Public Administration

Lesson 5
Local Governments in the Philippines

History
 In the Philippines

• 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.
 In the Philippines
• The Barangays 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.
 In the Philippines
• 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), and provincias (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 the datus were made into cabezas de barangay
whose only remaining function was the collection of
taxes for the Spanish government.
 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. Fillipino 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.”
 The American Regime
• The Americans contributed very little, if at all, 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 viva 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 and sanitation,
establishment of schools, and the provision for
lighting facilities.
 The Commonwealth
• 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 from 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.”
 The Republic
• 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's authoritarian years (1972-86), 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 local officials were
beholden to Marcos, who could appoint or remove any
provincial governor or town mayor.
 After Peoples Power
• Local Governments at present. After the Peoples Power
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 the 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 (R.A.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.
 Political Subdivision
• A barangay (Filipino: baranggay, is the smallest
administrative division in the Philippines and is the
native Filipino term for a village, district or ward.
• Municipalities and cities are composed of barangays,
and they may be further subdivided into smaller areas
called purók (English: zone), and sitio, which is a
territorial enclave inside a barangay, especially in rural
areas. In writing, barangay is sometimes abbreviated to
"Brgy." or "Bgy.". As of 31 March 2018 there are a total
of 42,044 barangays throughout the Philippines.
• SEC. 384. Role of the Barangay.- As the basic political
unit, 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,
and where disputes may be amicably settled.
 MUNICIPALITY
• A municipality (Filipino: bayan; munisipalidad)
is a local government unit in the Philippines.
Municipalities are also called towns (which is
actually a better translation of "bayan").They
are distinct from cities, which are a different
category of local government unit (LGU).
• As of 31 March 2018, there are 1,489 total
number of municipalities in the Philippines.
 MUNICIPALITY
• They have been granted corporate personality enabling
them to enact local policies and laws, enforce them, and
govern their jurisdictions.
• They can enter into contracts and other transactions
through their elected and appointed officials and can tax.
• The National Government assists and supervises the local
government to make sure that they do not violate national
law.
• Local Governments have their own executive and legislative
branches and the checks and balances between these two
major branches, along with their separation, are more
pronounced than that of the national government.
• The Judicial Branch of the Republic of the Philippines also
caters to the needs of local government units. Local
governments, such as a municipalities, do not have their
own judicial branch: their judiciary is the same as that of
the national government.
 MUNICIPALITY
• A municipality, upon reaching a certain requirements-
minimum population size, and minimum annual
revenue-may opt to become a city.
• First, a bill must be passed in Congress, then signed into
law by the President and then the residents would vote
in the succeeding plebiscite to accept or reject cityhood.
• One benefit in being a city is that the city government
gets more budget, but taxes are much higher than in
municipalities.
• SEC. 440. Role of the Municipality.-The municipality,
consisting of a group of barangays, serves primarily as a
general purpose government for the coordination and
delivery of basic, regular and direct services and
effective governance of the inhabitants within its
territorial jurisdiction.
 CITY
• A city (lungsod, or sometimes siyudad in Filipino
and Tagalog)is a tier of local government in the
Philippines.
• All Philippine cities are chartered cities, whose
existence as corporate and administrative
entities is governed by their own specific
charters in addition to the Local Government
Code of 1991, which specifies the administrative
structure and political powers of subnational
government entities.
 Act of Congress
• Only an Act of Congress can create or amend a city charter, and
with this city charter Congress confers to a city certain powers
that regular municipalities or even other cities may not have.
• Despite the differences in the powers accorded to each city, all
cities regardless of status are given special treatment in terms
of being given a bigger share of the internal revenue
allotment(IRA) compared to regular municipalities, as well as
being generally more autonomous than regular municipalities.
• There are twelve metropolitan areas in the Philippines as
defined by the National Economic and Development Authority
(NEDA). Metro Manila is the largest conurbation or urban
agglomeration in the country, and its official metropolitan area
is composed of the city of Manila plus 15 neighboring cities and
a municipality.
• Other metropolitan areas are centered around the cities of
Baguio, Dagupan, Angeles, Olongapo, Batangas, Naga, Cebu,
Iloilo, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Davao and Zamboanga City.
 Classification
• The Local Government Code of 1991 (Republic
Act No. 7160) classifies all cities into one of three
categories: Highly Urbanized Cities - Cities with a
minimum population of two hundred thousand
(200,000) inhabitants, as certified by the National
Statistics Office, and with the latest annual
income of at least Fifty Million Pesos
(P50,000,000.00) based on 1991constant prices,
as certified by the city treasurer.
• There are currently 33 highly urbanized cities in
the Philippines, 16 of them located in Metro
Manila.
 Independent Component Cities
• Cities whose charters prohibit their voters from
voting for provincial elective officials.
• Independent component cities are independent
of the province. There are five such cities:
Dagupan, Cotabato, Naga, Ormoc and Santiago.
Component Cities - Cities which do not meet the
above requirements are considered component
cities of the province in which they are
geographically located.
• If a component city is located within the
boundaries of two (2) or more provinces, such
city shall be considered a component of the
province of which it used to be a municipality.
 Income classification
• Cities are classified according to average
annual income based on the previous 3
calendar years.
• Effective July 28, 2008 the thresholds for the
income classes for cities are: Class Average
annual income First PHP 400 million or more
Second PHP 320 million or more but less than
PHP 400 million Third PHP 240 million or more
but less than PHP 320 million Fourth PHP 160
million or more but less than PHP 240 million
Fifth PHP 80 million or more but less than PHP
160 million Sixth below PHP 80 million
 Role of the City
• SEC. 448. Role of the City. –The city, consisting
of more urbanized and developed barangays,
serves as a general-purpose government for
the coordination and delivery of basic, regular,
and direct services and effective governance
of the inhabitants within its territorial
jurisdiction.
 PROVINCE
• The Provinces of the Philippines are the primary
political and administrative divisions of the
Philippines.
• There are 81 provinces at present, further
subdivided into component cities and
municipalities.
• The National Capital Region, as well as
independent cities, are autonomous from any
provincial government.
• Each province is administered by an elected
governor who oversees various local government
entities.
 Classification
• Provinces are classified according to average
annual income based on the previous 3
calendar years.
• Effective July 28, 2008 the thresholds for the
income classes for cities are Class Average
annual income First ₱ 450 million or more
Second ₱ 360 million or more but less than ₱
450 million Third ₱ 270 million or more but
less than ₱ 360 million Fourth ₱ 180 million or
more but less than ₱ 270 million Fifth ₱ 90
million or more but less than ₱ 180 million
Sixth below ₱ 90 million
 Role of the Province
• SEC. 459.. –The province, composed of a
cluster of municipalities, or municipalities and
component cities, and as a political and
corporate unit of government, serves as a
dynamic mechanism for developmental
processes and effective governance of local
government units within its territorial
jurisdiction.
 ARMM
• Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
(ARMM)is the region, located in the Mindanao
island group of the Philippines, that is
composed of predominantly Muslim
provinces, namely: Basilan (except Isabela
City), Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu and
Tawi-Tawi. It is the only region that has its own
government. The regional capital is at
Cotabato City, although this city is outside of
its jurisdiction.
 ARMM

• The ARMM previously included the province

of Shariff Kabunsuan until July 16, 2008, when
Sheriff Kabunsuan ceased to exist as a
province after the Supreme Court in Sema v.
Comelec declared unconstitutional the
"Muslim Mindanao Autonomy Act 201", which
created it.
 Reference:
• Cariño, L. V. (2003). Introduction to Public
Administration in the Philippines (The Concept
of Governance). Quezon City: University of the
Philippines.