Romblon State University

College of Arts and Sciences

Bachelor of Arts in Political Science

PSC 111- FUNDAMENTALS OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

Module 5- Assessment

Kaye-Anne Mangaring

09634907535/kayeannemangaring@gmail.com

ACTIVITY

Directions: Provide your answers briefly and concisely below. Use separate sheet of
paper for your answer. Refer to the rubrics that follow.

1. Briefly explain the concept of decentralization.

Ans. Decentralization as a concept has two features: political and administrative. While
political decentralization involves devolution of powers, administrative decentralization
focuses on deconcentration of functions. Present trends seem to indicate the,
recognition of the regional level, not simply as an operational level for administrative
decentralization, but as a separate level in Philippine local government. The concept of
decentralization refers to decentralized, directed from center to periphery, organized
around and such. This concept, expressed as the transfer of authority from the center to
subordinate ends, is important both for more effective and productive management of
the areas outside the center organization in public administration and for strengthening
these areas in terms of democracy conception. Because of the increasing interest all
over the world in issues such as ensuring service–need compliance, the importance of
decisions made by the closest unit to the public and the reduction of bureaucratization
have made implementation of decentralized systems a necessity in local regions. In this
study, conceptual definitions regarding decentralization and information about its
aspects as well as the effects of political and administrative decentralization on unitary
structures will be presented.

2. Cite reasons why decentralization is adopted and applied as a tool of development

administration.

Ans. Decentralization is adopted and applied as a tool of development administration

because it enables maximum participation of the people concerned in the decision
making processes on issues that concern them directly. Decisions, aside from ensuring
maximum citizen participation, are also more responsive to the needs of the people.
Second, lower levels of government are encouraged, and trained, to be more self-reliant
through decentralization. Third, it hastens the decision-making. ' processes, doing away
with traditional red tape of having to go all the way up to the central authorities for action
or authority to perform appropriate actions, and then downwards. There is
decentralization where decisions are made at the lower levels, with minimum
participation (some prefer to use the term ''interference'') by the central authorities.
Finally, decentralization decongests the central Gove.

3. Enumerate and explain the modes by which the process of decentralization can be
operationalized.

Ans. There are several modes by which the process of decentralization can be
operationalized. These include:

Devolution which essentially is the transfer of or delegation of power to a lower level,

especially by central government to local or regional administration.

Deconcentration which, essentially, is the process of delegating functions from the

central government to lower levels or field (or regional) units. The weakest form of
decentralization, shifts responsibility for decision-making, finance and implementation of
certain public functions from officials of central governments to those in existing districts
or, if necessary, new ones under direct control of the central government.

4. Briefly explain political and administrative decentralization and cite some examples.

Ans. Administrative decentralization seeks to redistribute authority, responsibility and

financial resources for providing public services among different levels of government. It
is the transfer of responsibility for the planning, financing and management of certain
public functions from the central government and its agencies to field units of
government agencies, subordinate units or levels of government, semi-autonomous
public authorities or corporations, or area-wide, regional or functional authorities.

Political decentralization aims to give citizens or their elected representatives more

power in public decision-making. It is often associated with pluralistic politics and
representative government, but it can also support democratization by giving citizens, or
their representatives, more influence in the formulation and implementation of policies.
Advocates of political decentralization assume that decisions made with greater
participation will be better informed and more relevant to diverse interests in society
than those made only by national political authorities. The concept implies that the
selection of representatives from local electoral jurisdictions allows citizens to know
better their political representatives and allows elected officials to know better the needs
and desires of their constituents.
 ASSESSMENT

Instructions: Make an analysis paper on the Article “Issues and Problems in

Decentralization and Local Autonomy in the Philippines: A Preliminary Assessment of
Impact and Challenges” by Danilo De la Rosa Reyes.

1. Analysis Paper Content

• Article Title and Author
• Introduction
• Summarize the Article
• Critique
• Conclusion
 Romblon State University

College of Arts and Sciences

Bachelor of Arts in Political Science

PSC 111- FUNDAMENTALS OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

Module 5- Assessment

Kaye-Anne Mangaring

09634907535/kayeannemangaring@gmail.com

Issues and Problems in Decentralization and Local Autonomy in the Philippines:

A Preliminary Assessment of Impact and Challenges
By: Danilo De la Rosa Reyes.

Introduction

In most general terms, decentralization may be defined as a state or condition in a

governmental system where there is dispersal of power or authority from the center. On
the other hand, centralization is the condition where power and decision making are
concentrated in the center. There are several reasons why decentralization is adopted
and applied as a tool of development administration. For one, it enables maximum
participation of the people concerned in the decision making processes on issues that
concern them directly. Decisions, aside from ensuring maximum citizen participation,
are also more responsive to the needs of the people. Second, lower levels of
government are encouraged, and trained, to be more self-reliant through
decentralization. Third, it hastens the decision-making ' processes, doing away with
traditional red tape of having to go all the way up to the central authorities for action or
authority to perform appropriate actions, and then downwards. There is decentralization
where decisions are made at the lower levels, with minimum participation (some prefer
to use the term ''interference'') by the central authorities. Finally, decentralization
decongests the central government of certain functions that could well be done at the
lower levels.
There are several ways in which the process of decentralization can be operationalized.
These include political devolution (devolution of powers to local government units, the
area approach) and administrative decentralization (deconcentration of functions from
national line departments to their regional offices, the sectoral approach). The following
matrix will help conceptualize the broad idea of decentralization.

Decentralization
Political decentralization Administrative decentralization
Devolution of powers to local government Deconcentration of authority to regional
units Area approach units Sectoral approach

The United Nations define decentralization as the transfer of authority on a geographic

area by deconcentration (i.e., delegation) of authority to field units of the same
department or level of government' The other school of thought' focuses on the political
aspect of decentralization emphasizing the devolution and local government aspect.
This paper will be within the general context described above that this paper will discuss
the historical debate of decentralization in the Philippines.

Local autonomy is generally described as the ability of the local governments for self-
government - be it at the regional, provincial, city, municipal or barrio/barangay level. It
should be emphasized, however, that local autonomy is more specifically related to
political decentralization than to administrative decentralization. The concept of local
autonomy has always been related to the general idea of decentralization which is
contemplated in the Constitution and various laws. Self-government or local autonomy
should be given some authority to generate local revenues through taxation. This would
make the power of the area of autonomy more significant and meaningful. Efforts at
political decentralization and local autonomy in the Philippines date back to first
Philippine -Republic that lasted from 1898 to 1902 with the reorganization by the central
government of the country's provinces and municipalities.

The term "supervision" was a compromise concept substituted for a stronger guarantee
of autonomy. By some constitutional convention delegates. The first local autonomy act
was passed in 1959 under the principal sponsorship of Senator Raul Manglapus. In
1967, Republic Act 5185, known as the "Decentralization Act of 1967" was enacted into
law. It further increased the financial resources of the local governments broadening
their decision-making latitude.

Marcos' 1973 Marcos Constitution provided for the promotion of local auto-agriculture
and promoted local self-reliance in a number of areas. The document constitutionalized
the taxing powers of local government units, enabling them to create their own sources
of revenue and to levy their own taxes. It also provided for "duties" that were not subject
to direction or review by the national government. In other words, the Code provided
that there would be no uniformity between the powers of the local governments and
those of the national government.

Marcos' Local Government Code provided for relatively wide latitude of powers over
local financial matters, but the President continued to exercise "general supervision over
local governments". The Marcos government also centralized local police and fire
protection services under a joint Philippine Constabulary/Integrated National Police
structure. Although local governments were given more planning responsibilities,
physical planning and regulatory functions have been recentralized in the Ministry of
Human Settlements.

Under the Marcos government, decentralization was subjected to two distinct forms:
political centralization and administrative decentralization. The February 1986 political
revolution marked the downfall of Marcos and the assumption of Corazon Aquino to the
presidency of the Philippines. As president, Aquino dismissed many local officials who
did not pass the loyalty test and replaced them with "officers-in-charge" (OICs), many of
whom were even worse and more incompetent than the officials they replaced.

The Constitution recognized that there must be a parallel movement of political and
administrative decentralization. Political decentralization focuses on the devolution of
powers to specific local governmental units covering a specific area. Administrative
decentralization involves the delegation of appropriate authority from national line
ministries to regional offices. This is what many refer to as the general strategy of
regionalization.

More definite attempts at administrative decentralization were made with the creation of
development authorities and regional planning boards. Examples of such have been the
Mindanao Development Authority and the Central Luzon Cagayan Valley Authority (both
organized. in ~961). The Inter-Agency Committee tried to define relative homogenous
areas, capable of stimulating and sustaining efforts, not only on the basis of
administrative consideration, but also with respect to geographic, economic and cultural
factors.

In the bureau model of administrative decentralization, a regional office is functionally

organized in a parallel fashion to the central office. A direct line of authority exists
between the agency head (the department secretary) and the regional director. This
model is most appropriate for departments that perform a variety of functions, such as
the Department of Natural Resources with four bureaus.

The Department of Defense and the Department of Foreign Affairs are two departments
that could not follow the general pattern of administrative decentralization through the
bureau or department model. In performing their tasks at the regional level, the IRP saw
to it that certain administrative decisions and processes that did not have to be done at
the central office could be delegated - or deconcentrated. Marcos issued Letters of
Instructions 447 (August 12,'1976),448 (August 18, 1976), 895 (July 25, 1979)
strengthening the administrative capacity of the regional offices. Studies conducted at
the University of the Philippines revealed disparity in the application of the delegated
authority to the regional level. Some regional offices claimed they could appoint up to
division chief level, while others claimed that all appointments had to be forwarded to
Manila.

The Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs) are seen by some as little more than talking
forums, since they are made up of all heads of local governments and national
departments and agencies in the area. Efforts should be directed towards strengthening
their role as serious planning and implementing bodies complete with a regional
executive and legislative assembly.

The 1986 constitution recognizes the wisdom of sub-regional planning as an approach

to administrative decentralization. The constitutional provision on local governments
provides that local government units may group themselves, consolidate or coordinate
their efforts, services, resources for purposes commonly beneficial to them in
accordance with law. Other approaches have also been tried in the Philippines in the
recent past, still operating within the general spirit of administrative decentralization and
planning for a specific geographic area. Philippines regional development councils
(RDCs) are responsible for planning and implementing programs and projects in the
provinces and islands of the country. This approach takes cognizance of the presence
of a major natural resource - water in the planning and develops. Activities of certain
areas. Many of the provinces in the country have been included in the PDAP, as well as
the islands of Mindoro, Palawan and Samar.

Concluding Remarks

There seems to be an-emerging trend towards the eventual recognition of the regional
level as a distinct and.separate level of local government, and not simply as a level for
the operationalization of administrative decentralization. The crucial role of regional
development councils in the decentralization of planning and administration should
likewise be recognized.

This paper presented a background of the decentralization approaches in

the .Philippines. While there are many variations of decentralization, this paper focused
on political decentralization and administrative decentralization. Philippine experience
with political decentralization dates back all the way to the beginning of the century,
coinciding with the developments towards autonomy of the local governments. There
seems to be an-emerging trend towards the eventual recognition of the regional level as
a distinct and separate level of local government, and not simply as a level for the
operationalization of administrative decentralization. Administrative decentralization is a
newer phenomenon, coinciding with the regionalization efforts of the Philippine
government in the 1950s. However, a watershed in the history of administrative
decentralization was the promulgation of the Integrated Reorganization Plan in 1972.
That standardized the regional structures for administrative purposes. This' was
operationalized primarily through the department and bureau models of regionalization.
The crucial role of the regional development councils in the decentralization of planning
and administration should likewise be recognized. The value of sub-regional planning
efforts should be appreciated in the general effort to attain effective administrative
decentralization.

Endnotes

lRaul P. de Guzman and Alex Brillantes, Jr., "Issues and Problems in Development
Administration in th-e Philippines: Focus on Regionalization," paper presented at the
Fifth Annual National Conference of the Philippine Political Science Association,
Quezon City, October 1978.
2Dennis A. Rondinelli and G. Shabbir Cheema, "Implementing Decentralization
Policies," Decentralization and Development (Beverly Hills: Sage Publications, 1983),
pp. 18-25.
3presidential Commission on Reorganization, Organizing Government for Effective
Development Administration (Manila: PCR, 1984), p. 31.
4United Nations Technical Assistance Program, 1962, p. 208.
5Rondinelli and Cheema, op. cit.
6It' should be emphasized that the implementation of decentralization - specifically
political decentralization or autonomy - need not always be initiated by central
authorities. There are, in fact, historical precedents that demonstrate otherwise. 'The
experience of the Muslims in Southern Philippines, and the Cordilleran’s in Northern
Philippines are best examples of locally initiated movements for autonomy. Other
examples cited are the barangays and locally initiated vigilante movements such as the
Alsa Masa, although the latter is still a debatable one.
7The discussion of the concept of autonomy is based on various lectures of Dr. Paul P.
de Guzman, Chancellor of the University of the Philippines at Los Banos.

8Jose P. Laurel, Local Government in the.Philipp~nelslands (Manila: La Pilarica Press,

1926), pp. 60~1. See also Romeo B. Ocampo and Elena Panganiban, "The
Philippines," in Chung-Si Ahn, 'ed., The Local Political System in Asia (Seoul: Seoul
National University Press, 1987), p.90.
9Malolos Constitution, Title XI, ~ticle n. Para. S.
10Ocampo and Panganiban,op. cit:
ll Ibid.
12Presidential Commission on Reorganization, op.·cit.
13Integrated Reorganization Plan of 1972, p, 53.
14See Guzman, Ocampo, Mariano and Brillantes, “The Political/Administrative
Aspects .of Regionalization and Development in the Philippines: Issues, Problems and
Prospects, Philippine Journal of Public Administration, Vol. 21, Nos. 34 (July-October
1977), pp. 354-358.
15Decentration was also identified as one of the five guiding principles of the
Presidential Commission on Government Reorganization (pCGR). See "Principles and
Policy Proposals," Provisional Report of the Presidential Commission on Government
Reorganization, June II, 1986.