhilippinelslands.InthewordsoftheSchurmanCommission,itisthepolicyoftheUnitedStatesgovernmenttoestablish a ,.wise, just, stable, effective und utonomical administration of public-

,affairs,,, [through]

;un hon*rt and effective civil service'.. whereby the evils of

delay,corruplionandexploitationwillbeeffectivelyeradicated''and[throughthe implementation of] ;the collection and application of taxes and revenues

uPonasound,honestandeconomicutbasis'',Ibasedon]..reformsina|ldepartments of the government...conformautv to right and justice"'that will satisfy

the well_founded dema n$t andhighesi aspiration, of the Philippine people."" ('\s

cited in Endriga rci*' 1""a quotea' from Abuev'a 1969: 566)

' '-t"i"

The philippine civil service was therL'fore organized under auspicious

beginnings. .onrii"ring that by the time it was introduced in the Philippines' it

was essentially, "l riariga puts it, 'la 'finished. product' where' efficiency'

economy'andmeritwerenotonlythedominantValues,''buthadalsotherecipeofpoliticalneutralitybaseduponthevisionsofthePendletonActoflEs3l0enacted by the A*"ri.un Congiesa for the American cjvil service system (Endriga

1978:4). For Endriga, this was a i'fortunate quirk of history" for the Philippine

civil service, and ,"it"f,"*, the discipline of P-ublic Administration which would

be introduced a hal'f-century later to ,tuay it, also came as a "finished prGduct"'

another quirk or iirtory, "under

both iortulatl and perhaps importunate'

demanding and challenging circumstances' unfortunately' by the time the formal'

study of the di;;;;l# ippeur"d, the civil service in the Philippines was

experiencing its severest tesi, and the product was almost finished.

i

.1,rffi, .''. t:

ir

s

Page 47: Public Administration

HTSTORY, HERTTAcT ANb HUBRIS O 49

JF-i((

tiL ,- J

rhe -,?tf$fr1il":%;"rT.*,ff:T ""n :

''BythetimethePhi|ippinee-ommonwea|thwasestab|ishedin1935,the

civilservicehadb.encomp|etelyFilipinized.rh.:TT:onwealthperi.odwasatransition phase conceived under the Tydings-McDuffie Law of the American

congress designed to fr"pur* the Filipinos foiindependence by the next decade'

The commonwealth adopted a government "republican in form' Filipino in

personnel, and [enjoying] autonomy in domestic affairs'' (Corpuz 1957:214).

TheassumptionofFilipinopolitica.lleaders3ftirlreins-of^9o1::t-ti:ldnotdisrupt the civil ""rui."

system built by the Americans'' ln fact' the momentum

was :continued and even, to some extent, strengthened or reinforced' Endriga

comments on this saYing:

"'With the administration almost completely in Filipino-hands' fears were

, exPressed by many Americanq*thai\the undesirable Filipino propensity

fornepotisni,thespoilssyslerhandthecorruptbehavior.learned'fromthe Spunii'a' *o'ig'tuk"-over' They were surprisld:?"*V'&u lTu' "ftheCommonwealthgovernment(from1935to1946),/whenaFilipino]PresidenttookoverfronptheAmericanCovernor.Ceneral,insteadofwateringdowntheCivilServiceLaw'theFilipinos-evenstrengthenedit

.i.':'through.manyinnovStionsandthenew'Constitutionenactedin1935contained u

'r,ot" u,ii"l" on the civil service.... (Endriga 1978: 5; Corpuz

1957:166; i70)'

with the adoption of the constitution of 1935, a full-blown provision on

thecivilService,ArticleXl,wasadgptedwhichembracedallbranchesandsubdivisions of the government and *i,i.rt also emphasized careerism' political

;;;;;"liiy una ,*"urity of tenure. The Bureau of Civil service which was

reconstituted in 1913 fiom the old Civit Service Board created undel Act No' 5

was given in.r"ur"J fo*"rr, full and exclusive authority to conduct formal

investigations against: civil service personnel. The decision of its head, now

elevated to a commissioner with a rank of Department undersecretary relating

to appointments, removal, separation.and personnel discipline was made final,

subject only to appeal to a newly created civil service Board of Appeals (corpuz

i,957: zl7). A r;;;r "f

'laws und u*u"utive orders were enacted and issued to

operationalize the constitutional mandate'

PhilippineCommonweatthPresidentManue|L.Quezonquicklyassumed,,the role of the champion of the civil service'" He repealed Section 683 of the

Administrative code through Executive order No' 8 and made all branches and

subdivisionsofthegovernmentcoveredbythecivilservicepreciselyinpulsuitof the constitutio.,Jl provition. He took steps to fight nepotism, issuing an

executive order prohibiting Eppointing authoriiies from making appointments of

their relatives (Veneracion 1988: 121-122\' l

s

Page 48: Public Administration

' :..

50 O DEFINITTON AND SCOPE

. Commonwealth Act No,177,,passed pn 13 November 1936, furtherstrepgthened the civil service and was hailed by one scholar as "the civil service

refofmer's dream come true" (Corpuz 1,957:2.17)" This law restated the basic

principles of merit, oPen cornpetitive examinations as the basis cf appointment

and security of tenure, among others.

The bureaucracy was also assigned a strategic role in the programs of

the government which then was gearing for full independence especially in the

implementation of President Quezon's soc'ial Justice program' It was also

conceived us'th" chief implementor of economic development and the promotion

of the well,being and economic security of the people' As President Quezon had

so profoundly iaid out, "state leadership, as against private dominance in the

economy, was to be the keynote of governmental activities" (corpuz 1937:219).

Corpuz cites Quezon's own words:

we don't believe in the economic policy of 'laissez faire.' we favor

government leadership in production activities. We believe in planning the

national economy. The world has learned a lot of untold economic waste

and human suffering ...that governments cannot allow,unlimited free

enterprise without jeopardizing the public welfare in the interest of human

greed.'.. (as quoted by Corpuz 1957:219)'

Just about the time these bold pronouncements were to be put to the

test, the.pacific War started with the Japanese bofnbing'of American military

installations in Pearl Harbgr in Hawaii. ln 1.941, hostilities came to the Philippines

and with the Japanes-e-occupation almost completed by the middle of 7942,

the Commonwealth ceased to be operative (Cgnpuz 1.957:219). The preparatory

period towards independence was abhuptly truncated and in its place was installed

a Japanese military admipistration which attempted to secure Filipinocooperation by setting up a facade of a Filipino civil administration, interestingly

though crudely encased in the veneer of such labels as "Philippines for the

Filipinos," "ASia for the Asians," and the "EaSt Asia Co-ProsPerity Sphere"(Corpuz 7957:219;Veneracion 1988: 125).

:

The Philippines suffered destruction, dislocation and demoralization. In the

absolute sense, the Japanese occupation of the Philippines did not'eniirelychange the existing civil service structure, but it traumatized it to'the extent that,

behaviorallV; it eroded the very foundations of merlt and fitness so painstakingly

built during the Commonwealth era and even previous to that during the

American colonial era.

After the fall of the combined Filipino-American defense in 1942, rygnyof the administrative personnel of the civil service retuined to their old positions

and were accordingly coriscripted into a:system that demanded collaborationwith and unswerving loyalty to the Japanese regime. Collaboration became the

dominant qualification for higher positions and fo1 advancement, and those who

tffi

i'I

I

I

l

l

',1

-1. ilsI

I

1

I

s

":'

Page 49: Public Administration

l{

I

'fu-'i\

I

I

I

I

l

I

I

i

I

tr

HI5TORY, HERITAGE AND HUBRI5 O 51

refused were coerced and threatened,. "On pain of reprisals against thernselves

or their families." corpuz provides a searing analysis of this dgvlloRment which

would persist in the iniependence era *","; the situation had already changed

by thenY'- ,,*.

'..Collabbration in arly form' hbwever' sufficed to stigmatize-!-ti*'*:'"t"-" 11 'the .Vu, of tit p"opiu' The administrative apparatus was'tfie instrument

of a hated regime' so that'pll "un"'ion' in the civil servairts' and in the

people'sminjsagainstsabptageoftheadministrationvanished.Actsofadministrative delay and obstruction, in countless ways of lessthan'full

compliancewithadministrativeorders,cametobehabituallyindulgedin'and *"" ;;;;i "t

*"ttr tnd patriotic (Corpuz 1957:220 227)'

ThuswhentheCommonwealthCovernmentwasre-establishedin1945,with the liberation of the Philippines, the Filipino civil service suffered

11 prestige'

traumatizedbythewaranditsexperienceswith.n:j:l".eseconquerors.Theprestige and distinciion tnat the civil service once enjoyed was eroded and it

was also almost tt;;lt;t;repared to match the rehabilitation efforts undertaken'

Rehabilltatlon ln the Independence Perlod and '',jj:i the Forr4al'Entry of the Disciptine of Public Administration

Withtheendofthewar,theCommonwea|tlrGovernmentwasre-constituted. r15 .nortlmrnediate and pressing problem yu: lu:g,"ly--

".:ono*ic' for

by the time the liberation of the Philfppines *?:.toTfleted in 7945' the economy

was at a standstil unj u."ording to senator Millard rydings of the u's' congress'

Manila, next to ;;;;;; *"ri,,r,. rnost compretery devastated capital city

anywhere in the world" (as cited in Shalom i9B6: 33)'

rds and bridges, utilities and other facilities,Buildings, school houses' roe

including banking institutions.were destroyed' Agriculture production was at a

standstill and the incomes of the people w.re low. Poverty was endemic and the

widespread destruction of property served to exacerbate tlre situation' on this

prernisb, the Tydings Act or the Philippine Rehabilitation Act'of 1946 was passed

along with anothei important piece of legislation, the Bell Trade Relations Act

or the Philippine Trade Act two months before the scheduled date of the granting

of independence. The Philippine Rehabilitation Act made available us$ 620

million for rehabilitation, on iondition that preferentialtrade agreements or parity

rights lasting ru, iuyona independence were to be given to the Americans.

TotheAmericangovernmentinWashington,reh.abilitationofthephilippines *"" ;;;riant,"ana hgqranltarian considerations formed but a small

part of the entire equation. The r€habilitation agenda also had bconomic' military

and political inteiests at play, and were cleverly ,correealed in altruistic

pronouncement;.;;nator Ty,{ings, who sponsored the Philippine rehabilitation

:law in the u.s. congress, acknowledged that the Philippines had been the sixth

Page 50: Public Administration

,/5? O DEFINITION ANb 5COPE

'^ q:' .

largest customer for U.S. made goods befdre fhu *ur, and that 'American jobsdepended upon the rehabilitation ofi the IPhilippine] economy," He stressed that"we rnust now think of the Philippines as a.great staging area for trade."

' Paul V. McNutt, before becoming High Commissioner to the'Philippines,expressed a similar view, saying that since ii was imperative for U.S. business todominate the Pacific, the Philippine Islands should be "the Asiatic springboardfor Asiatic trade dominance," and that the Philippine Islands "coulcl neit achievestability, provide an outlet and example for 0.S. trade unless we did everythingnecessary to rehabilitate the PI" (Shblom 1986:,33'34).

But far more thari the economic motive; the rehabilitation effort alsoserved the purpose of strengthening a political ally in Asia which was necessaryto serve American interests. The United States had to maintain its presence inAsia, mainly'because of the Cold War, and the Philippines served as a valuablepolitical and military asset. Again, in Senator Tydings words, "politically,economically, and strategically the Philippines are a great outpost of [theAmerican] Nation," and rehabilitation funds would help strengthen this Americanoutpost (Shalom 1986: 34).

Rehabilitation from.the rava-ges .of the war however proved stow andsluggish. For one, the'Filipinization of American democracy produced aprecarious and unstable government that did not match the efficiency of itsmodel (Buss 1977:23). In April 7946, the political leadership was assumed byPresident Manuel Roxgs who was elected in the first presidential elections in thePhilippines after the war. A host.'of problems besieged the administratiohstemming from the devastation of the war. Masi poverty and continuing agrarianunrest further escalated the insurgency problem, worsened peace and order, andaggaravated political and economic instability. The insurgency movement,generally'based in Central Luzon.and inspired by growing lommunist influence,threatened to plunge the country into civil war. It became thus necessary forthe government to mobilize its resources and improve its performance to checkthis rapidly gathering crisis.

. The move towards.professionalizing the conduct of public affairs in thePhilippines started as*,eafly as 7947, when a joint U.S.-Philippine Commigsionwas set up, at Washington's behest, to study arrd improve the financial positionof the Philippine government through a packa$b of administrative and structuralmeasures such as tax reform, the establishment of a Central Bank, and theimposition of import controls, among others (Shalom 1986:71). These initiativeswere to:be followed by a string of aid and technical assistance programs forJherehabilitation of the Philippines.

When Roxas died in office in 1948, his Vice-President, Elpidio Quirinosucceeded him'and promptly took a mailed-fist policy against the insurgents,

1r

ls

-&f

t:

Page 51: Public Administration

HISTORY, HERITA66 AND HUBRI5 O 53

while neglecting to institute needed reforms in.government' Presldent Quirinointerests, and.was;;ffiil ;^; dominated bv privilegea c3fle[e^landlord

wd> L,rrLrv'rvu err! Abiya 1'967:56)' The insurgency problem

perceived to be "corrupt and.lnTf- I._+ir rur *ha rannn.se-rnrerreflnum, hadilJ't:"T;;

'i;", ;;l"i"r'v int*tru pt*d bv the J a panese -in terreg n um' had

^F +o'inr inflicted bv theii,lilTi?TJi.l;#,lil;ffi ;iJi"!v"im11ie':iq:ij,:'ii::::l':"*i:'+l:ifi:in:","JjT'j"ilffi;;; il li",,la by th e p ru rip pine g overn m ent. rhe

* ^$fina r.rae viewed bV

iil:i::fi;'L'lli'J" "ii 6do, y',.1 :::ru:t,3'?:il:,;Tii: *"' viewed bv

3'"H'#J,:"1*a*ark in dishonesty" (Shalom 1986: 70-71)'

By 1e50, as Abava (1e6?: 561 *:ul]ll ']-:::jl':::j:1f1':':;1l::uy Iv2u'.q ffiJe;F)';;d ;t* nationat economy.was on.the lerge

ofdemocracy was ll __r !L-+ - ^^^o^lirlarp;lnackaoe of::il;:T :i n*ii,, :'.'i' * T ;: ;Y

" J:':i

1 lf: -" - : : :: :l' :? ::"n"*:ffi ;if:':ifi! :1 i' ;*i': "'

L *'' "i"'"i i n t tr e

" i l': :: : 1?:: :','l -t":l:':"."*' :measures alru r€rr lt requested the united states to send a

that year, the Philipping GlveriT":, ;r_-^-ri^aro, a rrnilpd states Econolnic[nat yeal, Lrrs rrrrut/r''|v

united states Econo]nic*irtion to survey thre Philippine situation'3::otdl"q:I'-11^r oA ..ta nnneirter theH:X'i..l fr'll'Jl'n.ililru;;;i w ::l' :.T ::ll*:: "::T:::J,::::;::t#'""J irr-.i"r-pronlems of rhat countrv and to recommend measures

r- ^^lf o',nnnrfinn" /Relleconomlc anG lllratrLr(lr r/rvurv'r in self_supporting" (Bel:l

that will enable- the Philippines to become and to remaj

#

Report 1960: 1)'

'ber 1950' surveYed all''r:;

The Missisn, which submitted its report in Octc

)articuiarly the economy' an{ reserved aaspects of the Philippine situation' p

special comment o.t,nu conduct of public administrdtion in the country' On this'

the Bell Report recommended' among others:

That public administration be-improved and reorganized so as to insure

honestyandefficiencyinthecovernment;thatthecivilservicebeplacedo., u m",it basis anj civil service salaries raised to provide a dece'nt

standard "i ri",.g, lhat the philippine oovernment remove barriers to the

. emptoyment of Lreign technlqianJtand take stePs to improve training

facilities "t'L"il"i"^t

in tfre dfritippines; and th:lin accordance with the-

requestorttrerrritippinec6vernment,theUnitedStatesse4d..aTechnicalMission to assist the philippine covernment in carrying odi its agricultural

and industrial development, Rr.ut "tntrols,

p_ublic. a jministration, and labor

una ,o"iut welfare program (Bell Rgport 1950: 6)'

1n En - '-^'.n r', I was concluded betweenIn November 1950, a memorandum of agreemenl

presidenr Elpidio o;ir;{r; and william c. Fosier. The latter headed then u's'

President Harry Truman,s mission to the Philippines which formalizeo ,1:

extensionofU.S.aidtothePhilippines.TheAgreement,latertobeknownasthe Quirino-Foster Agreement, provided for the ireation of the Philippine council

for United States Aid (PHILCUSA) anJ spea,headed. the establishment of a series

of missions in the eiitippin." in the diffeient sectoral dimenslons' This Agreement

was drawn in accordance with the united:states' Economic cooperation Act of

1948, as amended. It became the .,r:ltimate and primary basis'' for,the extension

of economic aid to participating countries all over the world' The economic

assi,stance project was administered by the Ecohomic cooperation Administration

Page 52: Public Administration

54 O DEFINITION AND 5COPE

(ECA). This would be -abolished

in April 1951 and reconstituted into the MutualSecurity Agency when the United States Cong'ress passed the Mutual Security

Act of 1951 (PCUSA 1952:9'12).

A counterpart mission headed by Jose Yuto reqpested the Americangovernment to provide technical assistance for projects to stabilize the Philippine

economy and to strengthen the public service. This led to a proposalto establish

an Institute of Public Administratibn that will provide in-service training and

academic programs. Quoting a U.P rePort in 1952, Qcampo points out that "the

former Iobjective] would meet immediate needs, while the latter would stimulate

intereit in public adm,inis#ation as an imported (sic?) field of study and [make]the Philippines the center of such educational 6ndeavor in Southeast Asia"(Ocampo 1993, citing the U.P. Annual Repgrt ffir 1952-53).

Thus, part of the components of this assistance Program was theestablishment of an Institute of Public Administration in the Philippines at theUniversity of the,Philippines, an offshoot in part of the findings and recommendations

of the Bell Mission in 1950. The establishment of such an institute was described

by John Lederle and Ferrel Heady, who served as Directors of the Institute in 1952-

53 and 7953-54, respectivelt, ds "a natural response to a felt need." Many Filipinopublic officialq and leaders'had articulated this need as far back as the late 1940s

after independence as-a way of professionalizing the civil service, which, it was

claimed, declined during the period of the Jof morale and efficiency, but also in integrity. on the other hand.of morale and efficiency, but also in integrity. In"e+-#G&

dsdfvedg a t th e g*$ 1t-qrYise,€.Y,,stqrn, a I t h o u g h d-ep ig ntnot fiinction that way, and that the practice of awarding

"'bo''Eiti6ffil,i,#

and Heady 195f: 8;Alfonso 1,972:275).

Public Administration as a discipline thus appeared in this milieu ladenwith uncertainty and conflict as the Philippines found itself tormented by a mosaicof political, economic and social problems. The introduction of the study of PublicAdministration was a fitting response. If reforms were to succeed in the political,economic and social dimensions, the administrative machinery must beprofessionalized through systematic training, technical guidance and professionaladvice of a core of experts in the field.

Public hdministration as a discipline was thus shaped at a time of crisisand transition in the Philippines. Itlwould also'thrive in that kind of tensign forthe next four decades, and like the dynamics of practice of the profession it issupposed to assist and improve, would adapt to the rigors and demands of-itsenvironment.,lt would swim within and against the currents of its time, juxta-posing reality dnd norms, and developing its own belief systems, its own creedand standards,'serving both as partner and critic of the profession which it wasdestined to serve.

-$ r',

. \ j

ii

s

..&E .t

Page 53: Public Administration

HI5TORY, HERITAGE AND HUBRI5 O 55

ation'rhe'nT:::,ff:rilTft1illl1T; ,

' I ren the United States and-*-With the signing of the bilateral agreement betwe

Philippine gou*in.!nts, financing was made availa!le to, fl::...'p the

establishment of an Institute of Publie Administration (lPA) in the Philippines'

Under this agreement, !t was also deeided that the Institute would be set up under

a private contract negotiated.between the university of the Phitippines, and the

Uni,r"ruity of l\ichigan which yill help in the technical and-professional aspects

of the.'organization of the new institute' t

Thus, in January 7952, two ranking 1c1dey1:.off]l"b of t!5 Universitv

of Michigan, James K. Pollock, Chairman of the Political Science Department'

and John W. Lederle, Director of the Institute of Public Administration, arrived

* ,uruuy the feasibility of setting uP an Institute at the university of the

Philippines. Their recommendations were favorable and a contract was worked

otrt and finalized. Accorbingly, an agree[nent was reached and signed between

the two universities which ttiputqg*a t two and a half year period beginning 15

June 1952. This was to be extehued later up to 15 June i956- The Institute of

public Administration based af the University of the PlilfPpines was organizedt'{":;;;;"d;;;,-of 1952, and would operate for the next two vears under the

leadership of the Americans.''

In 7g54, Dean Jose velmonte of the u.P. college of Business

Administration was appointed as IPA Director. Funds were generated during this

:period under a bilaterai aid agreement between the United States and Philippine

governments with the latter providing counterpart funds (Ocampo 1993: 3)'

With the organization of the Institute underway, the joint U.P.-University

of Michigan efforts ernbarked on developing three areas of concern. The first

was the Luilding up of a public administration library, whii-h Lederle and Heady

identified as "an indispensable foundation for a sound training a.nd research

prograrn." Under this project, the University of Michigan undertook, by way of

a special library contract entered into in October 7952, the selection and delivery

of a collection of public administration books, journals, documents and other

materials. A library procurement program was instituted and space was

designated to house the collection. The development of library facilities received

priority attention during these early stages and new books were procured direttly

from the University oi mi.f,igun, whiih also provided a library consultant' A

related project was also instituted in the form of an Inter-departmental Reference

Service (riins) which was a cooperative effort of fifteen member libraries in the

Philippines. This was launched for the purpose of building. uP "a collection ofphilippine books, government documents and ephemeral vertical file materials"

and which helped members'"organize and catalog their collections, develop a

union catalogue and a union list of serials.,.." (ocampo'1993:4-5).

Page 54: Public Administration

IPA staff mem.bers were iluo togug*d 1n"

consultative services' to

:ies and professionat noiie! and in puufic relations activitiesgovernment agenc

,*,* -#,p"d

the Covernment Su.rvey andi"for" various audiences' The lns-til

rf its work, and made its;;td;tion commission of 1955 in various phases c

library, other facilities, and the seruicuu of a consultant available [o the csRC

iO.u-po 1993: 6)'

HI5TORY, HERITAGE AND HUBRI5 O 57

I

and seve ral pa rt'time Filip ino re gearch -:3:t-tT|l, :':::3-'::,:::' fi :; ::':::- ffi

' ffi

' ffi il'i;;;' ; ; -

;'- t ry : --Yi:: -^

"::T. :'-::; i':l:years' a qu'G.r frEs' BrRm€nt organization charts

;;;s;;* ctarted'rdttr the f';-q"t:1::""i:9""""'.,,on. "r*, orenared ror the::T:H."fi'Ji,r;1il;pi'*!, rin'Jn*"r*s were urso prepared for the

r.i..- . . l/q"iArls 6iher nfudlCg Wefe pUblished' anCl a field surveye:*'::TJ::::- :# ;["#';';'l; q il' -

| T :- tyi f ::*' ::i i ["J i il' H ::i'i:::,-;"*-Jil;-"il;;i;;F';:i:,::,t'::X,ix:,i:::"';:"11;;:#:fi ,,::":;'H:: :J;i:-' i-.,' I",n,eade mie and in.se rvice trai nins

'';l-,

I

The se development' *"'* enh anced nV im 111v:,T::t:^':, :l:,,:t ::T;:l1n""::IilJji;i;ilil ;1u, it opu'aied, rt was fortuitous, another

the social and pottt r -- !^- ^^ rr-.a rncrirrrt. was buildinq:ffilJi"$: ?H;; ; * ;

: l': : I iil^:i:; ::: : :i i i5'::f" ffi: :: I i::::5-.,?Hilil'i:ffi'*#';1';";[:i#:T:::':*-"ff iffi*"Xland develoPlng lrs Pregr'<rtrro' ':'" :- d marked the lnstitute'schanged, no rong.r i!" :"1:lv ?::':s."3:1.:jl:':^":5 on,,, ooi nes which wa s

illiS li ;'ll'lJi?''' ;; ;;: ;' -;;,h " l "'t : I : il ",0-:':-o'# : : "::::i ;:;o,:#:ff I'i''#;#'#"il:t::::-:"^'T'?ii;:""Til.il,T"':::1il,:::: :: il::: iii # ; ; ffi :; *''

" "' n s a u

I r i n

1 i1' : ?:..Ai, :'':i :i.:,:: : il i : :::;;:Til";:';;H ;J ;;";i: to, institute substa ntia i an d far-rea chi n g

reforms in government'.addressedbasicandimmediateproblems.

The Magsaysay administration some order in the socio-

Fo, on",'it qu"flaif'" rebellion in Central Luzon' restored

political life of trr"'.""""V 3na.Uy rblS, had initiated a reorganization of the

bureaucracy'Morethanthese,theMagsaysayadministrationendeqreditselftothe masses, introducing such rem"diei"us ihe

"presidential complaints and Action

Center (pcAC) *;1i i"oor" trre faitrL and confidence of the people in their

government.

. In this setting, favorable as it was, the opportunity for developing the

fledgling lnstitute oi puuti. Administration and its program of action became

relevant to the challenge which u,o'fit about its establishment' It received the

continued ,upoo.i'uni guidance orir',u Americans who started the writing of

materiars ana uoot<s th-at helped identify the intricacies of ph'ippine public

Administration and its practicer. niripi"o schotars and personnel were provided

opportunitiesto*o'thei,di,.iplineinAmericanuniversities,somuchsothatby the time the .o,',tru.t with the UJversity of Michigan 'expired in 1956' eight

Filipinostaffmem-b",'r'"areturn'edfromtrainingintheUnitedStates(ocampo1gg3:7). The t,.,uiitrtu also benefited fromvisiting American scholars who came

to help build up ,f.l" -;,artals of tne hititlte, brilging with them fresh insights'

' .r.!'l

,',J'i

,lj.,1

,j.gj1

.i:n,;ira

Page 55: Public Administration

58 O DEFINITION ANb SCOPS

lending the Institute rnuch prestige and enqouragement, and helping it copeintellectually and operationally with its affaire and ite elealings with the profession.

The Peculiarities of Publlc Admlnlstratlon as

a DlsciPltne in the PhlllPPlnes

Uhder the Magsaysay administration and with the guiclance of the

Americans, the Institute of Public Administration in ttre Philippines thrived and

proceeded to perform its mandated functions. The challenges however remained'

for the idiosyncrasies of the political system and the bureaucracy that supported

it remained problematic and neededtcontinuing reform. It was an agenda that'could not be resolved overnight and could only be changed over time, and this,

for all intents and purposes, did not have any timetable'

. There was however a timetable for the lnstitute to be Filipinized, for

American prbsence lived on borrowed time. Unlike the development of the civil

service system which was built upon the framework of a subservient colonialrelationship where American influences could systematically be ingrained, if not '

asserted, the study of Public Administration developed within the framework of'an agreement between two independent governments, where influences could

'.

only be proselytized and, only be qbsorbed selectively in an almost random,ipattern.

As such, the transition period did not permit the discipline in the u

Philippines to enjoy the luxury of absorbing or assimilating a distinct organizingframework for the intellectual study of ,the discipline or of engrossing, itself in atradition of theorizing epistemologies that the American model had rigorouslycarved and endowed for itself.

The peculiarities with which Public Adrninistration as a field of study wasIintroduced into Filipino scholarship then may accoufrt in part for its atheoreticaland ahistorical stance towqrds epistemological questions. For one, unlike in theUnited States; Public Adffinistratlon in the Philippines did not evolve out of somedisciplinary diaspora from bther fields in the.,pbcial sciences such as PoliticalScience. It wa- not a product of fission betwben'the realm of public policymakingand that of administration (Reyes 1993:29). In its formative years, Public.i'.Administration i'n the Philippines was not concerned with what it is, how it rnust 'proceed, whai its methods would and should be, or how it must relate with therest of the social science community., lt aia not have a firm and definitive traditionof a politics-administration dichqtomy or a long, laborious series*ofconceptualizing as to its nature and'concerns. It did not have to labor on suchquestions as whether it is a science or an art, or how it is to be delineated fromother fislds,in the'socfgl sciences: Thethe manage{al functions

$

,g '),cjj;r

I

1

propositioh or the study of

Page 56: Public Administration

6E AND HUBRI5 O 59HI5TORY, HERITA

a stapte in Ameriean Public Adrnini5trption;

Ttrffi: ;;i;ii'*n," and,so with other prineiples' which became "cq?:tlnli':,- J^- .-,!.':^1-. '+l-'o

ffi;ffiffi"";;; ;;;* and servins as the premises under,which 'th.e

;;ri;ttil;;s an applied field operationalizecl its work'

This service orientation, the guiding spirit for wh-ich the discipline of Public

Administration was introduced in the phiiippines, would serve as its own :?utt:of strength and inspiration even as it would be its own weakness' The rigid cast

i to,," it certainly: materialized as a r€spons,- lt 3^- -teryqp{p 'o'f'-

governmentreforminth*posteo|onialperiod,muehinthesamewayaSAmerican Public Administration was influenced by the chaltenges of civil service

reform in the lBBt;, ry,itippine Public Administration did not have to endure a

hostile, academic "o**uniiy that,ehallenged its validity and standing as a field

of study. li was instead confronted in its fledgling years with problems'obtaining

in the: practice of the profession" For uit*t all, it was organized to help

..professionalize,,governmentserviceandthatbeingthecase,itsrole'wascut

out,for it. It was implanted and packaged in Philippine shores as a'disciplinb to

address administritive weaknesses Ind inadequacies of the newly-fo,nded

;d;ffi, il;;;;r only naturalthat this became.its foremost agenda; obliviot'rs

to academic question' ih"n raging in the field in America'

immediacyofhavingtoattendtothe".ier.burg"on''ng'issuesandconcernsthatpreoccupied the prJf"rrion-concerhs that demanded much attention' After all'

this was the purpose for whibh the discipline' was introduced in the P\ilippines'

and the use of the t6rm "lnstitute" was adopted as ti l"-:0"^"11

that training'takeq

precedence over academic functions' liti"u"s 7972: 340;''Tancangco and

Aminuzzamanwaz:zzl.lnfact,thefirstsemi-annualreport.ofthetnstifu!1openly gives.this u*uy, declaring 1[6t'fth.e Institute's educational program gives

first,priority to helping government workers improve effectiveness in their present

oi.future work,, (IPA, Firdt Semi-Annual RePort'1952: 4; Tancangco and

Aminuzzam an, 7gi12t )Z;. -ff,it ser'ice orientation was presented as the main

ilil]i;o*.,1or. ro.uting the Institute in Manila where most government offices

*ere then situated, instlad of the sprawling u.P. Diliman camPus in'Quezon city'

These,were all part of "a conscio.rroPo\,.Y which gives top priority to helping

;;;;;", **r.Lr""ir*rot t-Pt'd$; their effectiveness" for the purpose of

,,meeting tthel puJltis satisfacttn with the governmental,administration in a

democracy,, (Tancangco and Aminuzzamun fgaZt Z2)'fnis policy was further

re-.affirmed in the tnrtiiute'r,second.semi-annual report in 1953 and would remain

to be the guiding, ;p"t"ii". principle of the Institute, and for that matter' of Public

Administration sti-rdy in the next decaoe'

,. Themes rn the study of pubnc Admlnistration in the philippines

nd

,, :: .ii. '

t l.,i: ,.'' . t::.:

rlj'' ii

,'.i,l:1;:t'i

.:$--,.i\li

.:i:i

:i,..i''. i:rl*i;:,:r', .

Page 57: Public Administration

60 o DEFrNrrrory4NrscoPE

, .r!of this extension service philosophy i,n ftie forma.tive years of Public

Administration study in the Philippines fbllowed a preseribed, almost messianic l

paih that defined the discipline according to its eontributions to problems and

demands of the administrative configuration'

This orientation distinguished the stu'dylaceording tb its relationship with '

government management aid praetice, largely consumed from the outset by :

lhe attention and fbcus lavished on the study of internal bureaucratic structures'

of management functions and processes' and of tools and techniques that spglled

good,administration'6ut not nlcessarily a good society. For years, and perhaps

even now, this would remain a dominant and recurring theme, for it distinctly

""a*pfifi"a the applied nature of the field. In time however, owing to both internal

and external influences, and to the maturation of its own horizons' the discipline

;;;pi";""ted this orientation with, a societal perspective, one that did not readily

depart from a service orientation, but instead was broadened and redefined to

accommodate the demands of the larger environment. The latter perspective

would characterize the discipline's outward-looking orientation, which espoused

the values oi'r"rpon"iveness, equity and relevance to the society that envelopes

it.

What themes therl can be inferred that helped shape the discipline into

what it has become today? what mb;or or dominant perspectives can be drawn

"rri i. begin with, it is not easy to readily isolate and identify a unifying

paradigm, or at best, a single, organizing framework by which the study of Publi,c 'i*.'

Administration in the Philippines could be understood and appreciated' Much 1'

of the thinking of its scholars and students as captured in the literature express

a vast range of inter'ett and persuasions that do not lendlthemselves easily to

;"#;;r;bilco-pattmentaliiations' ':',.1.'

I

This is understandable considering that most of these perspectives are

drawn from the analysis of not only administrative phenomena, but of a wide

""r"-ffu of sociopollticat and economic concerns that are made to fit into the

discipline in cogniiance of its eclectic or multidisciplinary character. Moreover,

they are assembled and derived from different research methodologies, from

those that employ empirical, positivist or case techniques laden with quantitative

tools, to those that are based on conceptual, descliptive or analytical thinking'

They reflect a large mars of sectoral and particutarized interests, that are mixed

into-a heady brew of'-iccounts of institutional and social concerns, of behavior

dynamics, ald other perspectives that cut pcross an assortment of political,

economic. administrative and even culturhl problems'

In some instances however, there is remarkable agreement'il tt"'e

specifications of certain areas of inquiry, manifested in the way a particular theme

keeps recuiring in the literature, and considered by severai authors,

i#i'I

i

ii\

f$tr;+''il

Page 58: Public Administration

HrsTORv, HERTTAoE 4ND HUBRTS O 61

blid.{

elI1lC,

andi,l

'f,.| i,

$

'i/ithl,lI bvires,i,lledi

iapsictlvi'irnalfi1na1

dilv,;.i. l,i* tn.,.:, .',:,

tlvg 1l

sed j1Fq

;, i'l tt "

social reform movement. A sixth theme however, that of international and

lministration studie n out, but these are mader'.,:. cqrylparative administration studies ean also be drawt

ll.-", .ul !f ;r;;,ur" contributed nl,gstl5) by foreign authors who:r discussedi:.:::ri:.:,..:.

ir"' , ,----a,-t L^.,^ L^^^ ^l

ic.*.,,. ud*inistrative svstem3,3,|,::n::-1"TliiT:il1, :T:: i:::i"""il^:::?tf:

it i u".ordingly as iomparativist since they portray othel-sy-stems. Most of the

i- . , literatrr" i., this genre are provided not by Filipinos although they served as good

" ., frames of reference for the stu'dy of the discipline in the Philippines'12

rrq {

wn"i.{-nol)ltc *

InL' i

ii55

tO'

i.Tij..,'.r. ,r' In this sense, Public Administrafion in the country was never insecurevvr rvvt

t'. about its place in the academic community, and perhaPs, never competed with

, the discipline of Political Science or any other discipline for that matter, as toI 'what it must address. It is in this sense that'its history has been one of hubris

.and makes it, a "self-aware" Public Administration, in contrast to its American

,. cbunterpart. "Self-aware'i Public Administration has been the awkward term

,emptoyea by the Americans to describe their discipline at the time of the founding

of the American National Agsociation of Schools of Public Affairs andi.,..,, .Adrninistration (NASPAA) which somehow marked the acceptance of Public

:. Administration as an independent discipline in the Onited States.

In time however, the discipline would take its own course and would: compete, not,for acceptance in the'academic community, but for influence and- attention in the direction of public policy making. lt would serve as partner of

government, as catalyst and mediator, and as social critic and activist in the' conduct of public affairs. It would find its own consciousness as a steward of. ,public interest as it began to redefine the meaning of the word "pub{ic." It will

continue to champion the cause of social reform and good government all at

the expense of its own cause of redefining ifs own epistemology. It will be a "self-' aware" Public Administration in a different sense.

Endnotes

, l rThis statement refers to formal or systematic studies on Prrfiic Administration. It is

interesting to note howeveir, as will be considered in succeeding discussions, that some ideas on

administrative philosophies had received scattered commentaries from some of the founding

fathers of the Philippine Republic. The absence of Ambrican Public Administration thought at

'the founding of the United States was pointed out by Stillman (1991: 19).

' ,fn. Progressive Movement in the Uniied States represents the era of reform initiatives

in the late lBth century following the American civil war. The movement aspired for pfogressive

:rieform in such areas as child labor legislation, women's suffrage, minimum wage and, for Public

.i, ,.\tr",

tra

dehe

rm'

VC

rg.

:d

al

le

r;Hl

riiiiiiiriirll,:,Ii,::L

;;:i;i,,riii

$:'.#l:rit:#

:.

m:.i'',.::1,

::lll

Page 59: Public Administration

lI'l.*

-'{FS!ts

,lj'

'6? O DEFINITTON AND 5COPE

Administration, the practice of spoils or patronage system that was institutionalized during theterm of President Andrew Jackson in 1837. Woodrow Wilssn, then an aeademic, was part ofthis movement and called for the develop;nent of the study of Publie Administration in a seininalpaper written in 1887. Wilson considered the developm'ent of a "seience" of acirninisrration asan important component of civil service,'reform. The artlele would providd the basis for theplilosophy of what is now commonly referred to as the polities'administration dichotomy or theseparation of the,work of politics from that 6f administration. $ee Wilson 1887 and ciiscussionson the subject in Adams 1992; Reyes 1995a.

3Using the convention introdueed by Dwight Waldo (1968;1975), the discipline or thefield of study is denoted with capital letters, i.e., Public Administration, while the practice,Processes and the profession are described with the lowbr case, i.e., public administration.

aCorpuz (1989) provides a more incisive treatment of this.

5A good air"utrio., on the sequence of events ,Oui Urounn, ubou, ,nu organization of theSpanish colonial empire can be found again in Corpuz (1957). Veneracion (1988) also providesPertinent discussions on the subject and supplies historical analysis on the development of thecivil service in the Philippines during the Spanish era.

6The practice apparently was common in Europe, and therefore was not exclusive to Spain.In fact, Raadschelders and Rutgers (1996: 77) suggest that sale of offices was common in Prussra.France and England in thae,late 1700s.

TCorpuz'(1957: 15F158) provides a good discussion and analysis of the salient features'of the Malolos Constitution.

8A good material on the subject of political and constitutional ideas that emerged duringthis period is that of,Majul (1957).

eThe prestige attached to the civil service can be compared to that in China around the 15thto 17th centuries where distinction to passing candidates of government examinations was made by'banners in their homes stating in effect that, "here resides a successful candidate of governmentexaminations." see the discussion on the chinese civil service in Herson 1982: sl.

roThe Pendleton Act of 1883 in the Onited States was Jonsiaerea a landmark legislationin the-sense that it professignalized the Federal bureaucracy. It was one of the results of theProgressive Movement. Fo-iJ background, see ihe discussion in Reyes r995a.

t'^t':ItThis study will not discuss the shifts and cfpngd's in the academic curribula not because

they are unimportant but because we feel that the thrust of the discussion must be the trendsand content of the discipline. We acknowledge that the curricula of a given period are a productof their era, adapting to the perceived prioritiBs and events within a given period. There are severalstudies that delve on this area, notably thcjse of Alfonso 1972, Tancangco and Aminuzzaman1982, and also Ocampo 1993.

r2A discussion of this issue is made in Reyes, 1995b, which addresses the foundationsand development of administrative thought in the Philippines as it took shape in the then Instituteof'Public Administration. See also Reyes 1995c. '

References

Abaya, Hernando J.1967 The Untotd Phitippine Sforg. Quezon City: Malaya Books,

t,t

tgi.'l

jrjri

,1

iJrill

i:1I

{,Ijr

i,1,

.l'i,

.ir'$t.il!ti

iiAbu,jl

$

*a{Iif

fAdartI

hoori-iIAlfor

ii

tI.t

,1

t

il{

t;1

End:i.t

11(

i

t$iri

c. t-.t

Brillaftt.I

iBuss,,;r, .

l 'tIr:

Lann

-Sr'