Local Government and Regional Administration PDF

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Insights on the following Assigned Readings:  Local Government Administration and the Challenges of Rural Development  Theory and Historical Background of Local Governments  Structures and Functions of Philippine Local Governments  Basic Types of Local Government Systems  Basic Services for Del...

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Insights on the following Assigned Readings:  Local Government Administration and the Challenges of Rural Development  Theory and Historical Background of Local Governments  Structures and Functions of Philippine Local Governments  Basic Types of Local Government Systems  Basic Services for Delivery (From Barangay to Provincial Levels)

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“Local Government Administration and the Challenges of Rural Development”

Local Governance serves its big importance for the development of a certain country as it is considered as the basic governing entity. It is the means of reaching people and a way of uniting them. It is the avenue of the common people to address their needs and for them to know that they are part of this what we called government. It must act as the immediate medium of peace and prosperity, a problem solver and a provider of cure or remedies in any problems of the diverse people living in the country, thus such a big responsibility to be one of the persons involved in local government sector. With its importance, it is imperative that certain knowledge must be acquired to those who will handle such big obligations; they are the public servants of the local government unit. Such equipment of knowledge and good governance must be practiced in any operations involved such as in planning and decision making. Unfortunately, as being experienced, the above must have are being reckoned and serving in the public unit was taken for granted. Administering the local government serves another purpose that instead of being an allied to foster development in the country it becomes a hindrance to achieve such thing. Attainment of country’s development requires most the participation of the local government for the fact that it would lead the way to national prosperity. But in our case, it leads in different path, the problem in our local government is that such empowerment of administrators was disregard, there is an inadequacy of well trained and qualified personnel, political will is missing, as a result such “good governance” that we are aiming is lost and with this the sustainability among all the citizens including the government and advancement that we are looking are said to be unlocked. It is known to me that tough job of having such job; it would really require such passion. It is not really an easy job, having such multiple cultures, diverse language and unlimited wants of needs of those diverse people and achieving this we called overall satisfaction. It is indeed a challenge, not just to the people involved in public service but also to all the people concerned, and they are the individual citizens in the country, it’s me and you. Page | 2

If we are going to base everything historically, we could say that what we experienced right now is due to what we called knowledge from the past. History do brought us to what we have right now, but not all the things in the past are good. Some officials became quiet interested in regards to the idea of using the money of the people since it is known to us the political system during the regime of the invaders of our country, the political structures of the previous administrators, and the awareness of bribery to corruption. Local Government at present can create its own new history, a history that will serve as a legacy. It needs only such enrichment in the political system such political efficacy and deep view to this what we called good governance and with that, local government will serve its purpose as the path and guarantor to national integration, administration and development.

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“Theory and Historical Background of Local Governments”

Every country in the world has its own sovereignty being declared, part of its sovereignty is the territory it comprise. With that, sovereignty is said to be the level of a government which naturedly appended as a nation. In dealing with nation, government exists and government itself is the people. By that, since one specific country which composes of a large territory and populous citizens subsist, such Local Government (LG) come into existence. Central government can no longer accommodate the services necessary to be supplemented to all the levels in a country, if not, then the means of providing those is a bit difficult to handle and untimely. Thus, the come up of such structure would mean the sensible provision of services for the inhabitants of one specific location within the boundaries provided by law if such. Local government in a country varies historically, and most of the time depends on the political and geographical pattern of a certain country. Though it varies a lot in a name or delineation of power, the nature itself is almost the same. Such local government in a specific country is a provision of law, in the case of the Philippines it is the Local Code of 1991. By that, there is still what we called central government wherein entitled to allow greater authority to LG to perform their activities. Sometimes, it is said to be that a one LG can perform more functions while in others perform less, it is due because they are entitled on their delegated authorities and its capability and such differences occur because also of resources and capabilities. But regardless how small, or powerful an LG is, LG exist for the reason of helping the central government in providing services in accordance to the national policies as well as to cultivate greater people’s participation.

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“Structures and Functions of Philippine Local Governments” Even before the existence of the Republic Act No. 7160, more commonly known as Local Government Code of 1991 in the Philippines such delineation of local autonomy in the country exists already. Local government in the Philippines has its roots in the colonial administration of Spain, which lasted in the Philippines for 327 years. The establishment of Cebu City in 1565 started the local government system. After Spain, the United States came into power in the early 1900s and ‘Filippinized’ local government administration. The last 50 years of the twentieth century saw several developments towards decentralization. 1 The struggle for decentralization over the past 50 years culminated in the passage of the Local Government Code in October 1991. The Local Government Code is a most comprehensive document on local government touching on structures, functions and powers, including taxation and intergovernmental relations. The Local Government Code has been implemented as part of the continuing advocacy of the country for effective decentralization and a working local autonomy. Out of the readings encountered the outlined below presented the detailed and current operational structures and functions of the Philippine Local Governments.  Local Government Categories and Hierarchies The categories of local authorities in the Philippines are as follows:      

1 Metropolitan Government; 2 Autonomous Regional Government; 80 Provinces; 138 Cities; 1,496 Municipalities; and 42, 026 Barangays.

 Local Government Structures and Functions All levels of local government exercise the following general functions and powers:    

Efficient service delivery; Management of the environment; Economic development; and Poverty alleviation.

The various provisions of the Local Government Code on provinces, cities, municipalities and barangays, all cite these functions. Enabling legislation from local councils may be initiated where necessary. The Local Government Code or Republic Act 7160, contains the following four local government laws, defining the functions and powers of local governments: 1

Country Report on Local Government Systems: Philippines Page | 5

 Section 468 Functions and powers of  Section 447 Functions and powers Law)  Section 458 Functions and powers of  Section 398 Functions and powers of

provinces (Provincial Law) of municipalities (Municipal cities (City Law) barangays (Barangay Law)

The functions and powers of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority is defined in Republic Act 7924, that of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in RA 6649 and RA 6766, and that of Cordillera Administration Region (CAR) in RA 6766. All these sections have been standardized so that the respective functions and powers are similar. For example, provincial, city, municipal and barangay councils shall all enact ordinances and approve resolutions, appropriate funds, and pursue Section 16 (General Welfare Clause) of the Local Government Code. Local governments are likewise empowered to exercise their corporate powers as provided for in Section 22 (corporate powers). This specific section provides that local governments as a corporation shall have the following powers: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

To have continuous succession of its corporate name; To sue and be sued; To have and use a corporate seal; To acquire and convey real or personal property; To enter into contracts; and To exercise such other powers as are granted to corporations, subject to limitations provided in the Local Government Code and other laws.

Moreover, provinces, cities, municipalities and barangays shall: 1. Approve ordinances and pass resolutions necessary for the efficient and effective local government administration; 2. Generate and optimize the use of resources and revenues for the development plans, program objectives and priorities of the specific level of local government provided under Section 18 (Power to Generate and Apply Resources of the Local Government Code); 3. Subject to the provisions of Book II of the Local Government Code grant franchises, approve the issuances of permits or licenses or enact ordinances, and levy taxes, fees and charges upon such conditions and for such purposes intended to promote the general welfare of the inhabitants; 4. Approve ordinances which shall ensure the efficient and effective delivery of basic services and facilities; and 5. Exercise such other powers and perform such other functions as may be prescribed by law or ordinance.

Table 1: Functions of Local Government Officials2 2

Local Government Code of 1991 and Republic Act 7160 – section on powers and functions Page | 6

Local Chief Executives Supervise local department’s performance Formulate plans and programs Preside over the local legislative council Approve local budget

Deputies Oversee the local bureaucracy General supervision over component local governments Exercise regulatory powers through the council Review local ordinances

The structures of local governments are both governed by the Local Government Code and by local ordinance passed by the local government concern. A province must, for example, have a governor who is elected at large. The vice governor acts as presiding officer of the provincial legislative council and all these offices are mandated by the Local Government Code. In the case of cities, whether it is highly urbanized or component cities, each has a city mayor, a vice mayor which presides over the city legislative council, and members of which, including the mayor and the vice-mayor are elected for a three-year term. Elected local officials are allowed only tenure of a three-year term or a total of nine consecutive years in the office as provided for in the Constitution. In the case of municipalities, the position of mayor, the vice-mayor as well as the members of the municipal legislative council is likewise mandatory structures in the Code. The barangay government likewise has the barangay captain and six members of the barangay council, all of who are also elected at the barangay level. All local governments are empowered by the Local Government Code to create their own departments and offices based on the principle of affordability and actual need. The legal relationship between local governments and parastatal bodies is minimal. However, the relationship between parastatal bodies and local government is closer in the implementation of plans and programs of investment and development programs in areas where these plans and programs are located in specific local governments. Local councils generally formulate laws and other regulatory measures. These regulatory measures are operationalized in the form of ordinances, proclamations, resolutions and/or other administrative forms. The process of legislation is usually based on identified needs of the municipality concerning development, peace and order or in the promotion of economic project activities including requirements in the social welfare clause provision of the Local Government Code. When the local council tackles vital ordinances, such as increasing local taxes, closure of local roads and other issues vital to the community, the regulatory measures or proposed ordinances undergo a series of public hearings. These ensure that the community is aware of the measures, and participate in the formulation of laws to be implemented in response. This process makes people consciously aware of the actions of local authorities, which are regulatory in nature.

“Basic Types of Local Government Systems”3

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Organizational Structure of Subnational and Local Government Page | 7

Every country has levels of government below the central national government. Subnational government entities have different powers, resources, and organizational structure, depending on whether the country has a unitary or federal political system, as well as its colonial experience, persistence of customary forms of local administration, and the character of the independence movements. Generally, however, subnational government is subdivided between an intermediate level (“regions,” “provinces,” or “districts”) and local government (at the municipal and village level). In some administrative systems, subnational entities have only the powers specifically delegated to them by the central government; in other systems, they operate on the “general competence” principle, by which they can exercise all powers not expressly reserved to central government. In many countries, the rights and powers of local government are explicit in the constitution or in national legislation; in other countries, they remain unspecified, and hence are generally dependent on the attitude of the central government of the day. Moreover, in most developing countries, the functioning in practice of local administrative systems is strongly influenced by cultural norms and customs. Especially in Africa and the Pacific, formal structures have been grafted onto traditional modes of local administration. Therefore, when assessing possible improvements in the effectiveness of local government administration (including those suggested below), it is important to look beyond these formal structures to the role of customary systems and traditional leaders. There are major differences between local administrations in rural areas, in cities, and in “megacities” with over 10 million inhabitants. In rural areas, the frequent structure of government in developing countries is that of a village council with elected members at the base, a second-tier level of government to represent a group of villages, and a top tier of government at district level with indirectly elected members. In cities, the organization of municipal government is largely a function of the services it provides. City government is normally organized to deliver services (such as waste disposal, water supply, internal transport, firefighting, parks, and similar services) for the direct benefit of the local population. In a minority of cases, municipal governments are appointed by central or provincial authorities—a system that in developing countries partly reflects a central distrust of local authority inherited from the former colonial administration. In appointed municipal governments, management is typically much less responsive and personnel loyalties are divided. Within elected municipal governments, the more frequent problem is fragmentation of authority, especially when the executive head (the mayor) is elected by and from among the members of the municipal council. The main alternatives are separate direct election of both the mayor and the council, and the mayor in- council model, whereby the majority party elects a slate of councilors along with a person to head the group. In the direct election model (resembling the presidential political system), the mayor has the strongest degree of authority, derived from the personal electoral mandate. In the mayor-in-council model councilors are responsible for their departments but also function as members of a collective executive under the leadership of the mayor. Whatever the manner of election of the mayor, the local political authority can benefit from the support of a strong administrative executive (city manager or similar role). The expansion of megacities (urban agglomerations with more than Page | 8

10 million people) is the most striking feature of late 20th century urbanization. By 2025, megacities such as Jakarta, Bangkok, Manila, Seoul, and Calcutta will account for some 400 million people in Asia alone. A megacity typically comprises a core area, a metropolitan ring, and an extended metropolitan region. Therefore, the conventional single municipality model is clearly inadequate, as responsibility for services in megacities is badly fragmented and cannot be associated with specific municipal boundaries. Megacities are in special need of good governance and strong coordination and planning, to deal with environmental degradation and extreme human poverty. Interagency coordination is essential and the central and intermediate levels of government must necessarily play a major role.

“Basic Services for Delivery (From Barangay to Provincial Levels)”4 4

Enhancing Participation in the Local Governance: Experiences from the Philippines Page | 9

As a landmark legislation, Republic Act No. 7160, more commonly known as the Local Government Code (LGC) of 1991, introduced sweeping changes in the Philippines’ political processes. The LGC drastically shifted power from the central government to the local governments. Its end goal is to unleash the potentials at the local level. The Code transferred substantial power, functions and responsibilities from the national government to the local government units (LGUs), allowing the impetus for change and development to originate from the local communities. It redirected the country’s development thrusts and encouraged a shift from nationally driven to locally driven strategies. Furthermore, it transferred the responsibilities for the delivery of basic services to the LGUs, including appropriate personnel, assets, equipment, programs and projects. The delivery of various aspects of basic services that used to be the responsibility of the national government is now devolved to the LGUs. These basic services include:         

field health and hospital services and other tertiary services; social welfare; community-based forestry; projects on agricultural extension and on-site research; public works funded by local fund; school building program; tourism facilities; promotion and development; and telecommunication services and housing projects for provinces and cities and other services such as investment support.

From the ‘organizing’ standpoint, the Code has altered the mode, configuration and level of services that local governments provide. Having bestowed greater powers and responsibilities on Philippine local governments, there is now a common awareness of the need to improve their organizational processes and performance. Hence, the Code embodies a major rationale for the development of local government organization in a number of ways. The code:  enlarges local bureaucracy because of the devolved personnel and programs;  expressly grants local governments the authority to implement organizational reforms in order to  perform effectively in a decentralized setting;  increas...