PA 121 1st Synchronous Session

Spanish Colonial Period

Public Office was regarded as a grant or favor (merced).

1.) Appointment

- Positions with judicial functions

- Highest colonial positions of vice-roy, governor-general, members of the Audiencia, provincial
executives.

2.) Purchase

- In practice, many were acquired by purchase.

Filipinos were confined to the lowest levels of government

Gobernadorcillo as the town/pueblo head

Cabeza de barangay as village/ barangay head.

CABEZA DE BARANGAY
Functions
Direct link between the people and the colonial government
Maintained peace and order in his barangay
Enforce polos y servicios (taxes)
Collected tribute
Required to post bail as an agent of Royal Hacienda

Compensation and Privileges

Salary equivalent to 1 and a half percent of his tribute collection

Addressed as Don
During ceremonies, was allowed to sit beside the governadorcillo
To be treated with respect by the parish priest
Exempt from corporal punishment or manual services
His wife and eldest son were exempted form polos y servicios.

GOBERNADORCILLO

Functions
Head of the pueblo or town
Executive and judicial official
Had final authority over cases involving small sums and in petty criminal cases

Compensation

Salary Equivalent to 2 pesos monthly.

1 and a half share of the tribute collection
The title of don
A place of importance during religious and civil ceremonies

Administrative Cost
Charged to compensation include…

Remittance of tribute collection to the treasury

Maintenance of the town jail and daily sustenance of prisoners
Office Supplies
Construction of public works.

*Small salaries but were exempted from paying TAXES

Needs to be mestizo or chinese descent
Have been a cabeza de barangay for 4 years

PARISH PRIEST

Inspector of primary schools

Examiner of scholars in the public school
President of the health board, board of charities, board of urban taxation, board of statistics
Members of the provincial board
Counselor to the municipal council
Censored municipal budgets before they were sent to the provincial governor
Certified to the correctness of sedulas, civil status of persons, and character of individuals.
Present in the municipal elections
Censor of the plays, comedies and dramas presented in fiestas.

Accountability Mechanisms

1.) INSTITUTION OF VISITADOR-GENERAL

-Sent out by the Council of the Indies in Spain and authorized to exercise investigatory, judicial,
executory powers.
- Conducted a visita or investigation of the highest officials of the colony in the following areas:
Accountability Check
2.) RESIDENCIA
Procedures
Require bureaucrats to render at the end of their terms an account of their conduct while in
office
The superiors, colleagues, private individual, Indios can file a case against the newly retired
bureaucrat.

Proceedings could last from months to years.

Salary of the judge was charged to the estate of the guilty.

Conditions
Completing the residencia was prerequisite for departure from the Phils.
Satisfactory verdict a requirement for new appointment.

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Weaknesses of the Phil Bureaucracy under Spain

1. Distance of Phils from Spain, aggravated by slow transport

1.1 Constant supervision and control from Spain was an administrative impossibility.
1.2 Ample power and discretion of bureaucrats in the Philippines

No se haga novedad - for high officials not to make any innovation on royal prescriptions. The
King should not will any wrong if he knew the local situation

Obedezco pero no cumplo - I obey but I do not enforce. High officials set aside or postpone
the execution of the law.

1.3 Practical practices to prevent separation or secession by the colony

Conferring colonial positions only upon persons of approved ancestry, religion,

connections
Filipinos were relegated to low-level positions.
Reliance on the church as a check upon the secular regime
Constant transfer of officials after brief terms in office.
Bureaucrats should write reports to the king on the private lives and official conduct of
their colleagues. (wala na ngang proper na resources, ginawa pang marites)

1.4 Ineffectiveness of Residencia as an accountability check

Connections in Spain could reverse an unfavorable verdict.

Security of small official Spanish community.
In the 18th century Residencia passed into oblivion.
2.) Highly centralized organization
(Weakness of the Phil bureaucracy under Spain)
2.1) Power was centralized upon the position of the Governor-General
2.2) Concentration of the Spanish population in Manila.

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AMERICAN REGIME

Absence of a national consensus about the US expansion

- Relative newcomer in colonialism

- US policy was formulated during the 1900 presidential election.

In the 19th century, colonizing countries in Europe changed their attitude towards the colonies.

Benevolent assimilation idea

Merit System
To promote colonial well-being.

The policies adopted were empirical, realistic, and flexible.

Partly explained why the colonial policy in the Philippines was constructive rather than blatant
and selfish. (The Americans were somehow nice to us Pinoys when they colonized us).

Separation of church and state

Secular government

Political participation of Filipinos in the Philippine Commission.

1901, three Filipinos were appointed to it.

1907, became a bicameral legislature.

Philippine Civil Service System - Introduced as a finished product to promote the values like
efficiency, economy, merit, and political neutrality.

Civil Service Act or Act 5 ( An Act for the Establishment and Maintenance of an Efficient
and Honest Civil Service in the Philippines) was enacted into law on September 19, 1900.
Central, departmental, and provincial and the city of Manila, by appointment and promotions
according to merit and by competitive examinations where the same are practicable.
Civil Service Act - Implemented by the Civil Service Board (later Bureau of Civil Service)

Civil Service Board:

Independent office under the immediate supervision and control of the Governor General.

Civil servants enjoyed security of tenure, attractive hours of work, generous leave privileges,
and a prestigious career.

Americans were paid higher than Filipinos occupying the same position.
-Costly for the Americans to live in the Philippines.
-Experience, ability and knowledge of the English language are absolutely needed.

More Americans occupied higher positions while Filipinos occupied the lower positions.
- Americans are appointed principally to fill technical, professional, scientific, or
administrative positions.
- The Filipinos excel in penmanship and are rapidly becoming proficient in routine
clerical work as typewriters and copyists. Many have been appointed to positions in other
grades, such as copyist of drawings, printer, interpreter, assistant sanitary inspector, forestry
ranger, policeman, fireman, mechanic, etc.
- The Republican policy of a government by the Americans, assisted by the Filipinos.
(Corpuz, 1957; 67)
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The Independent Republic

- Philippines got its independence from America on July 4, 1946 in according with Tydings-
McDuffie Act.

- Problems bought about by WWII:

1.) Economic prostration and physical destruction

2.) Political amorality manifested in high incidence of graft and corruption

-Emergence of two-party system made the bureaucracy vulnerable to partisan politics.

-Security of tenure was respected by the politicians but vacancies and temporary positions
became the outlet of the spoils system.

- In 1950, the Philippine government requested the US government to send a mission to survey
the Philippines conditions and to recommend measures that will enable the Philippines to
become and remain self-supporting

Bell Mission – headed by Daniel Bell.

Government’s Response to the Bell Report

Establishment of the Institute of Public Administration in 1952.

Organization of the Government Survey and Reorganization Committee (GSRC) in 1954.
Recommendations on civil service included:

1.) Position classification

2.) Standard Pay Plan
3.) Creation of the Wage and Position Classification Office.

If not for the Bell report, walang IPA (Institute of Public Administration) wala rin NCPAG sa UP.

Training programs for national officials.

- The Civil Service Act of 1959 sought to remedy the defects of the civil service system
by:

1. Amending, repealing, or improving existing provisions in the Civil Service Law and in other
legislation which tended to defeat the merit system.

2. Making new provisions for carrying out more effectively and economically the needs and
requirements of the public service.
3. Change the Bureau of Civil Service into a Civil Service Commission
4. Created a full-time Civil Service Board to act as appellate body in administrative cases
decided by the Civil Service Commission
5. Provided for the creation of personnel offices and personnel offices in various branches of the
government.
6. Authorized an improved performance rating system as well as improved promotion system.
7. Considered immorality and improper solicitation of contributions from subordinates and
school children as grounds for disciplinary actions.

CIVIL SERVICE ACT OF 1959 vs. Reality

- Congress and Office of the President divided equally all new positions created in the budget of
1959 known as the 50-50 plan.
- Corruption was prevalent in the bureaucracy.

RA 1379 (Forfeiture Law of 1955) which authorized the state to forfeit in its favor any property
found to have been unlawfully acquired during the incumbency of the employee.

RA 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act) passed in 1960 listed 11 acts of public
officials as constituting corrupt acts.

Nine agencies were created to fight against corruption between 1950 and 1970 though most of
them did not even last as long as the administration that created them.
Poor record of executive agencies due to:

1.) Organizational instability

 2.) Frequent changes in leadership
3.) Political pressures in employee recruitment
4.) Public apathy
5.) Strained relationships among the judiciary, legislature and other agencies.

The Martial Law Regime

Martial Law Vision: Bagong Lipunan/ New Society/ New Republic

PD 6 provided for summary discipline and removal of civil servants which led to the purges in
1973 and 1975.

Heavily criticized for errors; there were dismissed who were dead, had transferred to other
offices.

Brought embarrassment to the government; created insecurity and fear among the personnel

Showed that an authoritarian government can have recourse to extraordinary means to cleanse
the ranks of the civil service.

Integrated Reorganization Plan of 1968

1.) Conversion from single-headed to three-person Civil Service Commission

2.) Decentralization of personnel functions to line departments, bureaus, and regional offices.
3.) Provision of more effective training policies.

If you had a salary grade of 40k above,

CSC instituted the Junior Executive Training (JET), a large scale training program for
middle-level managers.

Aims to promote managerial effectiveness, professionalism, dedication to the public service,

and awareness of the central role of the civil service in national development.

- Creation of the position of Tanodbayan (OMBUDSMAN) and a special court called

Sandiganbyan to address the problem of graft and corruption.

Public Impressions
- Low-ranking civil servants have been guilty and meted out sever penalties.
- A big-time grafter has yet to be convicted.

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1987 Philippine Constitution

Provided the basic framework for the establishment and operation of civil service system.

Reiterated the civil service provisions of the 1973 Constitution.

Civil Service embraces all branches, subdivisions, instrumentalities.

CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION

Composed of a chairman and two commissioners.

Shall serve as the central personnel agency of the government.

Shall establish a career service that adopts measures to promote morale, efficiency, integrity,
responsiveness, progressiveness

Merit System

- Organized mechanism by which comparative merit or achievement governs the selection,

utilization, compensation, training, retention and discipline of employees in the service.
- Appointment in the civil service is based on merit and fitness.
- The tenure or retention of career officials and employees in the service depends primarily on
their performance and behavior.
- Failure to meet the prescribed standards of performance or any departure from the required
standards of performance is a ground for separation from this service.
- Qualifications standards are set to ensure that appointees can effectively perform assigned
tasks.
- Incentives and awards schemes are developed to enhance workers’ productivity.

Programs covered under Merit Protection and Promotion:

- Adoption of promotion, performance and qualification standards

- Implementation of a merit and rewards system
- Adoption of merit for closed career position
- Administration of examinations
- Grant of eligibility under special laws
- Registration of professional teachers
- Certification of eligible for placement
- Adjudication of civil service cases
- Conduct of legal researchers and studies.

Executive Order No. 292

Career Service