MANAGEMENT CAPABILTY AND EMOTIONAL

COMPETENCE OF PUNONG BARANGAYS

_____________________________

By
AILEEN CABUDOL
APRIL 2021
INTRODUCTION

The barangay is the basic political unit of the Philippine political system. Originally known as

barrio, its name was changed to barangay under the Presidential Decree No. 557, dated

September 21, 1974, for purely historical and patriotic reasons.

In accordance with the Local Government Code of 1991 specifically Sec. 386, a barangay

may be created out of contiguous territory which has a population of at least two thousand

(2,000) inhabitants as certified by the National Statistics Office except in cities and

municipalities with Metro Manila and other metropolitan political subdivisions or in highly

urbanized cities where such territory shall have a certified population of at least five thousand

(5,000) inhabitants. Provided, that the creation therefore shall not reduce the population of the

original barangay or barangays less than the minimum requirements prescribed herein.

It also provides that the territorial jurisdiction of the new barangay shall be properly identified

by metes and bounds or by more or less permanent natural boundaries.

The barangay serves as the primary planning and implementing unit of government policies,

plans, programs, projects and activities in the community, and as a forum wherein the collective

views of the people may be expressed, crystallized and considered. Also, it is where disputes

may be amicably settled as stated in Sec. 384 of the Code.

 Its powers, duties and functions are carried out through three main branches namely: the

barangay assembly, the Sangguniang barangay, and the Punong barangay Barangay who acts as

the head otherwise known as chief executive or Barangay Captain.

The Punong Barangay shall exercise such powers and perform such duties and functions as

provided by the Local Government Code and other laws,ordinances, and resolutions promulgated

by the Sangguniang Barangay. The general welfare of the townfolks is the main concern of the

Chief Executive of the Barangay government.

However, inorder to fulfill the barangays’ mandates and functions as contained in the Local

Government Code, the punong barangays must be equipped with the necessary capabilities and

should not only observe but also practice morally upright actions.

Since, the enactment of the Local Government Code of the Philippines various capacity

building efforts from the national government, academic institutions and the other consulting and

training organizations have resulted to a number of tangible improvements in the manner of

barangays manage their local affairs. However, despite clamor for improved governance , there

has been no clear measure oof the level of capacities of the Punong Barangays and on how they

apply these capacities . Therefore, there is a need to examine whether the developed and

introduced capacities are indeed being applied. There is also need to prove if these develop and

introduce capacities are effective (Cadorna,2010)

The standard and quality of life of the people living in the barangay is dependent on the wide

range of services offered by its local government. These services should be provided in an

efficient and appropriate level of quality. But as to how well these services are provided is a

source of concern among those running the local government. Thus, there is a need to have
feedbacks on the effectiveness of the delivery of such services in order to have a basis for

improvement.

Moreover, there is a need for LGU’s to be assisted in generating accurate local data and

information to be able to respond to the needs of their constituents. (Austere, 2009)

LITERATURE

One area of this study involving management capability is substantially similar to the

investigations made by Esguerra (2008) who found out that the barangay officials were capable

in the major management functions of planning, organizing, controlling, and leading their

constituents. The difference lies in the fact that this study included the area of emotional

competence. While the study focused on barangay officials as subject, this study concentrated

only on the Punong Barangay. This study, differed with the three inquiries in terms of locale and

number of respondents.

Although Esguerra (2008) utilized the term leadership competence, it may be equated to

management capability since he referred to communication and supervising slills. This inquiry is

quite similar to the study conducted by Telen etal ((2010) which investigated the influence of

intellective and non-intellective factors on the performance of barangay Captains on governance,

fiscal administration development planning, barangay legislation, delivery of basic services and

facilities and compliance to directives.

As could be gleaned from the various studies reviewed and this inquiry, it appears that the

present crop of barangay officials are capable in terms of management capability and emotional

competence.