PHILIPPINE ADMINISTRATIVE

SYSTEM
 ???
 How should the emergence of Public
Administration as we know it today be
truly characterized -- a mutation or a
metamorphosis?

 Do you think our system is well

structured? Why or why not?
 Is our current system ideal given our
physical, cultural and socio-economic
conditions?

 Is our system pro-people?

 Is our system really corrupt? If yes, who

should we blame?

 Do you think there is a need to change

our system?
 PHILIPPINE ADMINISTRATIVE
SYSTEM
A network of organizations with specific rules and
goals, structures, resources and programs. It includes
the internal processes of and the interaction between
and among public organizations, which are
constituted to implement, help formulate, monitor or
assess public policies.
COMPONENTS OF PAS

1. Central Government

2. Autonomous Regions

3. The Provincial Government

4. The City Government

5. The Municipal Government

6. The Barangay
PAS empowers people:

 Institutionalizes access to PAS services.

 Decentralizes and makes operations transparent.

 Listens and works with people.

 Procedures should be made simple and local

language should be used.
PROFILE : REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

GOVERNMENT : UNITARY PRESIDENTIAL

CONSTITUIONAL REPUBLIC

-President : Benigno Aquino, III

-Vice Pres. : Jejomar Binay
-Senate Pres. : Franklin Drilon
-House Speaker : Feliciano Belmonte, Jr.
-Chief Justice : Maria Lourdes Sereno
LEGISLATURE : Congress
-Upper House : Senate
-Lower House : House of Representative

INDEPENDENCE

-From Spain (declared) : June 12, 1898

-US control : July 04, 1902
-Self Government : March 24, 1934
-From US : July 04, 1946

Current Constitution : February 02, 1987

 LEGAL STRUCTURE
The 1987 Constitution of the Philippines, as in past
constitutions, vested the power of government on
the:

1. Legislative

2. Executive

3. Judiciary
The Legislative Power is vested in the Congress of
the Philippines which shall consist of a Senate and
a House of Representatives, except to the extent
reserved to the people by the provision on
initiative and referendum;

The Executive Power is vested in the President of

the Philippines.

The Judicial Power is vested in one Supreme

Court and in such lower courts as may be
established by law.
 LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

The Senate is composed of twenty-four

Senators. The term of office of the Senators is
six years. No Senator shall serve for more than
two consecutive terms.

The Constitution provides that the House of

Representatives shall be composed of not
more than two hundred and fifty (250)
members, unless otherwise fixed by law.
 LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

The party-list representatives shall constitute

twenty per cent (20%) of the total number of
representatives.

The Members of the House shall be elected

for a term of three years, and shall serve for
no more than three consecutive terms.
 EXECUTIVE BRANCH

The executive power is vested in the

President of the Philippines. The President
and the Vice-President shall be elected by
direct vote of the people for a term of six
years. The President shall not be eligible for
any re-election. No Vice-President shall
serve for more than two successive terms.
 JUDICIARY BRANCH

The national court system consists of four

levels:
• 15-member Supreme Court;
• Local and regional trial courts;
• a national Court of Appeals divided into
17 divisions;
• and an informal local system for
arbitrating or mediating certain disputes
outside the formal court system.
The Sandiganbayan - the Government's
anticorruption court, hears criminal
cases brought against senior officials.

Shari'a (Islamic law) court system, with

jurisdiction over domestic and contractual
relations among Muslim citizens, operates
in some Mindanao provinces.
 LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Government Structure
Under the Local Government Code of 1991, each Unit is
composed of an executive and legislative power, together
with local special bodies, as follows:
 CONSTITUTIONAL COMMISSIONS OF THE
PHILIPPINES

Institutions whose existences are specifically

provided for in the 1987 constitution
 1. CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION

POWER AND FUNCTIONS:

1. Administer and enforce the constitutional and

statutory provisions on the merit system.

2. Prescribe, amend, and enforce suitable rules and

regulations for carrying into effect the provisions of the
Decree.
POWER AND FUNCTIONS:

3. Promulgate policies, standards, and guidelines for the

Civil Service adopt plans and programs to promote
economical , efficient, and effective personnel
administration in the government.

4. Supervise and coordinate the conduct of civil service

examinations.

5. Approve appointments, whether original or

promotional, to positions in the civil service.
POWER AND FUNCTIONS:

3. Promulgate policies, standards, and guidelines for the

Civil Service adopt plans and programs to promote
economical , efficient, and effective personnel
administration in the government.

4. Supervise and coordinate the conduct of civil service

examinations.

5. Approve appointments, whether original or

promotional, to positions in the civil service.
POWER AND FUNCTIONS:

6. Inspect and audit periodically the personnel work

programs of the different departments, bureaus, offices,
agencies and other instrumentalities of the government.

7. Hear and decide administrative disciplinary cases

instituted directly with it or brought to it on appeal.

8. Perform such other functions as properly belonging to

a central personnel agency.
2. COMMISSION ON AUDIT

COA shall have the power, authority, and

duty to examine, audit, and settle all
accounts pertaining to the revenue and
receipts of and expenditures or uses of
funds and property, owned or held in trust
by, or pertaining to, the Government, or
any of its subdivisions, agencies, or
instrumentalities, including government-
owned or controlled corporations with
original charters, and on a post-audit
basis:
a) constitutional bodies, commissions and offices that
have been granted fiscal autonomy under this
Constitution;

b) autonomous state colleges and universities;

c) other government-owned or -controlled corporations

and their subsidaries; and

d) such non-governmental entities receiving subsidy or

equity, directly or indirectly, from or through the
Government, which are required by law or the granting
institution to submit to such audit as a condition of
subsidy or equity.
3. COMMISSION ON
ELECTIONS

COMELEC shall exercise the following

powers and functions:

(1) Enforce and administer all laws and regulations

relative to the conduct of an election, plebiscite,
initiative, referendum, and recall except all contests
relating to the elections, returns, and qualifications of all
elective regional, provincial, and city officials which shall
be within the original jurisdiction of the regional trial
courts.
(2) Decide, except those involving the right to vote, all
questions affecting elections, including determination of
the number and location of polling places, appointment
of election officials and inspectors, and registration of
voters.

(3) Deputize, with the concurrence of the Prime Minister,

law enforcement agencies and instrumentalities of the
Government, including the Armed Forces of
the Philippines, for the exclusive purpose of ensuring
free, orderly, honest, peaceful, and credible elections.
(4) Accredit, after sufficient publication, political parties,
organizations, or coalitions which, in addition to other
requirements, must present their platform or program of
government and assume party responsibilities and
accountability in governance; and accredit citizens’ arms
of the Commission on Elections.

(5) File, upon a verified complaint, or on its own initiative,

petitions in court for inclusion or exclusion of voters,
investigate, and, where appropriate, prosecute cases of
violations of election laws, including acts or omissions
constituting election frauds, offenses, and malpractices.
(6) Recommend to Parliament effective measures to
minimize election spending, including limitation of places
where propaganda materials shall be posted, and to
prevent and penalize all forms of election frauds,
offenses, malpractices, and nuisance candidacies.

(7) Recommend to the Prime Minister the removal of any

officer or employee it has deputized, or the imposition of
any other disciplinary action, for violation or disregard of,
or disobedience to its directive, order, or decision.

(8) Submit to the Prime Minister and Parliament a

comprehensive report on the conduct of each election,
plebiscite, initiative, referendum, or recall.
 CONSTITUTIONAL CREATED/MANDATED
SPECIAL BODIES

1. Commission on Human Rights

2. Ombudsman
3. Commission on Appointments
 1. Commission on Human
Rights
Head : Etta Rosales
Functions:
Under Section 18, Article XIII of the Philippine Constitution,
the Commission is empowered to investigate all forms of
human rights violations involving civil and political rights,
adopt rules of procedure and issue contempt citations,
provide appropriate legal measures for the protection of
human rights of all persons within the Philippines, and
several other powers in relation to the protection of human
rights.
The Supreme Court of the Philippines declared that the
Commission did not possess the power of adjudication,
and emphasized that its functions were primarily
investigatory.
 2. Ombudsman

Head : Conchita Carpio-Morales

The Ombudsman of the

Philippines (Filipino: Tanodbayan ng Pilipinas) is
an ombudsman responsible for investigating and
prosecuting Philippine government officials accused of
crimes, especially graft and corruption.
Per 1987 Philippine Constitution, the Office of the
Ombudsman independently monitors all three branches of
the government. The Ombudsman is also responsible for
receiving complaints from citizens and organizations from
the country. The Ombudsman usually prosecutes officials
accused of graft and corruption, which usually files the
charge at the Sandiganbayan.

The Ombudsman and its subordinates are appointed by

the President of the Philippines from a list submitted by
the Judicial and Bar Council for a non-renewable seven-year
term. The Ombudsman can be removed from office only
through impeachment.
 3. Commission on
Appointments

The Commission on Appointments is a body of

the Congress of the Philippines as provided by
the Constitution. It confirms certain appointments
made by the President of the Philippines. This is based
on the Article VII, Section 16 of the 1987 Constitution.
"The President shall nominate and, with the consent of the
Commission on Appointments, appoint the heads of the
executive departments, ambassadors, other public
ministers and consuls, or officers of the armed forces from
the rank of colonel or naval captain, and other officers
whose appointments are vested in him in this Constitution.
He shall also appoint all other officers of the Government
whose appointments are not otherwise provided for by
law, and those whom he may be authorized by law to
appoint…”
PHILIPPINE ADMINISTRATIVE
SYSTEM: Its components
and power base
Going back to the definition, PAS is:

•A network of public organizations with specific goals,

policies, structures, resources and programs;
•Processes of and interaction between and among these
public organizations;
•Organizations constituted to implement, help formulate,
monitor, or assess public policies.
•These organizations’ relationship with their immediate
public-in-contact as well as their reaction to or how the
greater socio-politico and economic environment within
which they operate affect them; and
•The greater socio-politico and economic environment.
First Component: Public Organizations

• These are the blocks of PAS.

• Each of these organizations have their respective goals,
policies, structures, resources and processes.
• These organizations are usually created by law, which
defines their purpose, their core structure, the
functions that they are to undertake and how their
operations are to be funded by public funds.
• Traditionally, the PAS refers to the Executive Branch, all
offices and instrumentalities thereof, local government
units, government owned and controlled corporations,
and chartered institutions such as state colleges and
universities.
Second Component: Internal Processes and
Interactive Efforts
• Public organizations perform their public functions
through defined rules and procedures. These
procedures are internal to the organization. They are
designed and established as the best way of providing
the service organizations must deliver or of carrying out
the function that they must fulfill. Aside from these
internal operating procedures, these organizations have
policies, rules and procedures that govern their working
relationships with other government offices.
Third Component: “Implementing, Help
Formulating, and Assessing Public Policies”
• The PAS is primarily responsible for implementing public
policies formulated jointly by the Legislative and the
Executive branches.
• Some unanticipated problems that emerge when
policies are carried out are helpful in the revision of
these laws or in the formulation of the new ones. For
this reason, the PAS inevitably participates or assists in
policy formulation.
• Aside from implementing and helping formulate
policies, the PAS also monitors or assess public policies.
Fourth Component: “Individuals, Groups,
Organizations, and Communities as Its
Public/Clientele”
• The PAS must be conscious of the different kinds of
publics or clientele that it deals with.
• The public exerts different kinds of demands and
pressures on the PAS. There are times when the PAS’s
view of things and its notion of how services may be
delivered efficiently may not agree with the public’s
needs and preferences.
Fifth Component: The Greater Socio-Politico and
Economic Environment

What do we refer to when we say “socio-politico and

economic environment?”

The Philippine administrative system is part of a bigger and

social system where there are competing claims to limited
resources and institutions play a role in determining how
these resources will be utilized.
This environment consists of interests and pressure groups
with their respective claims on the state, and social and
cultural values and practices which establish norms and
articulate needs and other demands of other stakeholders
within the greater social system.

This environment is the source of demands and pressures

on the state for services, information or enforcement of
existing laws.
SOURCES OF POWER OF THE
PAS
The power of the PAS stems largely from:

1.Its being an arm of the government

2.Its being an enforcer and implementor of public policy
3.Its operation as a service delivery system
4.Its role as a participant in the policy formulation process
5.Its technical expertise
6.Its extensive and nationwide presence at all levels of
government
The PAS as Instrument of the State
The public bureaucracy derives its administrative power
from its being an arm of the state. The PAS is in effect the
machinery through which the functions of government are
exercised legitimately throughout the country. It is fully
supported by enabling state policies which confer authority
on its action. It is through the public bureaucracy that the
President as head of the Executive branch, for instance,
can exercise its power of eminent domain.
 ???
What is the power of eminent domain and why is it a good
example of the extent of the power of the PAS?
The PAS as Enforcer and Implementor of Public
Policy
The PAS enforces the laws and implements other public
policies set by the executive and the legislative branches of
the government. Most laws stipulate how they are to be
enforced, specify sanctions, and even establish behavioral
norms that must be observed by enforcers. In instances
where new programs are authorized, the source and
amount of funds, as well as other logistics for program
activities are also provided.
As the law enforcement arm and policy implementor of the
government, the PAS has discretion as to how it carries out
policies and enforces the law. This is another source of the
PAS’s power. The legislature cannot fully anticipate all the
conditions under which certain laws are to be enforced or
implemented. Thus, the PAS may exercise its discretion as
to how it interprets the law as it enforces or implements
the same.
The PAS as a Service Delivery System

PAS utilizes its authority, structure, and resources to

produce specific services that extends to a clientele group.
The PAS as Participant in the Policy Formulation
Process
The participation of the PAS in the policy formulation
process stems largely from its role as enforcer and
implementor and its technical expertise on certain topics.
Technical Expertise of the PAS

Another source of power of the PAS in the accumulated

technical expertise that it has amassed over time as it deals
with the myriad and complex issues that government must
address.

This means the capacity to generate, use, and control

technical information which are inputs in the provision of
services or in the production of more information.
Nationwide Presence of the PAS

The public bureaucracy has an expansive reach through

which it can mobilize support for its programs from all over
the country. This network also provides the PAS with a
wide base for its operations that can be utilized for any
inter-agency effort. Having offices, human resources, and
other logistics that it can easily mobilize is another source
of the power of the PAS.
 Utilizing PAS Power

•How is PAS expected to use this power?

•Whose interest must this power protect?

Article II, Section 1 of the 1987 Constitution declares that:
“The Philippines is a democratic and republican State.
Sovereignty resides in the people and all government
authority emanates from them.” Under this provision of
our constitution, the people reposes power and authority
in the state, likewise derives its power from the people. It
is for and in behalf of the people that this power should be
used, because it is actually their power that they
collectively repose in trust in the hands of elected and
appointed public officials to enhance their welfare.
While elected officials determine their administration’s
priority programs in keeping with their political platforms,
the PAS, which is expected to maintain political neutrality,
carries out this program of actions. In effect, the PAS must
answer to the political leaders (elected officials) and
directly to the people in its use of their power as part of
the state machinery.
Daghang Salamat!