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Fubtf;s Admimistratfioxa ? *
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TErere a fhiflippf;xae 't

RAUL P. DE CUZMAN

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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):

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DEFINITION AND

SCOPE

cases of patterns of bureaucratic behavior in the Philippine bureaucracy. In the

latter part of this article, the changing emphasis in the content of public administnation 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.
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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 the socior-rrltrrral economic, and political factors bearing on them. [t deals with the systematic study of institutions and processes and the interplay of factors involved in authoritative decisionmaking on goals, in implementing them, and
in achieving desired results.

Fublic Adrninistration as Governrnental Bureaucnacy

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StructuraL Features
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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
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PHILIPPINE PUBLIC

DMINI5TRATION

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laws of the land have provided for the adoption of the merit principle as the rnain basis for recruitment of personnel in the bureaucracy. Policies, rules and regulations covering practically all aspects-both substantive and proceduralhav',e-also been adopted in government agencies to guide managerial decisionmakers, 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 values appropriate to these new structures have not been fully accepted by public functionaries 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 other groups 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.

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 traits associated with attainment of the objectives of bureaucratic organizations." Carl Friedrich (1940) stressed traits such as objectivity, precision and consistency,
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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. rigidity and inflexibility, red tape and buck-passing.

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

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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). --'-/

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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'

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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 order No. i was a modification of a nnr rnrornart nrnieqf in the old Bureau of Public works of the Department of Ptlblic rLsr Yut t Yl LVUf Works and Communications. It would have used savings in the amouqt ot p4,143.44 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).

Change ord.er No.

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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.

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

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DEFINITION AND

SCOPE

e.g., typewriters, airconditioners, and micro-computers which could not be bought 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 agency goals.
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But public administrators in Western countries would have no doubt that the above examples constitute acts of corruption. If one needs an airconditioner in the office, one must present that as a separate request and not get it through bloated pricing for certain supplies and materials. One must secure the lowest price for these items a9d-rebates should properly be entered in the books.

Foundations and Other Similar Arranqements

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One recent phenomenon in Philippine public administration is the

increasing number of foundations which have been established and attached to government agencies and io universities and colleges. tn the Llniversity of the Philippines alone, easily there are m.ore than twenty-tive University-College- or department-based foundations. Even the Commission on Audit has established

one.

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The foundation serves as a mechanism to provide some flexibility in the receipt and disbursement of funds without observing all the accounting and auditing ruies and regulations of the government which impede the efficiency and effectiveness of agency operations. In some cases, the foundation mechanism has been used to privatize or "launder" public funds. The search is for 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 of Budget and Management (OBM) and Commission on Audit (COA) regulations on the operation of the project, the task force. or of a new agency.

Public Adrninistration as a Field of Stttdy

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As mentioned earlier, public administration is considered both as

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

PHILIPPINEPUBLICADMINISTRATION O

universities, colleges, and schools now offer degree programs in public administration. But what is being taught to the siudents-American or Philippine
public 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 the program 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/project lmplementation 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.

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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 and management, personnel and fiscal administration-with some courses in local government. Later on, courses on public administration and politics, the economy, and social change were introduced to give students a better understanding of the ecology of puQlic management in the country and of the dynamics of social change. ir*.

in the seventies, courses on program administration and public prolicy

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

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DEFINITION AND

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SCOPE

"people"-public administration is administration or delivery of services to the people. lf this interpretation is fully accepted then the students of public administration could rightfully look into alternative delivery channeis, e.g., the private 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 realism

in the teaching of public administration in the country. The needs are the
following: (1) getting fac[rlty members who have both the academic qualifications and administrative experience; (2) the produ.ctiopiand use of indigenous teaching materials: (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 ethnocentric

or culture-bound. The sociocultural, economic and political setting in which

public managemenl operates has long been recognized as a major determinant of the patterns of administration that evolve. Similarly, the influence of the environment of public administration is an increasingly strong determinant for changes in the system. Consequentlf, in each country, the patterns of public administration that develop are in some degree distinctive.
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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 administration and a science of British public administration and a science of French public administratlon, but can there be a 'science of public administration' in the sense of a body of generalized principies independent of their peculiar national setting? (Dahl1 947: 8).

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

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Refenences
Carino, Ledivina

1986

V.

Bureaucratic Corruption in Asla. Quezon City: JMC

Press.

Dahl, Robert

1947

The Science of Public Administration: Three Problems. Publlc Admi.nrstraLlon Reuiew. 7 (1),.

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' i"'De Cuzman, Raul

PHTLIPPINE PUBLIC

ADMINISTRATION

11

: i i

1963 1940

P.
Patterns

in

Decisio:i'Making. Manlla: College of Public Administratlon,

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University of the Philippines.

Friedriqh, Carl

:
Fublic Policy and4he Nature of Administrative Responsibility. ln Cari J. Friedrich

and Edward S. Mason, eds. Public Policg. Cambridge: Harvard University

Press.

Heidenheimer, Arnold

i
Ma rlan

1970
Fnhart

Political Corruption: Readtngs in Comparatiue Analgsis. New York: Holt,

Rinehart and Winston.

i
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1952 # # ^'
I

Reader in Bureaucracg. Clencoe, lllinois: Free Press.

'

Riggs, Fred W,

1964 I

Administration in Deueloptng Countries: The Theorg of PrisrnaLic Socletg.

Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Thompson. Victor
196

Modern Organtzation. New York: Knopf.

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There a Fhitippine
$
OI.JOFRE D. CORPUZ

Fubtric Adrninistration ? *

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

There has been a rjghtful discussion on the role of government because government occupies an importanl part of life. But there is another equally important aspect of life that distinguished human beings from citizens, the private nonpolitical aspect. that has to be preserved beyond public authority. One must think both of the role of government and the scope of that role, so that one will know the scope of one's life that remains his private dominion, inviolable from pubiic invasion. That the scope of government has not been discussed is not strange. The constitutional commission (Con-Com) has written a fundamental law to govern gover-nment, but rt does not seem to have debated the issue.r After the role of
4^\/prnmont J-'"',' hac hoan AatiaaA h^", r-1.eq this irnninnc lnOn i thC nrivatc trinfi15 in ul-lvr Ll l! lLl Hl I vqLL

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soctety, upon the rights of its members as private persons? This is the moral question. lt goes wilh a pragmatic question: How much can government effectively accomplish. having in mrnd its financial and manpower resources? These crrestions must be asked not onlv to establish the nronrietv of novernment ar-tion hrri also fo establish the efficacv of y" novernment aciivitv One L( r-annot vrrL "'
prz.pnt nf yvvLrlrlilsrrL. vl an,.rernrnpnl sn\gPL anfirritr, [6t been dgfingd. seone of nrnner.t.\/p-'rmprr v"" even henin to diq,r-rrsq the fin:nr-inn uvLrr uLYlrr Lv urJ!uv.) Lrr! r,"ul,!irry
fr rtilelrr luLllgly,

ha hofnro fLtlc uctulc

One is yet to hear of any seminar;dmong Filipinos on Lhe role of governmenL thal did nof end with the cSnclusion lhat this is good, theieilore
'Reprinted fr om the PhiLipplne JournaI c:I Public Admlntstration 30(4) (October 1986):
368-382

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PHILIPPINE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION'

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

And this is bad. ln times ofi economic hardship, after the Marcos
government has mopped up the ek:cess liquidity even of the poor, and the leader stolen from the nation's treasure, it is tempting to assuage the people's anxieties thrnrr- ,, ev na nrlo61 66yprnmenl ar-tjOn. The SUCCeedinn Covernment haS h -,rf", llLLurrty VvvEltttllgtl probably iueled escalating popuJar expeclalions. It is unfortunate that the ConCnm i''r-l'rdes r)e'q^nq 'r,hn.ln n-l ..t\/ .Are.\n,2 inr-nrqg laXeS fOf tlfg SUnn.-,rr (ltL rv LUnLJ rvr JUPF/vl 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 fLtlqL lL thinks iq noOd fOf l2f it Ltttlli\J itrty iJ \,]u\ v.,t-, 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; ..._ r *.r __ _ , _..JIn as J_'-' much of that good for anci by themselves? If the latter, then the government can focus its efforts on the poor and the unfortunate who cannot adequately attain the good by themselves.
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There'is an expressed apprehension for the government and for the people if the Con-Com draft constitution were to be ratjfied; the people would have been asked to authorize what amounts to a blank check in the matter of lhe score or whai thc v"' '- 'rnvprnmFni sholrld do'lhe aovefnment'S UrnbOUnded ,rhlinalinn< rvorill be f ac-cy'' wilh tne neonlc's -\vn ]rnhnrrnr]erl cvner-lafinnq anrl hnth -o,,cTnmprr a-rd ncnnl' t' irr ho dpenlv frrrstralej. in thjS SitUatiOn lhe
present government and its successors wiil surely and inevitably iaii. is ihere a "Philippine Publrc Administration?" The public administtatioh of a country js shaped by three other major jnstitutions: education, politics. and governmenl. These afe so pervasive in society that they reflect many of the neorle s basic valueS aS evOlved throlnh the vears and CentUrieS.

Phili ppine Institutions

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EducaLIon

Philippine educatjon is weal<est in history and science. Histor;r would tell how Lire anceslors [ared: it is the story ot how lhe people became,:r fajled to become 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 r'^ ^-:-^:.^^' ...'ndows to the future. :- ^1"., -i^-1r., ^^..ible, il 15 pnyslcally POSSIL,- is one of marr.:"-.lKlliu 5 Prrr rLrPdr wr
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T4 O DEFINITION AND

SCOPE

But there are still no Filipino histories. As late as 1982, Marcos claimed that his Tadhanaz was the history of the Filipinos; it is in fact nothing of the kind; its protagrtnists are foreigners: ninety percent of the people it mentions by name are Sparntards, despite the fact that they were no more than two-tenths of one nercent of tne rruL/vL pvpuruL,Utl. The laCk of a sense of histnrrr at ,L v' Lrr! native nonrrlatigl. itie tdCK Ol d --. J -mong Filipinos is fateful. The schooi system is occasionally expected to provide a brand new sense of values in the youth not later than the next fiscaJ year. In the civil service there rs only a fuzzy sense of nationhood; one may establish a US Statehood Movement chapter in most of government bureaus without being
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(-,roat nr.,-fess has been achieved in the craft of inflrrencina mass Y'"Y' audjences via the medja nowadays, more in the field of illusion and image rather than of news and reality. The new Philippine Airlines (PAL) advertising nifch is that r,....,"'"')"' the Philinrires iq ''a corrntrv nf a million heroes." This is a current indication of inhospitality towards science and technology-the field of fact and rcality. Many seem ro believe that standards of precision and quality are a nuisance. The government pays no altention to the Bureau of Standards; it is rhe most neglected bureau in the Republic; locai consumers are plagued by is a mainr ricierrqnl lg w;shv-washv Hruvu!L nrndr,ct.r-)rms.hanhaz'.4 ^ t>l:rv nnnfr^i rJ u rrrqJvr svLLrr\ ttaYttuLut vvrJrry wqJlry rlvllrrJt '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 elemgntarir arade lear-hers ara -2lla-l n.nroccnrS" It iS the Same reaSOn fOr the fantasv of 91 qur having many jntellectuals in the countfy; the litle js not denied to peopie who do not understand philosophv.

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PoLItics

of our forefathers who-rfere not then Muslrms. The peopie were deprived of ^r -;";r -^"^rnment. The members anv meanirrnfu] e"nc,ripnr-p in thc 66r:r:^^ Ul.t-1Yll gUVE u.) ,,iLLrirrry,ur lrr L.lC l-lullLlL) L P(l,CllLC of rhe prLrtcipalia upperclassr who were na'med gobernadorcillos (mayors) of the pueblos (towr-is) were merely figureheads of the friar curates. A hundred proofs of this can be provided. From the seventeenth to the iate nineteenth cenrury it was noted that members of the principalia were spending money to avoid being named gobernadorcillos-servjce then was compulsory.
Nevertheless, the principalia or local uppef class developed a politics of

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, from na+ ^i+i Snanish r-nlnnizl evnerienr-c Thc Snanish r!yrrrrL rrruu! r-k.i-+i-^. ...* -r Jrt.J.r renime rnalte Lnflstlansr not Cltlzenst vr,urrrJr, !vrvrrrqr u..r

its own outside the politics of crvii government. This was the politics ofthe oueblo relicioLrs fjesta The leadinn nueblo families vied with each other fo'r the c L"*^^^ ltLvJrt, -nar.'or the sDonsor and PiqJlul.l9 qrlu nresidinrr U" offjcer of the celebrations. L,ru Jfv,rJv, PU5L Ul IL(llllalll) Tnlc PVJL enrailed effort and nersonal exnenditrrres for a few weeks, but it was rnct LrllulrLu t,'r", l lrrJ h' a ferri rlavs of nersonal rrlorv withnrrt abrtse from the Snanish curate. ^2.:oed uj u luYY uu)J vr ,", Y,", lqryLu

PHILIPPINE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

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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 in its 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'tAs 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 period colonial period. The old political ethics did not die away over the brief 1700 19OO-1946, because it had served the pueblo uPpef class even before until the end of the nrneteenth century.
J#:

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 and the laiter listen to finely crafted speeches on nationallsm, socialjr'rstice, (Ieader) in Filipino politics is still the popular rvelfare. But the archetypal ttd-er when his faction he who gets the most jobs for his followers, lncreases his income gives the most help' ln various is in power.(while paying less in income taxes), and forms to his folLowers' families. This is the relationship between a Mafia don by and his "soldiers." what is Fiiipino in this is: that the rewards distributed power rr:gard their politrcians are puDlic resoufces, the politicians who are out oi of this highly counterparts in power with envy and admiration; and no practitioner success' developed Fiiipino art has even been accused of anything but

Gauc'nmenI
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were Modern govefnment arrived just before the century. The Americans to tool:; to books efficient in therr way. Each item of equipment from tables

16 O

DEFINITION AND

SCOPE

was assigned an officiai service life. Every year, as this service life ended, the correspondinct rtems of equipment wefe piled high by the schoolhouse; the property officer. the auditor. the town officiais, and the public would graveiy waIch: the concletnned equipment was burned. and official certifications to this effect 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 lvJ 9o lvtvt lj :r" , -. and to maintain the US presence in the Far East in the form of coaling stations and naval bases. The limited nature of government under the colonial regime rs iilustrated in the scheme of responsibilities for operating its most important social program: vocational schools and higher education were funded and run <,chools hv thc nrnrrinrizl nnvo'nrncntq. bv the nafinnal noveTnmenf 'neneral hinh "*, ,", ,,y,, y" I rr r.v. r!v, yvvsr
anrl elomentarV u'ru LrLIrrurrLqry sa'hoOls /fhp"e J!r,vvlJ \L,rLr!
Waq A lldLlUlldl wqJ - ^-r:^'^^'^"L^:r" 5Ul-r5lUy

f^' \lldUe5 r-'^)^^ lUl

J-l -\ ) D,

Lri the ,,,-

municipal governments.
Whatever it did not do for the masses, the colonial regime did not disturb the sociai fabric. F)l)pino soclety continued with lhe old principalia or ilustrado
families on toD. and the COmmOn neonle or lao m2da rrn fho roct The Arnerieanc thnrrnht in nnn/ faith thai ihpv h:r.l pcizhlichorl e rrrnrkin- lamae ,:J _'', ^_'racy;

-s

aller all thev had instirrrtcrl ronrrlar elections.r ln faCt the new svstem became ."'J ' -nerclv an overlav fn. iha nirl crrcforn ,,,-,",-I,"-r,", ^f lOCai elfteS and lflgir ncrsnnal r-nnr-enlj6n5 of ends and means that had taken over the new poljtics of government.

With the establishment of autonomy in 1935, the Filipino notions of

politics and government asserted themselves. J.he process began with the school l:- ^ dllU t^' gvvu,lrLqDur! -^) lUl -r.'aA rr1p2<r,r'. it JrrvrLslrlu vears from seven rr shortened thc 9rquL LrlL arade school 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 JLdLC L\JllCgC) ^ Al lL.1 ^'-'^ ^^tt^'^ --.'universities in the whole .. .J --. '^L^ )Lilu\Jlllig.

system. The nal,onal government assdmed totai control over elementary

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

'connections" with the reguiators and the politicians. They pay the price through the 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 of nrirralr. onfarnrico ,--,s soon reduced, cronyism on a smaller scale could mul!Ply a hundredfold.
i

With big government has come stifling and labyrinthine regulatibn of private business. In order to escape this. private businessmen have to develop

i$

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

PHILIPPINE PUBLIC ADMINIsTRATION

o17

SUCCESS.

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

Adminrstrations deliberately focus the peopie's attention to these new projectsl they are state-of-the-art: they are visible and politically ,,sexy.,' The government pours resoufces (mostly foreign loans) on these projects, and scant iocal funds are provided for epic rnaugurations. There is a series of such projects on the drawing boards; the rounds of inaugural speeches-hail the advent of Filipino'self-reliance and modernizatron; but now Iast year's projects l^iave been foigotten, and they have begun to deteriorate. As for the humdrum government offices that service the masses of citizens, fhey languish under conditions of rnalicious and perverse neglect. Only weJl-organized associations of urban squatters, because they promise rich votes, receive some attentiorr durincr election years or in times of disaster
tremendous media resources that the national government iras built over the last two decadeb keep thd sjluation under a steaming lid. Citizen frustrafion with government services is swamped by news ofthe aJministration's latest plans and foreign loan negotiations. -fhe
t

The list goes on, but it must be clear by now that the Phiiippine case is not the usual one. The institutions of education, civil politics, and government do not have a contrnuity with the past. They are young institutions dating back to no more than the beginning of the century. The government had been run independentlv for just the last four decades, managing most of pubiic affairs rn a language that is not native to the citizens. The period of nationhood is much shorter than the history of colonial experience, The mofe thoughtful are ufreasy about the lack of definition in self-image. The crisis had to be copecl with in this 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 public administration is faithfully Filipino.

ln government offices the cornfort rooms stink. Trssue in the favored executlve toilets is pilfered. Office personnel and their spouses bring free enterprise rnto the offices, seliing jeweiry or clothes or food to the staff. More important, supervisors never rate anv of their subordjnates inefficient or unsatisfaciory-kaauaaLL)a naman,'1 As a result, misfrts are weeded out not through the lating system, but via the disciplinary process*after some mischief has been perpelrated. The old system of cabinet secretaries and bureau directors rewarding individual good performers with salary increases disappear",i drlinq

ffi

18 O DEFINITION AND 5COPE

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

No political party has ever stood for serious civil service reform. Aside from 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 around a leader. in more politicaily mature countries. the majority parties in times of crisjs change their government leaders, even their prime mjnisters. and in tfris way often ride out the crisis. This is because ihe parties as organizations are n..rmallv stron.rer than the individuai leaders. Thrs is not nossible in the .,". rLrvlqu' r Philippine political scene, because the faction's existence depends not on the n--rD hrlt 16 tlo vr /uL vrl LrrL 6nc-pan ieadershin And sn 'he nnlitiCal StruCtUre does not y'uui_/ oifer means [or regarding the public administraIion system technically P{e eiectorate have been conditioned to looking at the civil service only in terms of ara{l and r-n.rrrnlion r-harnes anainsi the nartv in nnwcr ard not in fcrms of y'-,."r",..I., good recruitmerrt. career der elopmenl. technical expertise. and the other standards of modern public administration.

-.

rif,

i:

lr
I
I

The Civil Service Commission js now.hardly anything but a national neTqnnnel records office.'Civil service test.s haie become useless as instruments for civil service deveiopment and impiovement. !'heating and collusion are notorious. One canrrot cure the defects of pubiic administration by just repeating the naive formula that the civil service commission shall be a constitutional corrmlssion. All th js is the frurt of politicai culture. which affords little room for r)n.\.)",.'Y.,,',"'Y"-i' 'l SetV,Ce aS thg fOUndation ni nnvcrnmgpf. tho
The civil service is like the Pasig River which, in the bygone era, used to be 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 IPac,in \rru uJry u",_, is silted, dirty, and dead with the detritus of households and industry.

'6

The government grandly declares that they will plan and program and bring about development. provide justice. prosperity, happiness, and safety for thc 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 attain ^"^^^r'f--^"^h --^i,.1^nr What iS mOfe Certain iS der,elonmc.t rvr -.lc PcuPlc. cn LgPL Ll lluu9rr oLLlucrrL. uL r Lrvpr l r!r.L forL-. ^^^^r. 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 does not yet encompass the entirety of the people's lives, and those who are minded to can still pursue their illusions and interests honorably and worthily in their private 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

-#

PHILIPPINE PUBLIC
! I

DMINISTRATION

o19

ffi
:

life? Presurnably, it will take the space of at least two generations to discrpline and wisen people, in order to have a public administration that will not be an unforgivrng mirror of frailties, but an image of higher ideals and virtues. Endnotes
'The author is referring here to the Constjtutionai Commission established by presrcent Corazon Aquino after the EDSA People Power's Revolution in 1986. The Constitution drafted bv this 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 book consists of four volumes: (a) Volume One - Foundations of Filipino Culture, from ca.25,OOO B.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 thE
fese nt,
p

qualificatror-s
> l?t

rThis was originally reslricted to males; .there were also age, literacy, and property

translated into English as "What a pity|'

:aKaawaaLna naman is a commonly used expression in Fiiipino which can be roughly

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

tr.
itF-

-1s

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

'o

t1

\,

LEDTvTNA V.

cnnrNo

Whon PEUPTI ack what Iirln r tluvL nrown rrsed fo tho hlank ar nrrocii vYrrcll neonlc uJr\ wtrqL uv! I have glvwlt usq:u L\J -.._ _, y___",onlng "l teach Public Adminjstration."r I understand their iaces thal greet my answer: response. The discipline is fairly young in the Philippines, as it was formally introduced here only in 1952 as part of the package of recommendatiohs of the Bell Report. Many enter government without having a nodding acquaintance wjth 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 and procedures here and there. My questioners become even more surprised when I iniorm them that a number of my students are not in politics or the civil service and have no intenlion of being in either realm. Why, then? What is its role if men and women can serve in government without it, while others in it have set pefSpeCtiVe Of PUbliC yyrruL their sinhts vrr rrvrryvvrr on non..r\/ernrnontal r-argg;gJ What Can the HLTTHLILIY! Lqrr Lrrv vl r Administration conlribute to both governance and social iife in general?

rl

lwill try'to answer these questions by discussing four dimensions of the nersnective of Prrbjic Administration Thev are: the technical asnect. the
l_/i vurLl

+h^ .^l^ vl rl-ra neonlc ur ru the iSSUg nf Lr ru nrohlern l ul uLl l ru\l s\) ul lu uLlvu anrj Lr rL vru r of demnr-rar-t, anA.2r-.nrsnf2hili+,, rrvHrg!
l l

of indigenization. These drmensions encapsulate some of the key dilemmas the field has confronted over time and the new challenges that it is now embracinc. I submit that the nersoective of Public Administration would be valuable not only for its scholars and practitioners, but for other concerned
citizens as well.

-'st

*Reprinted from the PerspecLiue: The NationaL Education f,lagazine 1O(1) (March 1990): 14-17. The Perspectiue is published by the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP), Manila.

.:''
CONTRIBUTIONS OF PUBLIC *U-,r,r-irTrrSrRATION

.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 of Administration'' (Wiison 1953;. in ii. this Princeton political scientist who wtuid Iater se:ve as, successively. president of his university and of his country, proposed that serious and concentrated attention be given to the problem of how to "run the constitutjon" (Wilson 7953:67), that is, how to translate the nrnmicaq nf rlomne rar-rr tn tho nonnlg. ThiS meanS jOOkinq at qOVef nment aS Y-"/', { "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 of enoineerino brtsiness administration and economics and to train oec'oie in them through knowJedge gained from political science, sociology and psychology. It meant lhe search for perfeclion of methods of efficiency. econom\/, regularity and effecliveness. From the very beginning. it was, to use a current phrase,
?

"action-oriented."

At its core has been the management of government. That includes the development. deployment and husbanding of human, material and
nrrrpnizatinnal 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-bOltS nreslinn a nroblem nf techninro nf rnakinn tho Will of thp PrvPrL rrre rL neonle rnanifest through the deed of administration (Wilson 1953: 73). Knowledqe of these tcchninrrcs anrl nrgqgsses would make flovernmental services more 6j96rrraie ",'"r.Y"'". and salisfaclorv and fheir deliverv faster and more renttlar, This is the dimension nf 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

ffi

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'5
rr ivLLu,

searcn for natterns and svstems of imnlomentafion is necessarv to fr.r Ifill societal "l "'\r'-' noal. lhis deemnhasis of nolitlcs,inr that SeafCh-hiS aSSr rnnf inn hoina thar tho rrr uJJur r rHLrvr r vLn, ry LiruL vl rr Ll lqL J!sr \r (-r Ltr! rlJ usLl l lzr rqJrr yvliLr!t 9VqrJ. 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 the rvjlrLLut , Lrirlrlr r"", pursuit of justice elevated. , For a discipline to teach that goals do not matteror to ignofe the questions of values that they raise would exalt a robot as the model administrator.

,&

The history of Public Administration since those initial years has been marked uy the decire to recantlre and reenthrone vision as not onlv the noai hv Lrr! u\Jrr! lrrqlr\Lu but the context wiihin which the tasks of administration should be accom.plished. For tite emphasrs on means independent of their ends gives administrators n.wer that is undirecled and dannerous,

J\-

,6'

?2 O

DFFINITIONAND

SCOPE

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

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

of every new nation. was successiuly peddled as a simple 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. Pressures .elevan.e,and annrnv.el v) the establishment can make disciolines hv fnr fleetinn rLrv rur lrLLLrrt!-l YYtvrv' of Public Administration retreat to the safe grounds of technocracy and methodoloqv. But tfre democratic'values inherent in the fieid iorce them to engage in ,"ociat criticism as a principal stance vis-a-vis statal rulers who venerate hierarchy. technology for technology's sake, and concentrated power. That is an especiaily vaiuabie contributron, this stance of Public Administration that power must be harnessed forthe common good. As Knott and Miller (1987:257)
a

'' the coal technical problem,

sse rt:

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

and yr u!Lr!ut thorr nan reqnnnrl tn prrorrrrlarr necdq -rLi- "^;^^ I Lrl Ll lLlLiuL, theorvi ur ru nractice I I ll> ul ll(Jl ^f nritialte Ll r!vr
, , t i. : l: -

At the same time, with the discipline unable to ignore the call for actionit 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 where applied to the continuous improvement of democratic and accountable public service, is a perspective unique to the discipline.

-,#

l',

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

CONTRIBUTTON5oFPUBLICADMINISTRATIONo.23 (especiatly its bureau!t:ty)' As was that the modifier stood for governmenf into an advocacy of the 'use of such, it seemed to freeze Public Administration rni.'f . mechanism, hence u t::Jt*Pf "means divorced from ends'

"

..publiC,' focuses less o!--th"'g:u:lnTqntaI it iinot "administration,of institution and more on whom it serves, However,

ln its new incarnation,,

thepubric,,,butadministratjonfor,andincreasingly,bythepe,,oplel:The bure.aucracy LrrrLrPrrrru rrue """ -;;.,il;; ;", ;;t abandoned govern mentat managemenr,-since.tf e service' Rt rf t r^ - -, ,l-.ti- -^rrrino But ;;:l^"ot"^tti her the main vesse I for public and hence

::ffrrio,n;:r':";,.; ;;;";iu"
;":ff;:;;";i"n"u;n;'oi

remains the largest employer

, | .,-l' - - ^-^!:^ '^ of ,'.'".r.,unisms, and that democratic value ^{ . ru^.-J:-^i^li^^ -r ti,"i,. lives animate the discussions of the discipline.

Theincreasingacceptanceofpeople'sinvolvementinthgplanning' "evaluation of needed services, whether by themselves or implementation and agencies or voluntary with the cooperation and support. of governmental Punlic Administration'' lt pt.-l::::oaffect organizarions, is an exciting trend in notonlyadministrationperse,butthewholenotionofgovernment-people the active participation
For instance' relations and what it means to be a state'.

ofpeopie,sgroupsinconcretizinganddefendingthegoalsoftheNicaraguan Revolutionhasbeenregardedasthefirststeptowardsthecreationofanew typeofstate(Nolunt-ggg;SanabriaandMorinlg8g).3Itwouldnothavethe public adnrinistration as the use of occurred had the sandinistas viewed by'' and intended to profit only, governmental machinery for ends decidgd Ypo: had to break out of the narrow confines a few. lts administrative transformation .,public,, into one where empowerment inform:s even the
of the old meaning of govern' government's view of what it means to

Towards A Filipino View of the Discipline

of the universal'disciflinets The democratic, public-focused perspective philippines by a ielatively new movet":nl towards further enriched in the Administration stems in large part indigenization. The desire to Filipinize Public and responsive to the demands not of from the need to make the fieid relevant the majority of our people' foreign powers andelite forces but of
discipline. Wilson, when he proposed This trend is not new nor alien to the of the in the united states' was cognizant the screntific study of administration "cameralistics"' which was then flourishing as that it had its counterpart in fact not advocate the importation of cameralistics a discipline in Europe.a But he did because It was but what are t" .., a foreign science... Il r.ilters none "YrTlllt::::lo""t' almost excl-usively grounded in Its aims, its examples' its conditions' are of foreign systems' in lhe
precedents the hislories of foreign races' in the 68)' foreign revplutions"' (Wilson 1953: lessons of

?4
Ac

DEFrNrrroN ANECOPE
'_ a, 1'

z ennqa-tton,-a

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 response

to Wilson, for they are not one of those embarrassing items of nationalism imnorted from abroad. Rather. thev nrew orrt nf fhe dissatisfaCtiOn with the .rr"_I llllvvl LLU {lvllr uurvuur inabilitv of the dtscinline brorrcrht hcre hv Amerir-an technical assistanc'e to tttuurttLJ vr Llrv descnbe and explain the ilis and challenges of public service which are met in L thc Philinninec Mnrc nosiiivelv thr^ llov clllclguLl ' from the interaction of -..:y ",,/Y"'-'. scholars with public officials and the common tao and the lessons that have
heon imnartcA zhn'ri Filininn ahilitios and achievements, and the obstacles ',H"'' hurled against them by the grinding poverty, exploitation and inequality of Philippine society. ln other words, the desire to develop Philippine Public Administration is footed in Phiiippine exPerjence and aspirations.

This attempt at indigenization is a new thrust of the field. But it is one the other dimensions cannot do without. For if Public Administration wpuld qcrrrc sn.ietrr hrr analv Ltt l9 qr ru develoninn techninrres of nnvcrnancc and sef ViCe vJ uttaty zina and uLYLrvFrr JL. vL JV!lLrJ f ll I I lry anr-hnrcd vl | nnrirrlar :r-r'nrrntAhilitv and neonle's sttnremAcv. it can dO nn ?vYvtut I rLvvr.rrLJ I irrllrr ql lLl lul Lu so only with a clear view of Philippine culture and of the Filipino's needs, capacities and vision for his country.

Endnotes
write out

-s
by capital letters, and
to

The convention in the field is lo designate the discipline the practice of public administration in lower case,

2This

explains the peculiar attraction of the field to staff and voiunteers of

nongovernmental 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 people jri 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).
of , or decided to simply ignore, the strides made which have contributed methods to Public Administration ln use to in ancient China and India 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)

'1lt

is not clear if he was unaware

i$
l i

--:ADMINI5TRATION CONTRIBUfiONs OF PUBLIC

References
.l

25

$
Anisuzzaman'

rqql | 4;'"1

-*^ Srate of Education for Public tn Asia and The state_oi ':,i;;:;;;'inlstraLton ed' Public Adm
V' Carino' UNESCO.

ln Ledivina Administration in Banqladesh' Thailand: Bangkok' Pacifii

Allen '-rrrornia' " t -1 San Franctsco' \-drrr- "' ! -^..,ilh trrahces Moore Lappe and Nick Coilins,.rose w,L, l';'::"^T,i1'"".13'F3,iil"; c:1'1.,:,::fi;;;;;i'.tMake?' wnaL Dtffere^': Deveiopment Policy' l lnstitute for Food and

1sB2
1

;;;;;;tr,n

HeadY, Ferrel
oR4
P

ub

tt

Ad m i n

s Lr

f':?:::

;:d";'"i:;l'"a

a t'"

lu

^',,f '',"exPanded edition iL;a I ! i 3:: :"":,i,': :."'t

ew

Yo

rk a nd

B3sel

Knott, Jack

1eB7 [;iiJ"ii:Y;;'";'

n t"oiill;

-?reritice-Ha*' ,,I'Ejr"uu*urr, The Politrcs rnc

of InsLitittonaL Chaice'

Fnglew<iod

Nolan, "

" Maureen

'e'e

marks made at the .he process of Socialist state Fot]uli?.1;,^Iirponror"a uy the

?;Tffi::: ;l*.:T*:J:iii:?:i?'""?'[:";iiil;"J$;;ln'
CitY' B August'

ou"'on

ff r

Sanabria.RosarioandSonia'!\c'l.'uq"ii:::,::';"}l:::::::;l:'l|;|;.,,.".". "'' -le'e [t"":'"::::'";ffi; Z' so'iotogia' york: oxford oniverslty Press' s Fund (uNlCEF) r. l Chtldrer Nu* Llnited Nations Children World's ^-" The State of t'he
-

rok of the same title;

^J,-rr

son'

wooo'"*
Tr..,,,y:,r Ab ridge o

Ad'mtitstraLton:

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Fhitosophy of Public Managernent Educatfion *

ROMEO B. OCAMPO

Y Toward a

Why "Fhilosophize" and What Does This Mean? Why should w-e philosophize on public management education? It is because, given the sorry state of ouf government and country, we need to have clear goals and objectives to guide curricular development on the way to the next century. And if I understand the term correctly, philosophy proviaes the basic ingredient of values that we need as a beacon for the progr.r, of the science and art of administration.
drscussions of management in both the public and private sectors and from recent legislation to strengthen ethics in the Philippine public service. From the general literature, o-rye-(earns that traditional American thinking on public adminrstration was much stronger in theorSr thalrthe British, but what the British lacked, theytrave made up for with an explicittorientation to vaiues as a distinct though integral element as weil as a grounding in certain factual assumptions about public administration.

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At ieast, this is what one may glean from past and fairly current

administration;" which principles in turn "determine the way in which the goals of economy and efficiency can be realized" (Thomas i97B: 6). on the other hand, British doctrini:s argued that "(a)dministration cannot be reduced to science alone. It is based on science and ethics and this combination constiiries
*Reprinted from the Phitippine JournaL of PubLic Administration 34(2) (April 1990):

scientific study of administration leads to the discovery of principles of

Thus, according to a British author, traditional American doctrines assumed that "(a)dministration can be made into a science,', and that,,(t)he

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PHiLosoPHyoFPUBLICMANAGEMENTEDUCATIONo2T

y'aphilosophyofadministration.,.Moreover,..(t)hephilosophicalstudyoI

of scientific principles but also of administration leads to the discovery not only than quantitative kind of ethical ideais,,,which include a qualitative ratnLer introduced by philosophy (Thomas efficiencycue to the ethical element explicitly 1978:22).
by the so-called "New Publjc American thinking has since been reoriented such as social equity' But in private Administration" to more substantive values discover an{}Sereci-ate the corporate management, Americans continually ..importanceofculture,valuecommitments,andethics,,,organizationaIcultures profit and embrace values "representing that stress more than the bottomline of

responsibiiity to various social

..exceIlence,, (McCoy 1985: 7,77)' corporate the values and practices of to have developed cultures that have incorporated

groups"-l:":,:"0" ..The

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thegreatleadersandthusthosesharedvaluescanbeseento'l,]lu^ufordecades 26;McCoy afierthepassingoftheoriginalguru,,(Peters-andwatermanlgB2 suffer by comparison with the 1985: 1i). still, American private mqnageis of,a!: degree to which they Japanese as well as the British ih'terms "s2Perordinate goals"
humanistic values-as institutionalize social, spiritual, and 1981 125-129)' of their corporations (Pascale and'Athos philosop hical discussions deal not Before we proceed, we may note that questions, but also onty with erhical and moral or value

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issuesandepistem'oiogicalones,i.e.,questionsofhowweknow.lnere'are being a professional philosopher' and probably other [ina, of issues. But noi discourse at length on a potentially having neither the talent nor the time to in a restricted field' I wili state some wide range of philosophical issues even propositionswhichmayconstitutepartsofaphilosophy,ratherthanpresenta education. These ptopos;itions menu of philosophies of Public Management with which we have probably been seiectiveiy toucl-r base with a few urJu,

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of public administration in the Philippines' pariicularly concerned in the teaching would provoke alternative views My hope, though, is that this limited iresentation on the subiect. We Have a Lot to Learn about Values

onthequestionofvaiues,thereisnodoubtoftheurgencyofformiqg theapprop,,ut"uul,"sforthePhi}ippinepublicservice.Ourrecentlawsand regulationsprescribingethicalbehavior,aswellaspreviousones'testifytothe mal- or misc'cnduct of graft, .orrupi'on, Jng oth.e1 fTms of
critical problems thathaveoeoeviledourgovernmentandsocietythesepastseveraldecades. Thus,..valuesformation,,andethicscOursesaredeservedlyinfashionintraining
and education Programs'
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DEFINITION AND

SCOPE

Just what values to teach, whether ethics should be a distinct course or an integral part of other courses, and how to get values observed and enforced as well as inculcated, may be important problems for crowded curricuia. But more importantly, we have a great deal more to learn about values before we car reach them effec'Lively. As Jhave pointed out elsewhere. for example, we
m2\/ 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 we wish to promote than lo realize and reconcile their complex, competing, and nfton 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., the need for time to do weli in one's paperwork, unless we regard them as an integral " L^- we trv to npt rru of red ^.-r ^r )^i^- ^ ^rnrl ioh wllE:ll wL Lr) Lv 9sL rirl I .,.cI ^.'^*^r^ Pdlf Ul UUIIIg d gU-- )--, 'For annth^- c^dlllPl(::, ranr. for ihe sakc of disnatch and efficiencv in service. and at the.same time nrrsh fo. iransDa:enr-r'and hnnectv in nnvernment wc mav also emhafk On ull\JllM LUI lrurrJHUrlrr\j/ y"'",r'rrr!r(Lr yuJll "-,,,"J mrrtrrallv frrrstratinn colrr.ses of action.l Then it is time to relearn Herbert Simon's argument that we cannot maximize any one principle of administration without some sacfifice to others. Aloreover, according to him, for a number of reasons iirrc.uding cognitrve lrmits or constfaints on our ability to know), we can only orr:.-rizc .T "qAljsrir-e' tSi mon 'l954:Ch ll) Recentlv thorrnh there has been .,rvvyr It t rur l!! JqllJl vlrLlll Ii4E vl \urt i",J, "super-optimum solutions" (SOS) tlrc more sanguine view that we can arrive at

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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 more
tradirional. 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 between the values we want for the public service and the truly incompatible 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

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EDUCA]TOru PHILO5OPHY OF PUBLIC MANAGEMENT

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

alsoinhibittheperformanceofn".",,urydutiesinthecoordinationofpolicy
expertise' or in contributing technical

Moreover,thetotalamountofextraincomepossiblefromsuchposil.ions maSlbenothing.o-pu,"atothelucreobtainablefrommereinfluence.peddling which..thebigfish,,couldperpetratewithoutextraofficialpositions.Thepoint isthat,inordertoavoidsuchadverseincentivesandobfuscationS,wehavetor to decriminalize nninor from the "crack"'and m1V hSve sift the "mariluana" breachesofgoodconductorleavetr."*tosocialandpoliticalratherthanjudicial
mechanisms for correclion'

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frorn Administration' But"' Politics Should be Separate admrnistrat'on the relation ol ,\l A startinn Ooo, in philosophies '' ?::T dichoioml' has administration. ihe politics-administration out what seems between politics and have to sort issue in our iiterature., we been a sore and "nl.g observation here' The of normatiu" porliion una empirical ihe confusion

a dichotomy to be is that theie should not be view in much of the literature prevaiiing that this empirical in actuai pru.ti." But I believe and because it cannot oe obserr^ed t"e' und'that politics couldtime' is only partly and contli;;;'' observation the same q;i,hi" qi"_o:i.l-its' At be separat"a iron,"ua-inirtruiio'n should the two processes are possible and interpenetratigr{ beiween limlts mutual influence uut uf ir"ra, but again with'gtain and should ""1;;" ",r"*.a

"",

_Ihisapparentlyconflictirlgviewisimplicitintheconstitutionaldesignof
l]beral.democraucpolitiesandgovernmentsbased,likeours,onthesjmultaneous

divisionandsharingofpowersaSakeymechanismtopromotecompetition' inducedellberatron,andbulidcons"n,,,behindpolicies.Tfielegisiaturemakes thelaws,.lheexecutiveimplementsthem'andthejudiciaryinterpretsthelaws' Butatthesametime,theyul,o,t.'u,"thecentralfunctionofmakingpolicies, -:o: :,yr]rtq:]:l L{H:::"::? with the chref executive's innuenC" approvaI.andthecourts'opportunitiesto.parelaw]l,,-^:"
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and lurisPrudence'

.[hereshouldbenoquestionaboutthebasicpeckingorderbetween ihe policies that guider Politics should produce politics and aaministration. to the peopie' politicians i.uuing more alr".t ,".pon'ibilities unJ
adminrstration,
wishes' aresuperioItOapPointiveadmini,t*to,,whoarethereforeduty-boundtoobey are subject to the people's sysrem, ;;;:;".t are appointed rhe law. ln a democratic ,so that ,rhey are ir*ri"nr, on the orfir. sta9e, Administrators

bypoliticianstoenablethelatter,o"nto,."their..viil.Mostofthoseinthe

they are governed by adminrstrativeserv.icearethereto,tuytoprovidecontinultyandstabilityinthe for caree, -i'r""r.e protection, service. ln exchange

30 O

DEFINITION AND

5COPE

nof ms of political neutrality, which means loyalty to any party that legitimately gains office and faithful execution of the poiiicies preferred by the party Jr pojitical leaders in power.

These points deserve restating because of the bad reputation that politicians and politic.s have gained, the seamier side of politics having obscrred its nobler aspects in practice. we have to disabuse the minds of this one-sided view of politics, and reassert its meaning of our students as the gaining or retaining and usrng of social power and instiiutional authority to articulate national varues and pursue pubric purposes. But if onry because tr,e popurar bias agarnst poritics is nor entirery without basis, *" ;ir;;;;. ;ake and obsetve the necessary disrinctions and qualiiicaltons. "obeving the raw" appiies (or shourd, if it does not) to both poriticians and administrators, not to mention the rest of ,th6 people. politicians should infiuence 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 committees' However, when they exert'influence for particularistjc legislative favors in violation of established ruies, presumabiy including those of their own making, they exceed the bounds bf propriety. In this ,"n1", "pglitical interference,, is denounced. B-rt,not to forget, this goes aiso for administrators, who :',!n,'y
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also 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- r..i servrng rules.
For all these, the Iines between.politics and administration in the philippine govefnment have to be drarvn more clearly, both structuralJy and functionally. Desprte our adherence to the principles of separation of powers and checks ana baiances, polrti.cs of the Partisan and personal kind has systematically intruded into administration through the erosion of the career service since the time former President Marcos. presidenriai apporntments have b;;;:;;;na"a, of to care-er levelq that used to be protected by civii service law but are now ,rirl."t rExcessive recourse ro rhe require*unr"i,;.;;.",; l! 1t"t]a"nt],al-dis:fetion. resignations" from those regarded rightly or erroneously as "political appiiintees; has tended to disrupt both reform processes and bureaucratic routines. Since secretaries have been changed in qu)ck succession, each newcomer has dernanded to bring in his or her own management team as though another party ts coming into por'ver, and the number of undersecretaries, assistant secretaries (co1oquial11, knorvn as usecs and asecs, respectively), and assorted ,,political appointees" has proliferated, the civri service has been itself a veritable sgurce of 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 political

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PHILOSOPHY OF PUBLIC MANAGEMFNT EDUCATION

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r\drninistration and Routine are Important

The foregoing suggests thai there is a great deal more to administratiqn than 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 'entirely rejecting "management" as a functional-enough equivalent'

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i personally share the latter preferencq for several reasons. First, "public administraiion" evokes the spirit of public service in the root word, e'g', to minister 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 "developmentoriented" poiicymakers and evaluators, such as expenditures for big physical facilities are to be preferred to personal qervices budgets'

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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 (March so we can concentrate our limited cognitive faculties on new problems 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' Weber To put it in terms of a wider canvas, the routinization of charisma, as Max of once said, rs ihe basic problem of presidents and leaders thrust to positions the power by sheer popularity. we refer to a similar challenge when we cail for 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 contribution Iesser members of corporate hierarchies, we will not begrudge its

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DEFINITION AI.ID

SCOPE

.,'sil iid

to a reassessmenl of pLrblic administration as being engaged in high policy as well as trivial tinl<ering. Administrators must contribute their ideas and advice to policymaking because they have opportunities to develop the relevant values,
if trrlJ uru Llul) \ SkillS l9 rln cn ocnociallrr rr thev are trrrlv cafgef officials, Civen the accumulation of such resources in the executive branch and the relative transience of elected leaders and political executives, career personnel havo a lulllPslllil9 -r' ^-r^-^ LIIOL Lllcy shorrld PUttU nn6i u5g. rrovc o r-nmnellinn OUVClltogc !L^!'L.v 5lluulu nrrt fn gL However. as we have already implied, administrators do not have the right Lo substrtute therr own poJicy judgments for those of poJitical Ieaders, assuming lhat lhe latter can make up their minds at ceftain points. Moreover. those in lunn,,,loAna anrl'oq[6iCal

the executive branch should not underedtimate the policy and administrative acumen that legislators could develop through successive reelection and seniority in legislative committees. Depending on the election and committee
fhnrrnh Lt tuugil rrrlpc in, fnrce cnmp lpnicl:lnre - ma\/ 6.,,+l--+ ^^lir;^^l ^.,^ntrtirrcq ,,,-r JULjdSL POltLlCal exe--., ,v, !!r rrrp hnne fh-+ th^. " ^"1,1 -nt f6p;6 rJrznactieq wc rtrjPc LlldL Ll lgy wuutu I l\JL I -, hrr nonaral'

Fublic Management Combines Trivial and Floble Pursuits

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The introduction of policy analysis has denigrated "traditional" public administration where the former replaced or effectively eclipsed the latter, as in
of many American schools where "the guys with the green eye-shades" took over the lnstitutes of Public Administration. Economic theory, quantitative iechniques, 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 vl the llllP\ nf Llls irnn6;161qe Of ,,inStitUtiOnal alullg wlLIl PUIILILdI-..*._r -Jl14qLlull -. literacy and modes oi influence." Still, there has been lingering suspicion that these terms have smuggled old public administraiion in a new garb into the rJnmain nf nnlierr anzlrrqic rr,,hcre rler-is:^- -]-:"^^ ^^l:^.'-rkinc *-, .-_*.-ron-onven poilcymL...,,:j r-nntinr tes in relgn supreme as management (Elmore 1986: 70-73).
Lhe case

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Whiie this identifjcation of management with policymaking may be flatfr-.ino to ...*..*:r15, L^ ^ '^- :' llloy havc misnerr-eived the more modest role ...J .- manao^-^ IlUWtrVCl, lL --rr ltovc llrlJPElLslvt:
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n q!tuqllj i1 has aCtttallV aSSi.nprl fLv thern anr1 thpir ann>rontlr/ mn ra f ririial nr rrgg[15. rrqJ uJJrgi r!v Ar-r-orninn tn Flrnore Puulil and nrivaf c rnananprq "tvnicallv oP!rru the ma;^':+' ' nr rhlir- Grl\r Plry(lLE llrorlc9crJ LyPlLqrry snend LrrL lrrsJUrlLy *.,.J --

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ol their time talkjng directiy to people, not thinking, writing, analyzing,

or " /Most of their time is snent wnrkinn in nrottns intcraetinn With deeidinn ,t,,,Y ,'r Lll yrverJt lvJ! vl LllLlt uL!.urllg. peers rather than superiors, and having flitting. fragmented, subordinates and anrl rrnnlanncd cnr-rlrrnters Thev "ar-tivplv scek cttrrenf snccific wcll-rjelinedl olluu]lPlqllllgugll!vullLglJ.rllujr!llL'Jrv!l
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anrl nnnrnrrtino Pl vu.ll r iJr rzf her thanI Ul VgU, amornhotts or rortf ine ones:" relv hroad sr I lv/ Hl vr tlut Ll rsr I qLl rul I lul ll vuLll lL nrnhlernq rnrrrc rrLuYrr) heavilv nn clral and rrncertaintv-laden communication rather than writtenr vru llrvr! vlr

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

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This view of what manaders actlrallv do srrcnests-a corrnsel of rmorlpctv .izvvur rrll vl r tvuloLJ for the functions conceived by both policy analysjs and traditional PA schools. Management is not typically decisionmaking, command, or control. Rather, it iS ned'OtiatiOn. bafC"ininn anl a qoripq.rf narncq nlarzp/ at different levels Whefe rules and decisjons are implemented indirectly rather than directly, This is
lvll, yv' ':J, vllv ", y", lLvvlJ' v

qccfor uiherc nnlir-iec anrJ nrnnrar-y'rq arp i5nl65n^+^-l acncr-iailrr frrU! in iha Puull! nrrhlir- JL!Lvl. qlU wlrglg tl re lll LllL Ul)J LJHLIlul.y llllPtLlllcllLCL] PVII\lgJ Pl VylurllJ +hrnrrnh thi.rl narlv arrannemenlq e n r-ontracts infernovcrnrncnfal nranfq ".,y-, regulations, and various forms of subsidies. Thus, some authors have concluded that the lines with the private sector have been blurred and little is gained from rlisf 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 both rnanaoprizl rneandprinns and adminiStfatiVe fOutine and that annears to ffittef r l rur luYUl time better spent on more substantive pursuits, Academics, surprisingly including some oi those in public administralion. are especially susceptible to the feeling that administration wastes their time for scholarly research and rumination, and lhrrs JLLj r r to desnise denartment chairmanshins. deanshins. and other such seem Lv uLJHrrL vtHqt Ll uJ '",,,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 equally well to administrative management: "University life is a series of interruptions."a
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Yet. this is just one way of looking at management. The:;ummary description above suggests a broad and variable range that includes the {nosf criticai foles. And just which combination of roles is engaged is contingent on context 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 looks morF .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 softer rLYurr!v \rLu"!J yuu ',^', Plsl!i-wLrL "artful" elements of staff, skills; and superordinate goals (Pascale and and more 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 effective

rn2narrFrnent rlr tvlvLJ rnvnlves workino these far-tors in annron[iate combinations and YYVr l\rr r llurrq\JulliLllL that our conditions call for playing the high games with the low. "Poiitical will"

demands that tough choices be made and options closed after careful negotiaiion and deiiberation, and decisions must be implemented or enforced with determination after the administrative kinks have been ironed out. The

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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 to maintain 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 the philippine public sector for persuasive but perhaps erroneous ideals of businesslike 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,"
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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 classbras and meritocratic traditions of the British civiiiservice, plus practices such that as rotation in career pogs, may have concealed a great deal of the training 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

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EDUCATION

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The point (e.g., theories of implemenlation and interorganizational reiations)' and is ir,at a philosophy of public administration cannot progress with ethics in the realities art alone, but must be underpinned by science if it is to be rooted go' of course' of organizatron and politics. How far administrative science can is subject to debate; some may still argue that we can only engJage in If it is any administrative, political, and social ostudies" rather than science' the advancement consolation, though, the difficulties'?hat are said to impede of human observation on human of human sciences, such as the intrusive effects ha.[ similar problems of events, may not be theirs alone. Physics is said to B3-BB) observatton amounting to intervention (Capra 1982: well as value, of At any rate, there remain rnany basic issues of fact as we have yet to resolve with cause-effect as well as means-"nd, r."lutions, that we may have patient empiricai observation and imaginative theorizing'
nostrums, but these may accumulated a great many data-sets and prescriptive without the appropriate empirical be and rernain incoherent pi".". of information explaining, and interpreting and normative theoreticai frameworks for organizing,

6il:t

themandprovidingabasisforprediction.,Inthismann"|'Y"ca'narriveat by analysis, which is the meaningful syntheiis instead of being "paralyzed" Cartesiantraditionoflearningthatmaybegoingoutoffashioninother d'i;;;;;r ic"o.; 1982). Ab in the matter of ethical values, we cannot effectivelv if we do not teach the central though mutable facts of administration
systematically know

"no,gf'

about them ourselves'

Conclusion

administration the importance .of kinds of propositions about politics and administration' mixes of trivial and noble pursuits administration as routine, and the necessary inpublicmanagement,andtheneedforscientificdevelopmenttoproceedalong

of public ln this paper, lhave argued that we need a philosophy various that combines ethics, art, and science' and presentecl

withtheethica]and.,artistic,,e}ementsofadministration.lhavetrie<ltodeal cul:rent and

'.$..

us Filipinos in our with selected issues of probably most concefn to Potentiai environment'

and why we should learn Over and above the questions of what' how' at least a passing remark' and teach, the issue of who should learn deserves

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

Administration

for shaping the vaiue'orientations Administration) degree pfocram out of concern preservice students' But this as weli as technicai comjetence of the young

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

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36 O

DEFINITION AND

5COPE
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frameworks. We all need to philosophize; hopefully not always with the.sense of surrender that "philosophical'1 acceptance of obstinate realities tonveys. The teachers themselves have the most to learn first before they can teach. 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 tape is needed to ensure honesty, The trick is to discover that "rnodicu m" combination of dispatch 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,, those
n:minn llqll/lllg nlanpq PloLLr, I
,

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

.\

References
AIllson, Uranam

jl, '
'l:

,l

i,
I tr

.i:'

1983

1., Jr.

Public and Private Management: Are They Fundamentally Alike in AIi

ing.

Unimportant Respects? ln James L. Perry and Kenneth L. Kraemer, eds. Public'

Management: Publlc and Priuate Perspectiues. California: Mayfield'

Pu blish

C:nra

Frifiof

1982

lne lurnrng lrolnt: >crcnce, JocleLa anrl

Simon and Schuster.
,

the Risrno

Culture. New

York:

Edman, lrwin

I938
1

,,/
F.

Phitosopher's tlotidag. New York: Penguin Books. ',/

Elmore, Richard
986

Journal of PoticA Analgsis and'Ma'nagement 6(l)'

Craduate Education in Public A4anagegrient: Working the Seams of Covernment,

Marel- ,larnes G and Herbert A.Simon 1958 Organizatlons, New York: John Wiley t' Sons.
McCoy, Charies S.

1gB5 . ' tsgt S.

Management.of Values: The Ethical Differente

Performance. Boston: Pitman.

in

Corporate Polic*g*and

Nagel, Stuart

Poticg Eualuatton: lvlaking Optimum Declsions. New York: Praeger.

!..

PI..{ILO5OPHY OF PUBLIC MANAGEMENT Ocampo, Romecl B.

1

EDUCATION

O SZ
CPA

990

Class of 1990' The Spirit of Public Service' Message to the CPA

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

C' Athos Pasca'le;-Richard Tanner and AnthonY

1

gBl

f'f

.*

Executiues' Japanese Management: Applications focAmerican Books' Votfo, Simon & Schuster, Warner

of

Waterman, Jr' Peters, Thomas J. and Robert H. In Search of ExceLlence: Lessons 1982 York: HarPer and Row'

. ,,^ o^^t o,,^ /-nat, fiom Amertca's Best-Run Compan[es'

New

Simon, Herbert A'

1954

Processes Adminrstratlue Behauior: Studg of Decision'Making The Free Press' York: Ad'm in is tr a tiu e a rg an iz atio n
,New
,,

tn

Stokes, Donald

E.

1g86

-r"\ Paltcg political and organizalio"Jlt nnatysis in the Policy Curriculum'Journalof

,q;;igtit

and

fo

anagement

6(

): 45-55'

tn"-"ibT;uu.""N#
a

^ "7

u ritish phiLosopna 9!llmihistratton:--l^co^p"rison i u' i ai e a 9 0 011 93 9' L o n do n : L o n g rn a n'

i

of

tsri.tish and

"

s;

"

s
13

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

DANILO R. REYES
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The study and practice of public administration emerged in the Philippines largely as an assembled product of the colonial era. Appearing in the country as a legacy of various cqlonial regimes, public administration has been customized gradually to the idiosyncrlsies of the Fitipino ethos, and represents today an artful though sometimes confused, blending of WeStern practices and indigenous culture. As a discipline and as a profession, public administration irr the Philippines today relatively enjoys a rich history, marked by a heritage,of

both hubris and reproach. As the country thus rriarks its centennial year of independence, it becog.es fitting for us to review the emergence of public administration as a-profession and'as a field,of study in the country, its Provenance and its impact on Filipino gove.rnaprfe, and how it contributed to the -" country's nationhood.
This article looks at the evolution of the Philippine administrative system and the introduction of Public Administration as a discipline in the Philippines. It discusses and traces the various historical and colonial forces and influences that have figured prominently in the shaping of the administrative sydtem in the PhilipPines from colonial times to the independence period. In this discussidn, significant developments in the evolution of the Phitippine civil service sygtem are outlined to provide-a canvas of the nature of the system at the time thai the formal study;e; Public Administration Was institutionalized in'the country. It examines the context and events that characterized the Philippine bureaucratic milieu 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 of the Nation, Volume 1: The History and Development of Social .science Disciplines in the Philippines. Quezon City: The Philippine social science council. lggg:234-260.

t_

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HISTORY. HERITAGE AND HUBRIS

39

the then Institute of public Administrarion at the Unlversity of the Philippines. milieu Based on this dlseussion; the peculiarities of the discipline in the Philippine are analyzed as ttrey appeared in the 1950s:
..1 _

'.

The Phtltppine Admlnlstratlve Systemr Influences of the Colonial Era

.
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be viewed as The present Philippine administratlve system can evidently indigenous a curious and atmsst uneasy mixture of influenees that integrate legacies' It colonial Filipiqo culture, values and temperament with.those of: orthodoxies and heterodoxies that represents,an intriguing eonfluence of ald-"improvisation' Its rhetoric synthesizes rituais aid formalities with eixpediency efficiency and effectiveness' readily delineates and extols weberian ideal values.of unambiguity, but its impersonalism and adherence to rules, pregision and on the realities and dynamics may point to a different direction depending rhetoric and dynamlcs contours of the situation it confronts.,This gap between where Filipino leaders may invariably find its rooti in the colonial experience at the same *o,rta openly express supPort to the cplonial administration but may cause and time undermine its dispensatid secretly to advance their own ' aspirations, personal ot otherwise'

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form and in substance' knows today is an interesting collection of influences in follows in theory and in practice, und in dynamics and processes. lts structure distinct the form of most bureaucratic organizations, but its behavior assumes (de Filipino traits and culture that may both be functional and dysfunctional Philippines, Cuzman 1986; Varela i993). As such, public administration ih the degree"' as Heady tf," pru"tice and its discipline, "combines to an exceptional ,,the institutional and behavioral characteristics of both Western and maintains, non-Western administrative systems" (Heady 7957:45)'

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

,t

Much of the prevailing practices and thinking in modern public adminstates' istration in the countiy today have been however adopted from the united thought But as in the United States, the most notable feature of administrative ; ,h; philippines at the time of the birth of the Republic was its weakness'r

period of dence from America in 7946 and was ushered into a volatile of Public reconstruction and upheaval. ukg in the'united states, the discipline Administration emerjpd in a country enveloped in crisis, savaged by economic dislocation brought 6y war, and brutalized by strife and internal unrest 'that

indepenEmerging from the ruins of World War II, the Ptrilippines obtained

tumultuous oscillated in almJst every dimension of national life. It was an era of by the change that far matched if not exceeded the chailenges confronted tCt;;ti;e Movement of Woodrow Wilson's time'z

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DEFINITTON ANb SCOPE

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,

For the Philippines then, civil servlee reform posed a grave and serious problern, but it represented a part of a long and erowded list of challenges that had to be met squarely and decisively. l"{ationhood and independence did not only redeem the spirit of pride and self-esteem; it also certainly served as a distinct occasion for the young Republic to grapple with the perversities and rough edges of democracy and self-governance. In this challenge, it responded by. adopting a reform agenda largely driven and inspired by its American mentors, an agenda carved out of a maze o,f both good intentisns and hidden motives.
In this respect,'the rise and evolution of the administrative system in the

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Philippines offer a good perspective by Which one can appreciate the

development of Public Administration as a discipline in the Philippines. Like most fields of study, the practice here preceded the discipline. lt is thus compelling that the circumstances and events that accompanied the inception of the administrative system in the country be discussed for us to appreciate the coming of 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 the administrative system that it was suPPosed to serve.'

lr

1.

Public Adminifraiion u" a'discipline was introduced, bereft of the intellectual nuances and particulars of painful dficiplinary evolution. It appeared
as a packaged product encapsulated in suspended belief systerns, and introduced

-"

to 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 civil service that by then had reached whqt Corpuz referred to as the "lowpoint" in its history, anguished by "low prestige, incompetence, rneager resources and a Iarge measure of cynical corruption" (Corpuz 1957:221-222).lt was also a civil service that suffered from low morale and lack of motivation, trapped in a ruthless system of politics and-politicking where merit and fitness reigned but patronage ruled;

l j

i#

Uke American Public Admiqistration, Public Administration as a disiiptine in the Philippines dutifully confronted the rigors and challenges of helping reform the civil service and pubtic administration practice. lt immediately explored and probed the realities and dynamics of the bureaucratic milieu, examining its complexities and recommending strategies to improve it. Its scholars, Filipinos, Americans and other nationalities, individually and collectively, engaged in research and consultancy services, launched comprehensive training and education programs and took the effort to spread the ways of efficierrcy, effegtiveness, economy and all such cherished values that have been held dear and sacred in the gospel of good administration.

'

HTSTORY, HERITAGE ANb

HUBRIS

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 personnel the'Te;gislative anJ the judicial branehes, from reorganization to and documented in administration and fiseal management. Theae it artieulated 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 jn1 dynamics and processes can be better understood, and the problems identified 'and :therefore resolved; Forci:s that ShaPed the Present Philipptne 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.

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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).

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42 O
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DEFINITION AND 5COPE

Settlements called barangays composed of extended kinship existed before colonial'times under a datu:(ehief) who assurned the position of territorial chief and provided some form of rpaternal leadership to his foilowers. As chieftain, the datu would be the arbiter of eonfliets, the provider of serviees, and the mobilizer of community action, in esseRce the edministrator of community life. Citing Fray San Antonio, Veneraeion points out that though some became datu out of inheritance or tradition, "they did not eommonly get their offices by virtue of 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 followers were 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 pledge to him personal allegiance and loyalty. The datu then16 pre-colonial Philippines was the galvanizing center of various spheres of activities in the communjl31i much in the same manner that a congressman, a town mayor today or everf'a barangay captain for that matter would be the nexus of community activities. This pattern of familial relationships of person alized loyalties and leadership-c-entered community activities, superimposed in formal structures, would persist even today and would find itself reflected in the dynamics of contempqrary administrative organizations in the Philippines and blended.with expligit formaligms of the Weberian bureaucratic theorv construct. The Spanish Colonlal Regime

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The administrative system introduced by Spain when it colonized the Philippine archipelago began the traditioniof centralization for purposes of consolidating its empire. For purposes of government, its colonies were subdivided into veritable kingdoms called las ind"ias governed by viceroys or governors-general- Into this systern was supeiimposed the religious organization
composed of archbishoprics, bishoprics and the provinces of the religious centers, where religious orders-the friars-assumed much power and influence (Corpuz 7957:12).5 In this arrangement, the clergy exacted much influence o-n the civilian and military authorities on secular affairs. This perhaps is one of the more outstanding features of the colonial bureaucracy established during the Spanish period. The Spaniards also practically centralized the political life of the numerous native communities that existed before their coming and introduced in the Process a system of public revbnues and public expenditures. These were established to consolidate the islands and fortify the government against pockets of rebellionof which'there had been many
*4.

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A special and privileged class of bureaucrats, predominantly Spanish, were maintained to administer: the affairs of the colonial population as a whole (Endriga 1989: 307; Corpuz 1957:24-42).,These public offices were then regarded as a grant or a favor, called merced from the king who disposed of them as he pleased

',=

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HISTORY,HERITAGEANDHUBRIS

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 civii service of spoils or ofihe patronage system and sinecures in the Philippine which we find today antedates that of the American experience and
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which remaining ingrained in our contemporary administrative systems in spite of merit vigorous ind sometimes symbolic pronouncements for the upholding of
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based on technical qualifications and skills.

Another remarkable feature of the civil service :iYstem designed bY the Spanish colonial administration was theipractice of filling app.ointments o n the practice basis of purchase where offices were sold to the highest bidders' Th Corpuz thus was adopted to help augment the coffers of the royal treasury'o called describes the positions available for sale in Spanish colonies which were , 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...purpos.es of illustration, the following: clerkships (escribanias) of all kinds in the central, provincial, and municipal governments; notarialoffices; the

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

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.

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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 .-,

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; 1 '
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 mo8t direet and closer. examination they afe seen to be among the just as their antithesis, fundamentai causes of the prostration of a people, Iiberty, is the mainspring of national progress"" prolific source ...The rapid turn-ov-e/of civil .service personnel is another indeed in all colonial Philippines' of corruption a-'id confusion in the 'as

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rapidity' which devours u ri"ta of grain while propdgatihg itself -with fearful notorious incapacity of most of these bureaucrats' lf to this is added the it is clear that as wave after walre of them passes through the country

countries.Thephendmenoncanonlybecorydaredtoaflightoflocusts

therewillsoonbenothingleft(asquotedinVeneracionl9SB:74).

same These words perhaps had ominous and ironic.rings to them, for the was observationsiwould somehow be repeated in 1946 when the Philippines that during that time, engulfed in crisis crying for bureaucratic reform, ex:ePt Filipinos were the ones practicing the very sins that their forefathers denounced.
.

value One notable characteristic that needs to be cited here as perhaps of system is what to present students and analysts of the PhiliPpine administrative peculiarity Endriga observed as the gap between rhetoric and practice. This is a 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

thePhilippineswasthewidedisqrepancybetweentheletterofthelaw

which upheld idealistic and noble standards and actual practice which was repressive and oppressive, a fact thqt proved ultimately fatal to the regime experience on the present-day bureaucracy.... (Endriga 1989: 307).

and which explains partly the lack of enduring influences of that

It may not be entirely correct to suppose that this experience did not influence present-day Philippine bureaucracy, for the perceptive student of

i
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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 bureaucracy.

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45

and The $hort'lived Fhitipptne Repubtic Admlnietratlge Fgofesslonalisrn

*qdith the triumph of 1y1s'psvolution against.spaln-in liawit, Cavi6 A new Constitution philippine Repubtic walproclaimee in tAbS in and promulgated eonveation in Malolos, Bulaean was accordingly araftei,in a filtering demoeratic philosophies then This consr,*,ion, inspired nv"*'t* in 1899. ,*f'*'"n'*d what Agoncillo calls "the first in Europe and in the United States, representatives"" It created ao.L,*.ni ever produced uy'the people's important responsible' was 'popular' representative and Filipino state whose gdvernment "a the legislative' and the judicial" distinct bra;ches-tn* u*"utive, with with three Republican Constitution in Asia (Agoncillo Ig77:rr/o, irtrur.tfre first the first (corpuz 195i: 158). This was perhaps genuine democratic features expressionofaFilipinophilosopn.v"rgou*,oun.e,forembeddedwithinitare a commitment of'Filipino leaders to pronouncements of the incipilnt scattered the popular will'7 t.*;niiei-lr rttu, rePresents
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1896' the first

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; ;i those who first espoused'the cause of was probably Emilio Aguinaldo, "i principles of.accountability in the civilian and fitness,'careerism and the merit ,#;;;;. which he drafted to serve as a r",i, ..r"urared True. Decalogue, carefully outlined a distinction " ro, u prop*ei Qonstitution, Matini program competitive und tho,"'that should be filled by between uppointiJJ ptJrt.", examination.
'Fromthedecalogue,Veneracionquotesanimportantprinciplewhich suggestedrf,"at*fop*"^tofaprofessionaladministrativeclass:.
Allofficesofwhatevernatureorimportancenotfilledbypopula.relection an competitive, examinations and will have their incumbents chosen by officialsochosenwillnotu"uuu:""lioremoval.Theofficesofsecretary and of towns will be-t}e only ons of *," gou;t'm"nt' heads ofprouint"'

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

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

lnyetanotherdocument'adecreeissuedinJunelBgBbyAguinaldo'
whichoutlinedtn*p,og,umofthe..revolutionarygovernment''andmadeuPon administrative practices were advice of Mabini,r the excesses of spanish the Filipino proposea irrat w1ur.a "demonstrate fo the assailed, and a new system was is to oPpose with a strong hand pbople that one ;i t,'h" Jrew^nee;fii"ol'on.ju.ts. sqillfl administration"'wilh its luxurv of personnel the inveter"t" andpompousostentation,whichmakesbusinessamatterofroutine,weighty, simple changing it "by anotl6r, more modest, and sluggish in it, *ouements,, 1988: public"sJrvice.'.." (as cited in veneracion and prompt in the executiorr of gZA' 23; Co'Pil z 7957:156)' BZ; Endrigu f

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DEFINITION AND 5COPE

professional career service committed to sirillplhJiiy and accountability. It can also were be nOted that even the aspirations of'decentralization and autonomy vll, Artic'le 57 recognized, as can be seen from the Malolos'constitution, Title on the Executive DePartment:
The adminisLraLion of Lhte priutale inLeresLs of Lhe towns' prouinces' and the state' correspond' respectiuelA to the municipal (populares) in assem,bltes, the prouinciai u'""*bliet' and the admtnistration
(rtalolos ConsJiiution as ratified, 2lJanuary 1899)'

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

pauJeraccordingtothelaws,andupanthebasisofthemostample decentralizatton and administratiue autonomg (Emphasis supplied).

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notable Much more can be said about these Pronouncements, but the one the American conclusion that can be reached is that even before the coming of coionial administration vihich is ndw credited with having introduced a merit principles had system in the bureaucracy of the country, the seeds of these difficult already been present in the minds of the Filipinos.s lt was therefore not system of merit and fitness in for the new American conquerors to introduce a 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 allFilipino 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

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(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

-:
i
J
1

HISTOR,Y, HERITAGE ANb

HUBRI5

47

dt {f
l.

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.

;li

In fact, Filipinization of the civil service became a basic administrative instructions made policy, and this was clearly embodied in President t"lcKinley's was directed to devote itself as early as 1900, where the Philippine Commission civil service to "the establishment of an educational.system and an efficient if.they":ut-t b" preferred, and system,,, where "natives of the isfgqrdslare to be receive the offices in found competent and willing to pejrform the duties...are to that preference to any others" (-orpuz 1957: 164)' On this,En-diiga,Poilt.out development. It wds the result several factors contributed to the hastening of this own policy of of a happy confluence of the hmerican colonial administration's pu'blic education system Filipinizing the civil service, the establishment of a strong -fhus, he says succinctly: and the piestige of public office during that time.
was The most important reason for the Filipinization of the civil service
i

s-

!y the Republican administration. ThishasbeenwrittenintotheCivilServiceLawitself'Thepolicyalso seems to have been strictly adhered to in Practice. Fortunately, the recruitment of competent Fil.ipinos did not'pose any difficulties. The
the policy of Filipinization itself ,pursued

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).

These policies had remarkable effects in the civil service for they attached to government Positions. Qovernment ? good deal of prestige and respect 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 in certain educationat qualifications, often a coltege degree' This was significant prestige and pride an era where even a high school diploma can be a source of in the communitY.e

':

tr

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, when Filipinization, as Corpuz continues, "was practicatly accomplished by 1919, about six percent the American segment of the insular bureaucracy declined to (corpuz of the estimated 12,8A7 personnel on the civil service during that time"

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"''' /'?/-

48 O

DEFINITION ANb

5COPE

in the 19th century. The Progressive the evils of spoils potitics in their bureaucracy serviee reforms a Push" Endriga Movement in tft" United States gave civil lfrnot t.t on this, saying that:

i I

t'

....Thetimingofi"int'od'ctionwasalsofortuitous'forbythel900sthe development itself had undergone a stormy Amtirican ciuiirervice system principle s::h u: palitical neutrality' a resulted in the upholding of
which

l.:

inadditiontotheestablishedonesofmeritandfitnessandeffieiency'The newcivilservicesysteminfactrepresentedafavorableconfluencebetween

theidealsthatFilipinoshadfoughtforunderthespaniardsbutwhichthey]
didnotget,;;;;["intentionsoftheAmericancivilservicereformerswho practices which the new fo' u'' experiment for their ideas and were "ug*' (Endriga 1989: 307)' .ofo"V

Jt*ided""

ItwasnaturalfortheAmericanstoexperimentontheirnew-found philosophyofadministrationwithitsincipientnormsandvaluesintheirnew
territory.Notonlydidthisrepresentace|ebrationofthisnew-foundnorm,but of these principles in another culture'
viability wourd also serve and an efficient "J","tir"r'the to maintain t"rreir hold on the colony Moreover, it was necessary called its "manifest administer what America machinery *uu .,""d"d to effectively it' This would be done to civilize lpt"pf" that ihey believed.it:d.:9, destiny" first Philippine

through a viable civil

servi.",ryri"*

as laid out by the

rffi

.1,

, .''. t:

ir

Co.mmission,alsol.,,ow.,astheSchr)rmanCommissionwhichoutlinedinlS99

thepolicyoftheUnitedStatesonthePhilippinelslands.Inthewordsofthe SchurmanCommission,itisthepolicyoftheUnitedStatesgovernmentto public,.wise, just, stable, effective und utonomical administration of establish a ;un hon*rt and effective civil service'.. whereby the evils of ,affairs,,,
[through]

delay,corruplionandexploitationwillbeeffectivelyeradicated''and[through ;the collection and application of taxes and revenues the implementation of]

uPonasound,honestandeconomicutbasis'',Ibasedon]..reformsina|l to right and justice"'that will satisfy

departments of the government...conformautv of the Philippine people."" ('\s dema n$t andhighesi aspiration, the well_founded from Abuev'a 1969: 566) cited in Endriga rci*' 1""a quotea'

organized under auspicious The philippine civil service was therL'fore time it was introduced in the Philippines' it beginnings. .onrii"ring that by the riariga puts it, 'la 'finished. product' where' efficiency' was essentially, "l economy'andmeritwerenotonlythedominantValues,''buthadalsotherecipe

'

'-t"i"

ofpoliticalneutralitybaseduponthevisionsofthePendletonActoflEs3l0 (Endriga for the American cjvil service system enacted by the A*"ri.un Congiesa the Philippine

quirk of history" for 1978:4). For Endriga, this was a i'fortunate of P-ublic Administration which would civil service, and ,"it"f,"*, the discipline ,tuay it, also came as a "finished prGduct"' be introduced a hal'f-century later to "under both iortulatl and perhaps importunate' another quirk or iirtory, unfortunately' by the time the formal' demanding and challenging circumstances' service in the Philippines was study of the di;;;;l# ippeur"d, the civil finished. its severest tesi, and the product was almost
experiencing

HTSTORY, HERTTAcT ANb

tiL rhe -,?tf$fr1il":%;"rT.*,ff:T ,J

HUBRIS

O
:

49

""n

''BythetimethePhi|ippinee-ommonwea|thwasestab|ishedin1935,the

civilservicehadb.encomp|etelyFilipinized.rh.:TT:onwealthperi.odwasa Law of the American

Tydings-McDuffie transition phase conceived under the decade' Filipinos foiindependence by the next congress designed to fr"pur* the "republican in form' Filipino in The commonwealth adopted a government domestic affairs'' (Corpuz 1957:214). personnel, and [enjoying] autonomy in

TheassumptionofFilipinopolitica.lleaders3ftirlreins-of^9o1::t-ti:ldnot the momentum system built by the Americans'' ln fact' disrupt the civil Endriga ""rui." :continued and even, to some extent, strengthened or reinforced'
was comments on this saYing:
almost completely in Filipino-hands' "'With the administration propensity Americanq*thai\the undesirable Filipino exPressed by many
fears were

.i.':'through.manyinnovStionsandthenew'Constitutionenactedin1935 u,ii"l" on the civil service.... (Endriga 1978: 5; Corpuz contained u 'r,ot" 1957:166; i70)'

fornepotisni,thespoilssyslerhandthecorruptbehavior.learned'from were surprisld:?"*V'&u lTu' "f the Spunii'a' *o'ig'tuk"-over' They theCommonwealthgovernment(from1935to1946),/whenaFilipino] PresidenttookoverfronptheAmericanCovernor.Ceneral,insteadof wateringdowntheCivilServiceLaw'theFilipinos-evenstrengthenedit

i((

JF-

with the adoption of the constitution of 1935, thecivilService,ArticleXl,wasadgptedwhichembracedallbranchesand also emphasized careerism' political subdivisions of the government and *i,i.rt service which was ;;;;;"liiy una ,*"urity of tenure. The Bureau of Civil undel Act No' 5 Board created reconstituted in 1913 fiom the old Civit Service authority to conduct formal was given in.r"ur"J fo*"rr, full and exclusive of its head, now against: civil service personnel. The decision

a full-blown provision on

investigations Department undersecretary relating elevated to a commissioner with a rank of discipline was made final, to appointments, removal, separation.and personnel civil service Board of Appeals (corpuz subject only to appeal to a newly created 'laws und u*u"utive orders were enacted and issued to i,957: zl7). A r;;;r "f operationalize the constitutional mandate'
,,the role of the champion of the civil service'" He repealed Section 683 of the No' 8 and made all branches and Administrative code through Executive order

PhilippineCommonweatthPresidentManue|L.Quezonquicklyassumed

subdivisionsofthegovernmentcoveredbythecivilservicepreciselyinpulsuit fight nepotism, issuing an of the constitutio.,Jl provition. He took steps to of

from making appointments executive order prohibiting Eppointing authoriiies l their relatives (Veneracion 1988: 121-122\'

'
50 O

:..

tffi

DEFINITTON AND SCOPE

No,177,,passed pn 13 November 1936, further strepgthened 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.

. Commonwealth Act

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 promotion conceived us'th" chief implementor of economic development and the had of the well,being and economic security of the people' As President Quezon private dominance in the so profoundly iaid out, "state leadership, as against economy, was to be the keynote of governmental activities" (corpuz 1937:219).
Corpuz cites Quezon's own words:

i'
I

I l

l ',1

-1.
I

ls
I
1

":'

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)'

the Commonwealth ceased to be operative (Cgnpuz 1.957:219). The preparatory period towards independence was abhuptly truncated and in its place was installed

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,

a Japanese military admipistration which attempted to secure Filipino

cooperation 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'eniirely change 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, rygny of the administrative personnel of the civil service retuined to their old positions and were accordingly coriscripted into a:system that demanded collaboration with and unswerving loyalty to the Japanese regime. Collaboration became the dominant qualification for higher positions and fo1 advancement, and those who

HI5TORY, HERITAGE AND

HUBRI5

51

pain of reprisals against thernselves refused were coerced and threatened,. "On analysis of this dgvlloRment which or their families." corpuz provides a searing era *","; the situation had already changed would persist in the iniependence by thenY',,*.
in arly form' hbwever' sufficed to stigmatize-!-ti*'*:'"t"-" 11 ' '..Collabbration apparatus was'tfie instrument the .Vu, of tit p"opiu' The administrative in the civil servairts' and in the of a hated regime' so that'pll

people'sminjsagainstsabptageoftheadministrationvanished.Actsof in countless ways of lessthan'full administrative delay and obstruction, compliancewithadministrativeorders,cametobehabituallyindulgedin' *"ttr tnd patriotic (Corpuz 1957:220 227)' *"" ;;;;i
and

"un"'ion'

"t

the Filipino civil service with the liberation of the Philippines,

I

ThuswhentheCommonwealthCovernmentwasre-establishedin1945, prestige' suffered

11

l{

'fu'i\

traumatizedbythewaranditsexperienceswith.n:j:l".eseconquerors.Theit once enjoyed was eroded and

service prestige and distinciion tnat the civil to match the rehabilitation efforts undertaken' was also almost tt;;lt;t;repared

,jj:i

and '' Rehabilltatlon ln the Independence Perlod Public Administration the Forr4al'Entry of the Disciptine of

I
I

Withtheendofthewar,theCommonwea|tlrGovernmentwasre-for pressing problem yu: lu:g,"ly-- ".:ono*ic' constituted. r15 .nortlmrnediate and *?:.toTfleted in 7945' the economy by the time the liberation of the Philfppines Millard rydings of the u's' congress' was at a standstil unj u."ording to senator *"ri,,r,. rnost compretery devastated capital city Manila, next to ;;;;;;
Shalom i9B6: 33)' anywhere in the world" (as cited in

I I

l
I
I

tr

utilities and other facilities, Buildings, school houses' roerds and bridges, Agriculture production was at a including banking institutions.were destroyed' w.re low. Poverty was endemic and the standstill and the incomes of the people to exacerbate tlre situation' on this widespread destruction of property served Rehabilitation Act'of 1946 was passed prernisb, the Tydings Act or the Philippine legislation, the Bell Trade Relations Act along with anothei important piece of before the scheduled date of the granting or the Philippine Trade Act two months Act made available us$ 620 of independence. The Philippine Rehabilitation parity that preferentialtrade agreements or million for rehabilitation, on iondition were to be given to the Americans. rights lasting ru, iuyona independence

TotheAmericangovernmentinWashington,reh.abilitationofthe but a small philippines *"" ;;;riant,"ana hgqranltarian considerations formed agenda also had bconomic' military part of the entire equation. The rhabilitation cleverly ,correealed in altruistic and political inteiests at play, and were the Philippine rehabilitation pronouncement;.;;nator Ty,{ings, who sponsored had been the sixth :law in the u.s. congress, acknowledged that the Philippines

5? O

DEFINITION ANb

,/

5COPE
'^

q:'

largest customer for U.S. made goods befdre fhu *ur, and that 'American jobs depended 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 to dominate the Pacific, the Philippine Islands should be "the Asiatic springboard for Asiatic trade dominance," and that the Philippine Islands "coulcl neit achieve stability, provide an outlet and example for 0.S. trade unless we did everything necessary to rehabilitate the PI" (Shblom 1986:,33'34).
But far more thari the economic motive; the rehabilitation effort also
served the purpose of strengthening a political ally in Asia which was necessary to serve American interests. The United States had to maintain its presence in Asia, mainly'because of the Cold War, and the Philippines served as a valuable

ls

political and military asset. Again, in Senator Tydings words, "politically, economically, and strategically the Philippines are a great outpost of [the
American] Nation," and rehabilitation funds would help strengthen this American outpost (Shalom 1986: 34).

Rehabilitation from.the rava-ges .of the war however proved stow and sluggish. For one, the'Filipinization of American democracy produced a precarious and unstable government that did not match the efficiency of its model (Buss 1977:23). In April 7946, the political leadership was assumed by President Manuel Roxgs who was elected in the first presidential elections in the Philippines after the war. A host.'of problems besieged the administratioh stemming from the devastation of the war. Masi poverty and continuing agrarian unrest further escalated the insurgency problem, worsened peace and order, and aggaravated 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 for the government to mobilize its resources and improve its performance to check this rapidly gathering crisis.
. The move towards.professionalizing the conduct of public affairs in the Philippines started as*,eafly as 7947, when a joint U.S.-Philippine Commigsion was set up, at Washington's behest, to study arrd improve the financial position of the Philippine government through a packa$b of administrative and structural measures such as tax reform, the establishment of a Central Bank, and the imposition of import controls, among others (Shalom 1986:71). These initiatives were to:be followed by a string of aid and technical assistance programs forJhe rehabilitation of the Philippines.

-&f

t:

When Roxas died in office in 1948, his Vice-President, Elpidio Quirino succeeded him'and promptly took a mailed-fist policy against the insurgents,
1r

HISTORY, HERITA66 AND

HUBRI5

O 53

in.government' Presldent Quirino while neglecting to institute needed reforms c3fle[e^landlord interests, and.was err! wd> L,rrLrv'rvu ;^; dominated bv privilegea Abiya 1'967:56)' The insurgency problem perceived to be "corrupt and.lnTf- I._+ir rur *ha rannn.se-rnrerreflnum, had -in n um' int*tru pt*d bv the J a panese terreg ilJ't:"T;; ^F +o'inr inflicted bv the ii,lilTi?TJi.l;#,lil;ffi by th e p ru rip pine g overn m ent. rhe * ^$fina r.rae viewed bV viewed bv 6do, y',.1 in dishonesty" (Shalom 1986: 70-71)'

;;ffiil

;iJi"!v"im11ie':iq:ij,:'ii::::l':"*i:'+l: ifi:in:","JjT'j"ilffi;;; il li",,la *"' iil:i::fi;'L'lli'J" "ii :::ru:t,3'?:il:,;Tii: 3'"H'#J,:"1*a*ark

'i;", ;;l"i"r'v

By 1e50, as Abava (1e6?: 561 *:ul]ll ']-:::jl':::j:1f1':':;1l:: uy Iv2u'.q ;t* nationat economy.was on.the lerge of democracy was ll ffiJe;F)';;d __r :i n*ii,, :'.'i' T ;Y " J:':i !L-+ - ^^^o^lirlarp;lnackaoe of ::il;:T -" - : : :: :l' :? ::"n"*:ffi ;i n t tr e alru -t":l:':"."*' a measures :1 i' rrr "' L *'' " i l': :: : 1?:: :','lstates to send : the "i"'"i lt ;r_-^-ri^aro, aunited states Econolnic yeal, Lrrs rrrrut/r''|v year, the Philipping GlveriT":, requested that [nat rrnilpd Econo]nic united

f:':ifi!
*irtion

* ;*i':

;:

lf:

to survey thre Philippine situation'3::otdl"q:I'-11^r oA ..ta nnneirter the w H:X'i..l :.T and to recommend measures lllratrLr(lr r/rvurv'r of rhat countrv economlc anG irr-.i"r-pronlems r- ^^lf o',nnnrfinn" /Rell and to remajin self_supporting" (Bel:l will enable- the Philippines to become that Report 1960: 1)'

::;::t#'""J
''r:;

fr'll'Jl'n.ililru;;;i

::l'

::ll*:: "::T:::J,::

in Octc 'ber 1950' surveYed all The Missisn, which submitted its report an{ reserved a p)articuiarly the economy' aspects of the Philippine situation' this' of public administrdtion in the country' On special comment o.t,nu conduct others: the Bell Report recommended' among
and reorganized so as to insure That public administration be-improved

honestyandefficiencyinthecovernment;thatthecivilservicebeplaced raised to provide a dece'nt o., u m",it basis anj civil service salaries philippine oovernment remove barriers to the ri",.g, lhat the standard "i of Lreign technlqianJtand take stePs to improve training emptoyment accordance with thefacilities
in tfre dfritippines; and

th:lin

"t'L"il"i"^t requestorttrerrritippinec6vernment,theUnitedStatesse4d..aTechnical philippine covernment in carrying odi its agricultural Mission to assist the jministration, and labor p_ublic. a and industrial development, Rr.ut "tntrols, (Bell Rgport 1950: 6)'
una ,o"iut welfare program

1n En - memorandum of agreemenlI was concluded between r', In November 1950, a '-^'.n headed then u's' presidenr Elpidio o;ir;{r; and william c. Fosier. The latter

Philippines which formalizeo ,1: President Harry Truman,s mission to the extensionofU.S.aidtothePhilippines.TheAgreement,latertobeknownas for the ireation of the Philippine council the Quirino-Foster Agreement, provided the establishment of a series for United States Aid (PHILCUSA) anJ spea,headed. sectoral dimenslons' This Agreement of missions in the eiitippin." in the diffeient Act of united:states' Economic cooperation was drawn in accordance with the.,r:ltimate and primary basis'' for,the extension 1948, as amended. It became the all over the world' The economic of economic aid to participating countries cooperation Administration project was administered by the Ecohomic
assi,stance

54 O

DEFINITION AND 5COPE

-abolished

(ECA). This would be in April 1951 and reconstituted into the Mutual Security Agency when the United States Cong'ress passed the Mutual Security Act of 1951 (PCUSA 1952:9'12).

-$
. ii \

r',
j

A counterpart mission headed by Jose Yuto reqpested the American

government 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 the establishment of an Institute of Public Administration in the Philippines at the
University 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 195253 and 7953-54, respectivelt, ds "a natural response to a felt need." Many Filipino public 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 J on the other hand. integrity. of morale and efficiency, but also in integrity. In"e+-#G& dsdfvedg a t th e g*$ 1t-qrYise,.Y,,stqrn, a t h o u g h d-ep ig nt not fiinction that way, and that the practice of awarding "'bo''Eiti6ffil,i,# and Heady 195f: 8;Alfonso 1,972:275).
I

Public Administration as a discipline thus appeared in this milieu laden with uncertainty and conflict as the Philippines found itself tormented by a mosaic of political, economic and social problems. The introduction of the study of Public Administration was a fitting response. If reforms were to succeed in the political, economic and social dimensions, the administrative machinery must be professionalized through systematic training, technical guidance and professional advice of a core of experts in the field.
Public hdministration as a discipline was thus shaped at a time of crisis
..&E .t

and transition in the Philippines. Itlwould also'thrive in that kind of tensign for the next four decades, and like the dynamics of practice of the profession it is supposed to assist and improve, would adapt to the rigors and demands of-its environment.,lt would swim within and against the currents of its time, juxtaposing reality dnd norms, and developing its own belief systems, its own creed and standards,'serving both as partner and critic of the profession which it was destined to serve.

HI5TORY, HERITAGE AND

HUBRI5

O 55

ation' rhe'nT:::,ff:rilTft1illl1T;

-*-With the signing of the bilateral agreement betwe ren the United States and fl::...'p the Philippine gou*in.!nts, financing was made availa!le to, (lPA) in the Philippines' establishment of an Institute of Publie Administration
Uni,r"ruity of l\ichigan yill of the new institute' of the.'organization

' I

would be set up under Under this agreement, !t was also deeided that the Institute Phitippines, and the a private contract negotiated.between the university of the help in the technical and-professional aspects which
t

Universitv Thus, in January 7952, two ranking 1c1dey1:.off]l"b of t!5 Department' of Michigan, James K. Pollock, Chairman of the Political Science Administration, arrived and John W. Lederle, Director of the Institute of Public of the * ,uruuy the feasibility of setting uP an Institute at the universityworked was Philippines. Their recommendations were favorable and a contract signed between otrt and finalized. Accorbingly, an agree[nent was reached and year period beginning 15 the two universities which ttiputqg*a t two and a half of June 1952. This was to be extehued later up to 15 June i956- The Institute was organized public Administration based af the University of the PlilfPpines t'{":;;;;"d;;;,-of 1952, and would operate for the next two vears under the leadership of the Americans.''

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)'

In

7g54, Dean Jose velmonte of the u.P. college of Business

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 in the Service (riins) which was a cooperative effort of fifteen member libraries of Philippines. This was launched for the purpose of building. uP "a collection file materials" philippine books, government documents and ephemeral vertical a and which helped members'"organize and catalog their collections, develop union catalogue and a union list of serials.,.." (ocampo'1993:4-5).

HI5TORY, HERITAGE AND

gearch and seve ral pa rt'time Filip ino re ' ; qu'G.r years' a ffi ffi frEs' ;

HUBRI5
I

O 57

:':::3-'::,:::' fi : -^ ::':::- ' ffi il'i;;;' ; ;'- t ry :BrRmnt organization i':l: --Yi:: "::T. :'-::; charts ;;;s;;* ctarted'rdttr the f';-q"t:1::""i:9""""'.,,on. urso orenared ror the rin'Jn*"r*s were "r*, prepared for ::T:H."fi'Ji,r;1il;pi'*!, nfudlCg Wefe pUblished' anCl a field survey r.i..- . . l/q"iArls 6iher e:*'::TJ::::- :# ;["#';';'l; il' | T :- tyi f ::*' ::i i ["J i il' H : :i'i:::,-;"*-Jil;-"il;;i;;F';:i:,::,t'::X,ix:,i:::"';:"11; in.se rvice trai nins ,,::":;'H:: :J;i:-' i-.,' I",n,eade mie and ;:#:fi
q

-:3:t-tT|l,

'';l-,

to togug*d 1n" consultative services' IPA staff mem.bers were iluo noiie! and in puufic relations activities :ies government agenc and professionat -#,p"d the Covernment Su.rvey and ,*,* lns-til i"for" various audiences' The1955 in various phases crf its work, and made its of ;;td;tion commission the seruicuu of a consultant available [o the csRC library, other facilities, and iO.u-po 1993: 6)'
I

anced nV im 111v:,T::t:^':, :l:,,:t another ;1u, it opu'aied, rt was fortuitous, buildinq pottt the social and r -- !^- ^^ rr-.a rncrirrrt. was ; ; : l': : I iil^:i:; : :i i ffi: :: I and develoPlng lrs Pregr'<rtrro' ':'" :d marked the lnstitute's changed, no rong.r i!" :"1:lv ?::':s."3:1.:jl:':^":5 on,,, ooi nes which wa s l ;'
The se

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The Magsaysay administration order in the socioin Central Luzon' restored some Fo, on",'it qu"flaif'" rebellion rblS, had initiated a reorganization of the

.addressedbasicandimmediateproblems.

political life of trr"'.""""V 3na.Uy "presidential bureaucracy'Morethanthese,theMagsaysayadministrationendeqreditselfto complaints and Action rem"diei"us ihe the masses, introducing such people in their faitrL and confidence of the Center (pcAC) *;1i i"oor" trre
government.

the opportunity for developing the In this setting, favorable as it was, puuti. Administration and its program of action became fledgling lnstitute oi the about its establishment' It received to the challenge which u,o'fit relevant writing of orir',u Americans who started the continued ,upoo.i'uni guidance ph'ippine public identify the intricacies of materiars ana uoot<s th-at helped and personnel were provided and its practicer. niripi"o schotars

Administration

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opportunitiesto*o'thei,di,.iplineinAmericanuniversities,somuchsothat in 1956' eight the UJversity of Michigan 'expired

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Filipinostaffmem-b",'r'"areturn'edfromtrainingintheUnitedStates(ocampo American scholars who came The t,.,uiitrtu also benefited fromvisiting 1gg3:7). fresh insights' of tne hititlte, brilging with them
to help build up ,f.l" -;,artals

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58 O

DEFINITION ANb

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lending the Institute rnuch prestige and enqouragement, and helping it cope intellectually and operationally with its affaire and ite elealings with the profession.

The Peculiarities of Publlc Admlnlstratlon as a DlsciPltne in the PhlllPPlnes

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'

Uhder the Magsaysay administration and with the guiclance of the

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 colonial relationship 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,i
pattern.

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As such, the transition period did not permit the discipline in the u
Philippines to enjoy the luxury of absorbing or assimilating a distinct organizing framework for the intellectual study of ,the discipline or of engrossing, itself in a tradition of theorizing epistemologies that the American model had rigorously carved and endowed for itself.

The peculiarities with which Public Adrninistration as a field of study wasI introduced into Filipino scholarship then may accoufrt in part for its atheoretical and ahistorical stance towqrds epistemological questions. For one, unlike in the United States; Public Adffinistratlon in the Philippines did not evolve out of some disciplinary diaspora from bther fields in the.,pbcial sciences such as Political Science. It wa- not a product of fission betwben'the realm of public policymaking and 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 the rest of the social science community., lt aia not have a firm and definitive tradition

of a politics-administration dichqtomy or a long, laborious series*of

conceptualizing as to its nature and'concerns. It did not have to labor on such questions as whether it is a science or an art, or how it is to be delineated from other fislds,in the'socfgl sciences: The propositioh or the study of the manage{al functions

HI5TORY, HERITA 6E AND

HUBRI5

O 59

'th.e Ttrffi: ;;i;ii'*n," and,so with other prineiples' which became "cq?:tlnli':, servins as the premises under,which

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a stapte in Ameriean Public Adrnini5trption;

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work' an applied field operationalizecl its

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governmentreforminth*posteo|onialperiod,muehinthesamewayaS the chaltenges of civil service

i to,," it certainly: materialized as a rspons,- lt 3^- -teryqp{p 'o'f'-

influenced by American Public Administration was Administration did not have to endure a reform in the lBBt;, ry,itippine Public as a field that,ehallenged its validity and standing hostile, academic "o**uniiy in its fledgling years with problems'obtaining of study. li was instead confronted all, it was organized to help in the: practice of the profession" For uit*t ..professionalize,,governmentserviceandthatbeingthecase,itsrole'wascut in Philippine shores as a'disciplinb to out,for it. It was implanted and packaged Ind inadequacies of the newly-fo,nded address administritive weaknesses agenda; obliviot'rs ;d;ffi, il;;;;r only naturalthat this became.its foremost in the field in America' to academic question' ih"n raging

immediacyofhavingtoattendtothe".ier.burg"on''ng'issuesandconcernsthat that demanded much attention' After all' preoccupied the prJf"rrion-concerhs was introduced in the P\ilippines' this was the purpose for whibh the discipline' that training'takeq was adopted as ti l"-:0"^"11 and the use of the t6rm "lnstitute" 7972: 340;''Tancangco and precedence over academic functions' liti"u"s

Aminuzzamanwaz:zzl.lnfact,thefirstsemi-annualreport.ofthetnstifu!1 educational program gives

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Institute's openly gives.this u*uy, declaring 1[6t'fth.e present workers improve effectiveness in their first,priority to helping government 4; Tancangco and oi.future work,, (IPA, Firdt Semi-Annual RePort'1952: -ff,it ser'ice orientation was presented as the main Aminuzzam an, 7gi12t )Z;. in Manila where most government offices ilil]i;o*.,1or. ro.uting the Institute Diliman camPus in'Quezon city' *ere then situated, instlad of the sprawling u.P. which gives top priority to helping These,were all part of "a conscio.rroPo\,.Y of **r.Lr""ir*rot t-Pt'd$; their effectiveness" for the purpose a ;;;;;", governmental,administration in ,,meeting tthel puJltis satisfacttn with the fgaZt Z2)'fnis policy was further democracy,, (Tancangco and Aminuzzamun report in 1953 and would remain re-.affirmed in the tnrtiiute'r,second.semi-annual Institute, and for that matter' of Public to be the guiding, ;p"t"ii". principle of the Administration sti-rdy in the next decaoe'

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pubnc Admlnistration in the philippines Themes rn the study of

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for wh-ich the discipline of Public This service orientation, the guiding spirit phiiippines, would serve as its own :?utt: Administration was introduced in the be its own weakness' The rigid cast of strength and inspiration even as it would

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60

DEFrNrrrory4NrscoPE
,

Administration study in the Philippines fbllowed a preseribed, almost messianic paih that defined the discipline according to its eontributions to problems and demands of the administrative configuration'
relationship with ' This orientation distinguished the stu'dylaceording tb its from the outset by government management aid praetice, largely consumed structures' lhe attention and fbcus lavished on the study of internal bureaucratic and techniques that spglled of management functions and processes' and of tools years, and perhaps good,administration'6ut not nlcessarily a good society. For theme, for it distinctly even now, this would remain a dominant and recurring internal the applied nature of the field. In time however, owing to both ""a*pfifi"a influences, and to the maturation of its own horizons' the discipline and external ;;;pi";""ted this orientation with, a societal perspective, one that did not readily and redefined to depart from a service orientation, but instead was broadened latter perspective accommodate the demands of the larger environment. The which espoused would characterize the discipline's outward-looking orientation, the society that envelopes the values oi'r"rpon"iveness, equity and relevance to
it.
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.r! of this extension service philosophy i,n ftie forma.tive years of Public

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into What themes therl can be inferred that helped shape the discipline can be drawn what it has become today? what mb;or or dominant perspectives unifying i. begin with, it is not easy to readily isolate and identify a of Publi,c 'i*.' "rri paradigm, or at best, a single, organizing framework by which the study Much 1' Administration in the Philippines could be understood and appreciated' express of the thinking of its scholars and students as captured in the literature do not lendlthemselves easily to a vast range of inter'ett and persuasions that

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This is understandable considering that most of these perspectives are drawn from the analysis of not only administrative phenomena, but of a wide of sociopollticat and economic concerns that are made to fit into the ""r"-ffu in cogniiance of its eclectic or multidisciplinary character. Moreover, discipline they are assembled and derived from different research methodologies, from quantitative those that employ empirical, positivist or case techniques laden with or analytical thinking' tools, to those that are based on conceptual, descliptive 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 political, dynamics, ald other perspectives that cut pcross an assortment of economic. administrative and even culturhl problems'
theme specifications of certain areas of inquiry, manifested in the way a particular keeps recuiring in the literature, and considered by severai authors,

In some instances however, there is remarkable agreement'il

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HrsTORv, HERTTAoE 4ND HUBRTS

61

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i- . , literatrr" i., this genre are provided not by Filipinos although they served as good for the stu'dy of the discipline in the Philippines'12 " ., frames of reference ,r' In this sense, Public Administrafion in the country was never insecure i.Tij..,'.r. t'. about its place in the academic community, and perhaPs, never competed with that matter, as to , I the discipline of Political Science or any other discipline forbeen one of hubris has
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^l ud*inistrative svstem3,3,|,::n::-1"TliiT:il1, ic.*.,,. :T:: it i u".ordingly as iomparativist since they portray othel-sy-stems. Most of the

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social reform movement. A sixth theme however, that of international and

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'what it must address. It is in this sense that'its history .and makes it, a "self-aware" Public Administration, in contrast to its American term ,. cbunterpart. "Self-aware'i Public Administration has been the awkward at the time of the founding ,emptoyea by the Americans to describe their discipline of the American National Agsociation of Schools of Public Affairs and i.,..,, .Adrninistration (NASPAA) which somehow marked the acceptance of Public :. Administration as an independent discipline in the Onited States.

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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 "selfaware" Public Administration in a different sense. Endnotes
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).

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refers to formal or systematic studies on Prrfiic Administration.

It is

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,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 and, for Public :rieform in such areas as child labor legislation, women's suffrage, minimum wage

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DEFINITTON AND 5COPE

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Administration, the practice of spoils or patronage system that was institutionalized during the term of President Andrew Jackson in 1837. Woodrow Wilssn, then an aeademic, was part of this movement and called for the develop;nent of the study of Publie Administration in a seininal paper written in 1887. Wilson considered the developm'ent of a "seience" of acirninisrration as an important component of civil service,'reform. The artlele would providd the basis for the plilosophy of what is now commonly referred to as the polities'administration dichotomy or the separation of the,work of politics from that 6f administration. $ee Wilson 1887 and ciiscussions on the subject in Adams 1992; Reyes 1995a.
3Using the convention introdueed by Dwight Waldo (1968;1975), the discipline or the

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field 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.

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good air"utrio., on the sequence of events ,Oui Urounn, ubou, ,nu organization of the Spanish colonial empire can be found again in Corpuz (1957). Veneracion (1988) also provides Pertinent discussions on the subject and supplies historical analysis on the development of the civil 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.

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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 during

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this period is that of,Majul (1957).

to 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 government
examinations." see the discussion on the chinese civil service in Herson 1982:

eThe prestige attached to the civil service can be compared to that in China around the 15th

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Progressive Movement. Fo-iJ background, see ihe discussion in Reyes r995a.

t

roThe Pendleton Act of 1883 in the Onited States was Jonsiaerea a landmark legislation in the-sense that it professignalized the Federal bureaucracy. It was one of the results of the

'^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 trends and content of the discipline. We acknowledge that the curricula of a given period are a product of their era, adapting to the perceived prioritiBs and events within a given period. There are several studies that delve on this area, notably thcjse of Alfonso 1972, Tancangco and Aminuzzaman 1982, and also Ocampo 1993.

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End 11(
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r2A discussion of this issue is made in Reyes, 1995b, which addresses the foundations and development of administrative thought in the Philippines as it took shape in the then Institute of'Public Administration. See also Reyes 1995c.
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References
Abaya, Hernando J. The Untotd Phitippine Sforg. Quezon City: Malaya Books,

.t

t-

1967