LAS 212 READING NOTES (WEEK 6: DECENTRALIZATION AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT)

Colonial Masters, National Politicos, and Provincial Lords: Central Authority and Local Autonomy in the
American Philippines, 1900-1913 (P. Hutchcroft)
 (See separate file)

Chapter 16: Local Governments and Devolution in the Philippines (Maria Ela Atienza) in Philippine
Politics and Governance: An Introduction
 Definition of Terms
o Decentralization: the transfer of planning, decision making, or authority from the central
government to the local government
o Deconcentration: administrative decentralization (redistribution of responsibilities only
within the central government, primarily through its field offices)
o Devolution: political decentralization (transfer of powers from the national to the local
government)
 Local gov’t as the lowest level of elected territorial organization
 Decentralization: transfer of administrative authority from the central to the local government
 Four Major Forms of Decentralization
o Deconcentration: involves redistribution of administrative responsibilities within the
central government (e.g. to field staff, local administration, etc.)
o Delegation to Semi-Autonomous Organization: public corporations, regional planning,
area development experts
o Devolution: Central government relinquishing certain functions to new units of gov’t
that are outside its control
 LGU must be independent
 LGU must have a geographical boundary
 LGU must have power to secure resources to perform their functions
 Development of the LGU as institutions
o Transfer of Function from Government to Nongovernment Institutions: privatization
 Democratization and Decentralization-go hand in hand
 The Evolution of Philippine Local Government and Central-Local Relations
o Localism as a characteristic of Philippine Politics; reliance of strongmen on local politics
o Focus on formal structures instead of in informal power networks
o Prehispanic Philippines-predominantly local; did not attain power consolidation
o Spanish Arrival-introduction of centralization
 Alien system of local government
 “Imperial Manila”
 Strengthening of regionalism
 Spaniards were unsuccessful in consolidating all the islands under their control
 Persistence of local elites that existed beyond the Spanish occupation
o Revolutionary government-curtailment of democratization
o American Colonial Period-focus on local autonomy
 People in the provinces participated in elections and democracy without any
real “education”
  Americans relied on the ilustrado and cacique classes to run the country while
these classes enriched themselves at the expense of the peasants and poor
people
 Americans were more successful in subjugating the Moros and other indigenous
communities
o 1934-1935 Constitutional Convention-Quezon believed in a unitary system for him to
consolidate his control over patronage politics
o Japanese Occupation-Filipino collaborators from the same local elites
o Trend of decentralization from 1946-1972-post-independence period of decentralization
generally enhanced the roles of local elites
o Martial Law Period
 Decentralization not for the LGU development but for power consolidation
 Increasing central control over local affairs
 Central control + increased power of the military = dictatorship
 Attempts to enact a Local Government Code, yet largely unsuccessful
o After the 1896 Revolution
 RA 7160 (Local Government Code of 1991)
 Local gov’ts are historically strong and autonomous
 Legal enabling environment for decentralization through the Constitution
 Local Government Systems (1991 Local Government Code)
o Five Features
 Devolves or transfers the responsibility of basic service delivery to the local
government
 Transfers regulatory and licensing powers to local governments (environmental
laws, food products, National Building Code, operation of tricycles, etc.)
 Increases the financial resources available to LGUs (taxation, IRA shares, etc.)
 Lays down the policy framework for involvement of civil society (NGOs, POs,
etc.)
 Encourages LGUs to be more entrepreneurial through joint ventures with
private sector, Build-Operate-Transfer arrangements, loans, etc.
o Structure
 National Government -> Province/Highly Urbanized City ->
Municipality/Component City -> Barangay
 Devolution’s Impacts, Issues, and Challenges
o Challenge to traditional local elites: urbanization, economic growth, democratization,
media, global awareness
o Three indicators of democracy: public opinion, electoral outcomes, and popular
participation
o People are more satisfied with local governments than the national
o Decentralization introduced a new dynamic in Philippine political economy
o Growing concern: promotion of economic activity
o Local governments are becoming sources of innovations
o Unequal distribution of financial resources
o Personnel problems