Except in The Predominantly Muslim Parts of The South

 Except in the predominantly Muslim parts of the south, Spain formed a
centralized administration and absorbed the barangays.

 Spain also established a "theocratic" regime, where the union of the church and
the state was fostered, with the friars exercising far-reaching powers in the affairs
of the state.
 There was also a policy of partitioning the indigenous population into
communities known as encomiendas, which were governed by an encomendero
who had the authority to collect tributes from the people who lived in these
communities.
American Colonial Bureaucracy
 There was no single person's will or influence that was dominant. This was due
to the fact that the administration was governed by laws rather than by the
personal decisions and actions of individual officials.
 The civil administration inherited civilians and discharged soldiers from the
preceding American military government in its early years. When they were
caught conducting petty corruption, they were immediately disciplined, and
penalties were applied in every case. This was done to show the Filipinos that
the American and Spanish colonial administrations were vastly different.
 During the American colonial period, the Civil Service was a non-political
organization with a broader coverage, as it extended to all positions in the civil
administration. Manila's municipal government, as well as the insular and
provincial civil administrations. It was organized in a centralized manner.
2. While there were significant changes that distinguished the public bureaucracy
during the Spanish and American colonial periods, one feature which characterized
the bureaucracy's structure did not change. Can you identify this feature and
explain why it endured?
Centralized Organization
A centralized government (also known as a united government) is one in which
administrative and legislative power is consolidated at a higher level rather than spread
among numerous lower-level governments. Centralization happens in a national context
when power is transferred to a typically unitary sovereign nation state. Even a federated
or federal state has jurisdiction or prerogatives beyond those of its constituent
members, hence all established governments are inherently centralized to some extent.
Authority is centralized to the extent that a base unit of society – typically an individual
citizen - vests authority in a bigger entity, such as the state or the local community.
3. What major Presidential Decree did Marcos introduce which led to the adoption
of reforms in the Philippine Civil Service System?
The Authoritarian Regime – Martial Law
Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law on September 21, 1972, invoking powers vested
in him by the constitution. He abolished congress, imprisoned opposition politicians,
controlled the media, and declared the creation of a "new society" through a revolution
from the center. His first Presidential Decree ushered in the most comprehensive
reorganization of the executive branch.
President Ferdinand E. Marcos had enacted the Integrated Reorganization Plan (IRP)
by Presidential Decree No. 1, which became part of the law of the land on September
24, 1972. The country’s most comprehensive and agonizing administrative reform effort.
The IRP provided for decentralizing and reducing the bureaucracy, as well as
standardizing departmental organization. The IRP also aimed to make structural
changes and reforms in order to strengthen the merit system and professionalize the
civil service. The IRP also provided for the conversion of the single-headed Civil Service
Commission (CSC) into a three-man body and the formation of the Career Executive
Service in the civil service (CES). Thousands of government personnel, including
cabinet members, were fired during two spectacular purges in 1973 and 1975,
delivered a message that the administration would not tolerate improper behavior.
Under President Marcos, the bureaucracy became more submissive than at any other
period in Philippine history.
4. List at least three (3) specific structural changes implemented in the bureaucracy
as a result of this decree.
The major structural changes executed with the issuing of PD No. 1, which mandated
the most extensive reorganization of the Philippine executive branch, were:
 Decentralized national government functions by reducing the agencies under the
office of the President and created 11 uniform administrative regions.
 Standardized the organization and common operational activities of departments.
The department has four staff services were formed in each department for
planning, finance and management, administration and technical services.
 Facilitated the preparation and execution of national development plans by
creating the National Economic & Development Authority (NEDA).
These structural changes were accompanied by the summary dismissal of a large
number of personnel in 1973 and in 1975.
5. What were the directions for reforms which guided the reorganization efforts of
the Aquino administration?
After Marcos fled the country following the EDSA Revolution in 1986, Corazon C.
Aquino was sworn in as President of the Republic of the Philippines. Her administration
went about reforming political institutions, including the civil service, with
redemocratization as her main agenda . She established a Presidential Commission on
Government Reorganization, which recognized the need to "de-Marcosify" the
bureaucracy. This was to be achieved through:
a) Promotion of private initiative;
b) Decentralization;
c) Accountability;
d) Efficiency of front-line services;
e) Cost-effectiveness of operations.
6. What explains the executive's continued domination of the bureaucracy during
the Aquino administration?
The Executive, like its predecessors, dominated and controlled the bureaucracy under
the Aquino administration.
 The authoritarian culture fostered executive control of the bureaucracy, which
was strengthened by the hierarchical nature of the bureaucratic organization.
Civil servants accepted the orders of power holders and they tend not to question
these orders.
 The Civil Service was divided; offices fended for themselves instead of acting
collectively (as typified by their varied positions on salary standardization and
reorganization)
 Slow economy and scarcity of work opportunities added.
 The struggle of the civil service against executive dominance takes place in the
context of an economic and social structure in which the political and economic
elite continues to wield significant power.
Test II: Indicate whether these questions are true or false. If you say it is false,
explain what makes it false:
TRUE 1. The Philippine bureaucracy in the mid-1950's was vulnerable to

nepotism and to the spoils system.
TRUE 2. Nepotism was acceptable in the bureaucracy as successful Filipinos are
expected to help their relatives in need.
TRUE 3. The media was an accepted mode of criticizing and correcting the ills of
the bureaucracy during the early republic.
TRUE 4. The public was used to reading charges of corruption against public
officials during the early 1950s.
FALSE 5. The bureaucracy was no longer highly centralized in the 1950s.
The rule and practice that the conduct of government employees and officers
could be the legitimate subject of public inquiry and critique came with the American
colonial administration. The centralized organization of the bureaucracy and the
administration of laws based on the civil law system enforced by the Spanish
bureaucracy are two features linked to Spanish influence. In the mid-1950s. The strong
influence of the American colonial system was also very apparent in the Philippine
bureaucracy.
TRUE 6. Compared to the Americans, the Spaniards exerted greater influence on
the Philippine bureaucracy of today as the Spaniards stayed longer as a colonial
power.
FALSE 7. The Philippine bureaucracy constituted a distinct social class in itself.
In the mid-1950s, the Philippine bureaucracy reflected the strong influence of the
American colonial administration. When the bureaucracy was placed under Filipino
authority at this period, it became a tool for social reform and innovation. Unlike the
Spanish bureaucracy, the Philippine bureaucracy did not constitute a distinct social
class or have class attributes.
FALSE 8. The bureaucracy was a strong force in Philippine politics.
In 1955, the bureaucracy was important, but it was not an independent power in
Filipino politics. Because of the absence of "class consciousness" and of a feeling of
unity on the part of the Filipino bureaucrats and stigma of post-world war 2 ill-repute, the
Philippine bureaucracy's "merit system" was easily subject to attack and tampering by
politicians. They worked through the legislative and executive branches of the national
government

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 Except in the predominantly Muslim parts of the south, Spain formed a

centralized administration and absorbed the barangays.

TRUE 1. The Philippine bureaucracy in the mid-1950's was vulnerable to

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