EVOLUTION OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS IN THE PHILIPPINES

Introduction

Before the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century, most people lived in small

independent villages called barangays, each ruled by a local paramount ruler called a datu.

The Spanish later founded many small towns, which they called poblaciones, and from those

centres roads or trails were built in four to six directions, like the spokes of a wheel. Along

the roadsides arose numerous new villages, designated barrios under the Spanish, that were

further subdivided into smaller neighborhood units called sitios.

Elements of both Spanish and indigenous local settlement structures have persisted

into the early 21st century. The country is divided administratively into several dozen

provinces, which are grouped into a number of larger regions. The National Capital Region

(Metro Manila) has special status, as does the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in

the far south. Each province is headed by an elected governor. The provinces collectively

embrace more than 100 cities and some 1,500 municipalities. The poblaciones are now the

central business and administrative districts of larger municipalities. Although contemporary

rural and urban settlement revolves around the poblaciones, the population is typically

concentrated in the surrounding barangays, reinstated during the Marcos regime as the

basic units of government (replacing the barrios). The barangays, which number in the tens

of thousands, consist of communities of fewer than 1,000 residents that fall within the

boundaries of a larger municipality or city. Cities, municipalities, and barangays all have

elected officials (Britannica, n.d.).

 The cities, municipalities, and provinces of today evolved from the barangays of pre-

Spanish times, the pueblos and cabildos of the Spanish colonial days and the townships of

the American Regime.

Objective

To be able to discuss the history of the local governments of the Philippines and how

it evolved to its modern government state.

Historical Timeline

The Barangay. The pre-Spanish barangays were the first political and social organizations of

the Philippines. A barangay was a settlement of some 30 to 100 families and a governmental

unit in itself.

Spanish Conquest and Centralism. The lack of unity among the warring barangays made

conquest easier for the Spaniards. Gradually, the datus were shorn of their powers. The

Spaniards organized pueblos (municipalities), cabildos (cities), provinicias (provinces). The

provinces were established “for the convenience of administration and constituted the

immediate agencies through which the central government could extend its authority on

numerous villages.” In place of the barangays, barrios were established, and datus were

made into cabezas de barangay whose only remaining function was the collection of taxes

for the Spanish government.

Local Governments during the First Philippine Republic. The importance of local

governments was recognized by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo and Apolinario Mabini in their

program of government for the First Philippine Republic. Filipino leaders knew that “if a

strong and enduring Filipino nation was to be established, it must be able to maintain itself

in all emergencies, and the whole political fabric must be well-founded on an efficient

system of local governments. The Malolos Constitution provided a separate article on local

government (Title XI, Article 82). Local autonomy was made explicit in the introductory

portion which stipulated that “the organization and powers of the provincial and municipal

assemblies shall be governed by their respective laws.”

Local Governments during American Regime. The Americans contributed very little to the

development of local autonomy. In fact, national-local relationship reverted to the strong

centralism that characterized the Spanish colonial regime.

The Commission’s blueprint for town organization provided for a President to be

elected vica voce by residents of the town with the approval of the Commanding Officer. His

duty consisted in the establishment of a police force, collection of taxes, enforcement of

regulations on market sanitation, establishment of schools, and the provision for lighting

facilites.

The Commonwealth and Centralism. The forms and patterns of local government during

the American civil administration remained essentially the same during the Commonwealth

period. The only notable changes were the transfer of central supervision form the

Executive Bureau to the Department of Interior and the creation of more chartered cities.
 President Quezon, the central figure of the government during this period, even

argued against autonomy in the cities, hinting that “under the unitary system of government

which exists in the Philippines, the national chief executive does and should control all local

offices.”

Local Governments under the Republic. The national government was supreme and local

governments were merely its political and administrative subdivisions. Most of the formal

and real powers are vested and exercised by the national government. Local units, however,

possessed a certain degree of autonomy.

During Marcos’ authoritarian years (1972-1986), a Ministry of Local Government was

instituted to invigorate provincial, municipal, and barangay governments. But Marcos’ real

purpose was to establish lines of authority that bypassed provincial governments and ran

straight to Malacañang. All officials were beholden to Marcos, who could appoint or remove

any provincial governor or town mayor.

Local Governments at present. After the People Power’s Revolution, the new Aquino

government decided to replace all the local officials who had served Marcos. Corazon

Aquino delegated this task to her political ally, Aquilino Pimentel. Pimentel named officers in

charge of local governments all across the nation. Local officials elected in 1988 were to

serve until June 1992, under the transitory clauses of new constitution. Thereafter, terms of

office were to be three years, with a three-term limit.

On October 10, 1991, the Local Government Code 1991 (RA 7160) was signed into

law. This Code ordained an authentic and workable local autonomy through the devolution

of certain powers from the national government to the local governments (Dagohoy, 2012).
Conclusion

Today, the Philippines has been one of the most dynamic economies in the East Asia

Pacific region (Evaluation, n.d.). With increasing urbanization, a growing middle class, and a

large and young population, the Philippines’ economic dynamism is rooted in strong

consumer demand supported by a vibrant labor market and robust remittances. Business

activities are buoyant with notable performance in the services sector including business

process outsourcing, real estate, tourism, and finance and insurance industries. However,

the COVID-19 pandemic and community quarantine measures imposed in the country have

severely impacted economic growth and poverty reduction. Growth contracted significantly

in 2020, driven by heavy declines in consumption and investment growth, and exacerbated

by the sharp slowdown in exports, tourism, and remittances. Similarly, the previous trend in

real wages, which is expected to have a positive impact on household incomes—particularly

those from the lower income groups—has been severely hampered by the impact of the

COVID-19, with negative consequences also for poverty reduction in the Philippines.

The main challenge for the new President and his Cabinet lies on building on the

gains in the last six years in order to ensure his government can bridge more Filipinos to

self-sufficiency; tackle the new and even more complex challenges to sustainable

development; and ease the manner of doing business to attract robust investments from

here and abroad. In other words, the next leadership must ensure more Filipinos, regardless

of birth, gender, and origin, will share in the country’s progress.

References

Britannica, T. E. (n.d.). Local Government. Retrieved from Britannica:

https://www.britannica.com/place/Philippines/The-Philippines-since-c-1990
Dagohoy, N. G. (2012, February 12). Local Governments in the Philippines. Retrieved from
SlideShare: https://www.slideshare.net/NeilDagohoy/local-governments-in-the-
philippines
Evaluation, I. F. (n.d.). Retrieved from Department of Budget and Management:
https://www.dbm.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/Executive%20Summary/2016/E.
%20Conclusuion%20updated.pdf