Republic of the Philippines

City of Mandaluyong
Rizal Technological University
Master of Arts in Public Administration

THEORY AND PRACTICE

OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

“PHILIPPINE BUREAUCRATIC BEHAVIOR”

Report of: Karro Kevin B. Cruz

Professor: Dr. Nestor Pilar
 PHILIPPINE BUREAUCRATIC BEHAVIOR

The behavior of human beings is largely influenced by the structure and function of the social
organizations in which they live. - Cordero and Panopio

TYPES OF BEHAVIOR OF THE PHILIPPINE BUREAUCRACY

1. Conformity to policies.

2. Preference toward continuity and routinization.

3. Loss of self-direction or self-assertion.

4. Politically supportive.

The Filipinos are status-oriented. Authority figures determine, to a large extent, the
satisfaction or frustration of the Filipino’s aspiration for social acceptance, economic security,
and social mobility.

Other characteristics of the Filipino bureaucrats, such as bahala na, saka na, awa(pity),
amor propio (self-esteem), also greatly affected the Philippine bureaucratic behavior

Greed, laziness and ignorance are among the vices that have weakened the bureaucratic
system. While the people afflicted with these vices constitute less than one percent of the entire
civil service in the Philippines, they have tainted the vast majority of honest, selfless, and
dedicated government workers.

Structurally, the government is a bureaucracy. Bureaucracy has become the dominant

form of organization in modern societies. Very often, bureaucracy is used in a negative manner
for its failure to produce the organizational results with adequate efficiency. By simplifying its
complex organizational structures, it is expected that a bureaucracy will attain its goals of
efficiency, economy, and greater reliability in producing its outputs. As a Social Organization
bureaucracy has strong as well as weak points. In some negative characteristics, it still is the only
systematized method of carrying out the vital tasks of institutions. Moreover, there are possible
solutions to the problems. Each of the solutions represents a distinct method of improving its
personnel administration.

Over the years, the characteristics of Philippine bureaucracy have taken on nothing
significant to create changes, despite of the efforts of the government to reform it. The Philippine
has its own types of behavior.
Leveriza, Jose P. Public Administration: The Business of Government’ 2nd Edition. Manila:
National Bookstore, Inc., 1990.
Cordero, Ferdinand V., and Isabel S. Panopio. General Sociology: Focus on the Philippines.
Quezon City: KEN Incorporated, 1968. Page 2