The document discusses the importance of decentralization and local governance in improving service delivery and enhancing local autonomy in the Philippines. It highlights the growing role of local government units (LGUs) in addressing economic, social, and welfare issues while emphasizing the need for better coordination with the national government. Key points include maximizing resources, facilitating interaction with constituents, and ensuring support for LGUs to fulfill their responsibilities effectively.

1. Edmund Tayao, LOGODEF
Understanding Autonomy,
Decentralization and
Governance
Making Sense of
Politics as Means and
Not An Enterprise

2. Why Decentralization and Local
Governance: Basic Considerations, Current Trends

3. Politics as Business and Governance as Service
❖ From purely political and security issues to economic
and welfare issues!
❖ Education, Health, Labor, Natural Resources especially Water, Religious and
Ethnic Diversity, Disaster Management and Mitigation, Traffic Management and
other day to day issues!
❖ Representation, Transparency, Accountability and
Responsiveness!
❖ Government to Governance

4. Development Requires A Bigger Role for LGUs
❖ Reinventing as Restructuring (Osborne and Gaebler 1992)!
❖ LGUs are at the frontlines of governance!
❖ Governance as Division of Labor and Participation!
❖ Key Points are to “Maximize,” “Organize” and “Optimize”!
❖ Maximize Resources!
❖ Organize Constituency!
❖ Optimize Delivery of Services!
❖ The Farther the LGU from the national government the more
significant role it plays

5. Increasing Role of LGUs
❖ As Social and Economic
Development becomes the
focus of Government Local
Governments have also come
to play more important roles!
❖ On Average sub-national
Governments spend between a
minimum of 15 and a
maximum of 19 percent of the
total GDP.

6. Fire Protection
Heating
Irrigation
Police
Public Order and
Safety
Oil and gas Pipeline
OTHER SERVICES
Urban Transportation
Railroads
Airports
Ports & Navigable
Waterways
Urban Highways
Inter-Urban Highways
TRANSPORTATION
Telecommunications
Electric Power Supply
Waste Collection
Drinking Water and
Sewerage
UTILITIES
Housing
Nutrition Programs
Primary and
Preschool Education
Secondary Education
Universities
Public Health
Hospitals
Social Welfare
SOCIAL SERVICES
Public Expenditure Areas
Funded Wholly At the Sub-
National Level Or Shared
With the Central Government

7. Substantial Sharing of Functions and Expenses
❖ 80 to 85 percent of GDP still
with Central Government
considering key functions of
national bureaucracy, foreign
relations, national defense,
monetary and fiscal policy!
❖ Together with Expenditures
shared between national and
local governments, 40 % is
spent on 4 service areas of
social services, transportation,
utility services and others

8. Growing Developmental Function of LGUs
Utility Services receive the
most funding at the local
level accounting for
Telecommunications,
Electric Power Supply,
Waste Collection and
Drinking Water and
Sewerage!
!
!

9. Development is the Real Revolution
Democratization and
Decentralization

10. Transition from Government to Governance-
Innovations in the 1987 Constitution
❖ PR System- Party-list Representation!
❖ Legislature’s role on Martial Law!
❖ Concretization of ‘People Power’- Initiative,
Referendum, and Recall!
❖ Decentralization

11. Objectives
❖ Improve Delivery of Services!
❖ Afford significant autonomy to LGUs, and!
❖ Develop local economy, possibly result to local
economic elites.
Autonomy is Self-Governance
but Should Not Be Confused
with Independence
Decentralization is the Process
of Redistributing or Dispersing
Functions

12. The Advantage of Local Governance
Why reforms directed at the local has better chances to work?
❖ LGUs are smaller, easier to manage and reforms may be
easier to introduce!
❖ Facilitating interaction between leaders and
constituency is less complicated

13. National/Central
Government
Provinces
Municipalities
Barangays
Component Cities
Barangays
Highly Urbanized
Cities
Barangays
Department of the
Interior and Local
Governments/
Other NGAs
Decentralized
Unitary Structure
Provided for in Section 25, Art. II and
Art. X of the 1987 Philippine
Constitution;!
President has “general supervision”
over LGUs (Provinces over component
cities and municipalities; Highly
Urbanized/Independent Cities and
Municipalities over Barangays);!
LGUs can raise own revenues, entitled
to “just share” in national taxes and
“equitable share” in the proceeds of the
utilization and development of national
wealth.

14. Decentralization is a Framework
❖ Designed to allow seamless functioning of separate
institutions at different levels, at the same time allowing
each level to retain integrity;!
❖ As framework, it is like a hardware that can be
maximized only depending on the software (programs
and or policies)

15. Decentralization Means More Nat’l Gov’t
But Different Role
❖ Fundamental decision-making authority
relative to system or administrative-
structural changes is the province of the
nat’l. gov’t.;!
❖ In terms of resources, it is the nat’l. gov’t.
that can share or even transfer what is
necessary to the LGUs for the latter to
perform the new duties and responsibilities
that is assigned.; and!
❖ Nat’l. gov’t. remains the level of gov’t. that
enjoys a broad perspective crucial in
ensuring coordination among different
gov’t agencies at different levels.
Political
Economic
Socio-cultural
National "
Government"
Manage Poliecon and"
Socio-cultural Dynamics"
Broad Policies/Programs (Standards)"
Policy Research
Local Government"
Specific Policies/Programs"
Implementation and Coordination"
Source of Data on the Ground

16. Points to Consider for Bangsamoro
Local Governance
❖ National/Central Government’s work is with Bangsamoro and the
latter works with LGUs;!
❖ Ensure to take note of LGU capacity before assigning specific functions
or programs (avoid unfunded mandates);!
❖ Technical support from DILG National and Bangsamoro DILG should
always be there;!
❖ Institutionalize mechanism of review (monitoring and evaluation) of
Bangsamoro decentralization; and,!
❖ Work closely with Civil Society and Academe to further enrich local
governance and development.

17. The Question of “How” is Always Fundamental but Most Difficult
Policy Making

18. Broad Cycle of
Policy Making

19. Politics and Policy

20. The Policy Process

21. Dynamics of Policy Making

22. Underpinnings of Local Legislative Process
❖ Policy as Regulation and Program!
❖ Awareness of National-Local and Interlocal Relations and
Dynamics!
❖ The Difference of Executive-Legislative Roles and Relations at the
National and Local Government!
❖ The Local Executive and Legislator and their Political and Policy
Role- Desired Values and Skills!
❖ The Sanguniang Bayan as an Institution!
❖ The fundamental role of research

23. Governance is
Comprehensive and
Forward Looking
Requiring
Diligence,
Persistence
and Resilience!
see us at www.logodef.org!
email edtayao@logodef.org,
tweet @edtayao