THE PHILIPPINE ADMINISTRATIVE

SYSTEM: ITS HISTORICAL AND

CULTURAL ROOTS

Dr. Ismael J. Herradura

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE
SPANISH COLONIAL
BUREAUCRACY
 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SPANISH COLONIAL
BUREAUCRACY

1. Philosophy of public office did not

distinguish between private and public
interest.
2. Highly centralized character
3. Morally corrupt
4. Had too much discretion on how they
would implement colonial policies
 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SPANISH COLONIAL
BUREAUCRACY

5. Viewed Filipinos negatively and did not

allow them to participate
6. Implemented policies which were
convenient for them or those which
favored their interest.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SPANISH COLONIAL
BUREAUCRACY
These features of the bureaucracy during the
Spanish colonial period emerged because of the
a) system of government (monarchy) which prevailed
in Spain at that time,

b) the distance between Spain and Manila which gave

the bureaucrats more discretion on how they would
implement the policies, and

c) the negative view that Spaniards had of the Filipino’s

capability.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE
AMERICAN COLONIAL
BUREAUCRACY
 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE AMERICAN
COLONIAL BUREAUCRACY

1. No one individual person’s will

dominated
2. Civil service evolved freely of church or
clerical intervention
3. Immediate action, penalties on cases of
graft and corruption
4. Exclusion of politics and spoils system
 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE AMERICAN
COLONIAL BUREAUCRACY

5. Government officials could not engage in

private business unless given permission
to do so by the Governor-General
6. Strained relationships between Civil
Service Bureau and heads of other
bureaus.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE AMERICAN
COLONIAL BUREAUCRACY

The character of bureaucracy during the

American colonial period was the outcome of
the system of government which existed in
America that time .

The Americans also wanted to institute an

efficient and non-political civil service, where
appointment would be based on merit. It was
also one which designed, from the beginning , to
involve more Filipinos in the administration of
the colonial government.
It will be noted that despite the major changes
in the administration of the bureaucracy, its
highly centralized character persisted over these
two colonial periods.

This was largely because a centralized

bureaucracy suited the needs of a colonial
government as it was easier to manage and
direct such a structure from Manila, the center
of power and authority, where the Governor-
General also held office.
THE EARLY REPUBLIC
From the American Colonial period, we
moved on the experience of the early
republic after the United States granted
the Philippines its independence in 1946.

By this time, the country had just gone

through the Second World War which
caused several physical destruction and
economic prostration.
While these factors would pose
demanding challenges on the public
bureaucracy, it was the emergence of
the two-party system soon after
independence, that would affect,
significantly, the character and nature
of the civil service.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE
BUREAUCRACY DURING THE
EARLY REPUBLIC
 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BUREAUCRACY
DURING THE EARLY REPUBLIC

1. It was vulnerable to nepotism

2. The Spoils System in the civil service
promised to be another serious defect
3. The bureaucracy seemed to have entered
a period of “normalcy” in that public
charges of corruption committed by
government officials seemed to be part
of the regular fare of newspapers
 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BUREAUCRACY
DURING THE EARLY REPUBLIC
4. An element of the environment which affected
all government officials (whether elective or
appointed officials), was the role of the media in
the peaceful correction of governmental defects
in general.
5. Two features of the bureaucracy in 1955, Corpuz
attributed to Spanish influence: its centralized
organization and the administration of laws
which were based on the civil law system which
the Spanish bureaucracy enforced.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BUREAUCRACY
DURING THE EARLY REPUBLIC

6. The strong influence of the American

colonial system was also very apparent in
the Philippine Bureaucracy of the
mid-fifties.
7. During this period, the bureaucracy served
as an instrument of social change and
innovations when it was placed under
Filipino Control.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BUREAUCRACY
DURING THE EARLY REPUBLIC

8. The extensive coverage of the service,

made the bureaucracy a motley aggregate
of individuals representing diverse families,
interest, ambitions and occupation groups.
9. In 1995, although bureaucracy was important,
it was not an independent power in Filipino
politics.
In all these, we see n the bureaucracy as being
essentially a creation of its times, shaped by its
history and the legacies it inherited from our
colonial masters.

As it responded to the demands of nation-building

after our independence in 1946, it had to rely on
the principles that it worked with during the
American colonial period .

The political party system and its operations had

major implications on the enforcement of the
merit system.
THE AUTHORITARIAN
REGIME
On September 21, 1972, Ferdinand Marcos, invoking
powers vested in him by the constitution, declared
and placed the entire nation under martial law with
him serving as the president of the government.

He abolished Congress and apprehended political

leaders who opposed or were potential
oppositionists to his political plans for the country.

He proclaimed his strategy to create a “New Society”

through revolution from the center, with his
government leading this revolution.
 CHANGES
IN THE BUREAUCRACY
INTRODUCED DURING THE MARTIAL
LAW REGIME
The Presidential Decree issued right after he
declared martial law was PD which reorganized the
entire bureaucracy. Among the major structural
changes implemented were:

a) National government decentralized national

government functions to the extent necessary for
improved administration by reducing the agencies,
under the office of the President creating eleven
uniform administrative regions.
b) It standardized the organization and common
operational activities of departments. Four staff
services were formed in each department for
planning, finance and management, administration
and technical services.

c) It facilitated the preparation and execution of

national development plans by creating the National
Economic and Development Authority (NEDA)

d) It converted the single-headed Civil Service

Commission into and three-person commission
e) It decentralized personnel functions to line
departments, bureaus and regional offices

f) It created the Career Executive Service as the

highest level in the career service.
These structural changes were accompanied
by the summary dismissal of a large number of
personnel at least twice: once in 1973 and
another in 1975.
The basis for this purge was not clearly
established and the term “notoriously
undesirable” struck fear in the hearts of many
civil servants.
Instead of promoting excellence and
productivity, purges caused employee
behavior to deteriorate. (Carino, 1992:83)
A more significant change was the politicization of
what was otherwise a neutral civil service.

Civil servants were forced to “volunteer” to

become members of the “Kilusan Bagong Lipunan”
Marcos’ political party which was to be his main
instrument for the creation of his new society.

Carino pointed out that civil service neutrality was a

casualty of the martial law. (Carino, 1992:83)
Aside from being politicized , the
bureaucracy served as a major instrument
of Marcos’ authoritarian regime and
continued to be a highly centralized
structure despite efforts to decentralize.

While Marcos deconcentrated

administrative power , he centralized
political control in his office.
US-concept of development and
development administration which
sought to bring about economic growth,
became the vision and ideology of the
bureaucracy which has taught modern
techniques of planning, implementation
and the evaluation of development
program.
When Marcos government fell, the
bureaucracy was described as

a) interventionist in that the government

competed with the private sector,
b) a bloated bureaucracy,
c) corrupt and committed to serve only the
interest of one family,
d) highly centralized and
e) inefficient.
THE AQUINO REGIME
Corazon C. Aquino was sworn into office
as the President of the Republic of the
Philippines after Marcos left the country
as a result of the EDSA Revolution.

As democratization as her main agenda,

her administration proceeded to reform
political institutions, including the civil
service.
She created the Presidential Commission on
Government Reorganization which saw the need to
“de-Marcosify” the bureaucracy. This was to be
achieve through:

1.The promotion of private initiatives

2.Decentralization
3.Accountability
4.Efficiency of front-line services
5.Cost-efficient of operations

In short, the bureaucracy was to be an instrument

for democratic end.
WHAT HAPPENED TO
CIVIL SERVICE DURING
THE AQUINO
ADMINISTRATION?
1. Carino observed that the “Aquino
government has had to contend with a
bureaucracy that has become militant about
guarding its own interest and is slowly
venturing out to make the executive more
responsible.
2. Aquino controlled the civil service through
personnel and organizational changes as
well as policies affecting employee conduct
and behavior.
3. Using the revolutionary character of her
initial days in power, Aquino followed the
Marcos model of summary dismissals. This
was accompanied by general reorganization
which was more tumultuous than any other
undertaken before. (Carino, 1992: 128)

4) On the whole, however, Carino saw the

bureaucracy under the Aquino as one which
was dominated and controlled by the
executive.
REASONS WHY DOMINATION OF THE
BUREAUCRCY BY THE EXECUTIVE
IS A PHENOMENON THAT
PERSISTED SINCE THE COLONIAL
PERIOD UP TO THIS TIME
1. Executive control of the bureaucracy is
fostered by the authoritarian culture
which is reinforced by the hierarchical
nature of the bureaucratic organization.
Civil servants are accepting the orders
of power-holder and they tend not to
question these orders.
2. The civil service is divided.
Member organization tend to fend for themselves
rather than act in a united manner when dealing
with policies such as salary standardization law or
those which affect the reorganization of their
offices.
There is the thinking that offices are more likely
to succeed in their request to ne exempted from
certain restrictive policies if they make such a
request only for their office and not for the entire
bureaucracy.
THANK YOU…