Jaime E. Masagca
#advocatusdiaboli
#chasinglightschasingdreams
It's been a little over a decade since my graduate studies in Public Management, concentrating on Local and Regional Administration, and I want to revisit the state of public management viz the recommended academic readings then.
As a form of personal memoir, recall in humor my perceptions while in the bureaucracy, the realities in juxtaposition with theoretical acuity and inevitably be analytically critical and judgmental to some extent.
From the local and regional perspective, public management is often characterized either by sensibleness or by cosmetics management that merely window dresses a government unit to give a semblance of progress.
It is common to see façade improvements of municipal buildings and other non-essential projects like impressive fountains in the public park or even an automated glass door in an old municipal building. Most of these Local Government Units are "IRA Dependent" and should have prioritized their Internal Revenue Allotment for development and internal revenue enhancement through entrepreneurship, yet they’d rather spend on the perceptible.
In previous findings, this is often true in 3rd or 4th class local government units that use much of its Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) in Personal Services, clearly for political patronage, when a "lean and mean" organization is ideal.
A good model for Local Government Units is the thrust of Legazpi City to commence with projects which affect and benefits trickle down to all sectors of society, in terms of tourism enhancement, employment generation, entrepreneurship opportunities, physical wellness of constituents, public safety, and environmental protection like the recent Esplanade Project.
Government revenue is also of prime consideration in the prioritization of projects or economic activities.
At the national level, the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Department of Transportation infra projects is in full swing but usually ignored by the biased media. Sadly in social media platforms, the critics of the incumbent administration react to progress reports with a laughing emoji but never with anything intelligent.
The infra component, particularly the transportation system, is very vital in national industrial development. Not many people realize that travel time delays due to traffic congestion have costs and an impact on productivity. It is necessary to provide people with efficient alternative public transport to minimize traffic volume and trip generators or activity dispersed to the countryside for greater efficiency, productivity, and opportunities for many.
However, one unfounded censure is that new road networks will benefit the family-owned real estate corporation by a ranking government official.
The alternative question is, shall progress and development be halted because of incidental benefit to a particular person? The gist of transportation planning considers beyond collateral beneficiaries, but the extent of its public impact includes a reasonable investment return to the government.
The administration's present thrust is the interconnection of key geographical areas for diffusing economic and other activities rather than concentrating or confining such activities in one zone like Imperial Manila.
It needs no explanation that secondary to road network openings, the government is set to benefit in the consequent revision of Real Property Tax schedules, productivity, and potential industrial opportunities. New road networks likewise play an essential role in counter-insurgency campaigns and disaster and other emergency responses.
The conclusion that public managers "tend to hire and surround/fortify themselves with protegees" is still valid predominantly at the Regional level. The latter, in reality, serves as "rah rah team” rather than providing administrative support for efficiency.
Consequently, personnel selection and promotion is adversely affected that the doctrine of "the best and brightest for the bureaucracy" is compromised. Talk about the "wide latitude of discretion of the appointing authority" in the appointment process.
The principle of “wide latitude of discretion of the appointing authority” to choose from those that merely meet the minimum of the qualification standards is errant among human resource practitioners. Sadly even the Supreme Court has ruled in its favor.
Indeed, most administrators would not want anybody to be "poppier than the pope," as "in the kingdom of the blind the one-eyed man is king. Initiatives of subordinates, no matter how brilliant, are thwarted, and intrigues sowed to divide and rule the incumbents.
The Head of the Agency’s entitlement to re-assignment of subordinates "in the best interest of the service" is another prerogative subject to misapplications, especially to anyone perceived as critical. Often, discounting the Civil Service prohibition on unconsented transfers above one year.
A true leader is one that delegates, trust, and encourages subordinates to be productive. I have known one who gives an explicit parameter of policies for middle managers to implement. Anything not included, the former is just a call away for approval.
Those who chose a career in government service should find relevance in F. C. Moser's view that "public administration is more of a focus than a separate science, and more of an area of interest than a discipline". But this does not mean that public administration as a field of knowledge should be divorced from the practice of public administration. Otherwise, one is prone to succumb to "the old-fashioned belief that management skills are simply the application of 'common sense by any intelligent and broadly educated person to the management problems presented to him."
Therefore, public management is the application of administrative skills and specialized knowledge to service impressed with public interest which public service may either be in a National Government Agency (NGAs), Government-Owned or Controlled Corporation (GOCCs), Government Financial Institutions (GFIs), State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) or in the legislative, executive, or judicial branches of the government, either in elective or appointive capacity.
This personal definition had made emphasis on administrative skills coupled with specialized or aligned knowledge. For instance, it cannot be expected that a Doctor of Medicine, much more a Registered Nurse while may academically possess specific skills, the latter is still wanting in specialized knowledge called for in the position.
The "I will learn in due time the duties and responsibilities of the Office" mentality is not far from reality. Not a few appointees are either first-timers in the government sector or have no major managerial experience.
Secondary to deficits in management acumen, window dressing is resorted to through projects or activities that lack continuity, sustainability, or meaningful public impact beyond a pompous launching.
If in business “window dressing” is resorted to, in public management “cosmetics management technique” is utilized to give the impression of working for the Agency’s mandate.
At this point, it is questioned if the rewards and awards incentive like the "Dangal ng Bayan Award" and the day-to-day "Positive Customer Feedback System" advocated by the Civil Service is effective as to its adequacy, accuracy, encourages bureaucratic efficiency, or merely elicit mendacious imagination? The customer feedback system is very much prone to simulation.
In October 2020 a teacher from Tandag, Agusan del Sur, was featured in Jessica Soho's TV program, allegedly for swimming across a river to deliver learning modules (Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho, October 4, 2020).
"The passionate teacher goes viral on social media and garnered praises from the online community because of his heartwarming gesture." However, a Facebook page claims that “the teacher photographed as swimming a river to deliver modules to his students is a scam”.
The Facebook page "Ordinary Filipino" has shared photos of the educator riding a 'Bangka' at the river. The page said, "Moises could ride the boat instead of swimming it for a couple of minutes”. If indeed a scam, it's a classic case of enhancive service for the award and recognition but not for genuine service.
In reality, many in the bureaucracy are doing their best out of moral subservience to sworn duty, while a few are driven by glorification as if the whole organization will be on a standstill if not for their sole efforts.
An organization will only function with teamwork and perform well if individual effort or singular organizational contribution is recognized. A manager who merely gives policy directions has so much to owe to his/her subordinates.
I am no ignorant to awards conferred because of voluminous write-ups and endorsements from prominent personalities, then fill the entire workplace with congratulatory tarpaulins that will put to shame political rallies or movie promotions.
The general public has evolved to be intelligent enough to take interest in these tarps, and many will not even give them a second look. Prompt, efficient, and courteous service is all that matters and is easily perceived by the public.
Amusingly, some awards are paraded and brought to every gathering as if a holy relict. People amusingly have the perception that what comes next is a nine-day novena.
The Pag-IBIG Fund in the late 80s process loans to about fifteen (15) working days but later reduced the processing time to a week and then later to almost overnight depending on the volume of transactions on queue. But admiringly, no fanfare, no tarpaulins, no grandstanding, but it seems no Pag-IBIG member was grateful enough to notice nor acknowledge the improved service.
Another isolated idiosyncrasy by some public managers is so much political subservience even for no reason. It is suggestive of self-doubt that as a result, decisions and administrative policy directions are at times incongruent with the Agency's mandates.
Through the years public management had acquired immunity deficiency from this counter-productive convention called politics that the Philippine civil service is yet to adopt countermeasures to place public administration into the proper perspective.
Unfortunately, the Civil Service Commission is winning the war only up to the threshold of ranks below Presidential appointees.
Recalling Proserpina Domingo Tapales's "Concepts and Issues in Public Administration," the author concluded that "the modern discipline (or field of study) of public administration as we know it now started in the United States. In the latter part of the last century, public administration was needed in the USA because of the perceived corruption in government. In the desire to democratize government, the elitist nature of the public service as installed by Washington gave way to political considerations. That was the period of the spoils system."
The post-EDSA and the immediately preceding the Duterte administration are glaringly characterized by the "spoils system." The Marcos regime also has its cronies, the favored few who not shared in the spoils of the constitutional dictatorship but also got multiple posts in top government-owned corporations.
The "spoils system," which is a manifestation of the Filipino virtue of "utang na loob", had extended to the lowest strata of public service despite the attempted deodorizing it with the 1989 House Resolution urging solons to refrain from endorsing to public offices.
Public administration in the Philippine setting is yet to be weaned from the "spoils system" sought to be reformed by the modern discipline, one reason why we have inept public managers if we want a vivacious bureaucracy.
There are novo issues emerging that jeopardize the bureaucracy's performance, the emergence of the "millennial generation" with their distinct attitude and work ethics was unperceived in the previous decade.
This new breed of employees is characterized by self-assuming and a feeling of entitlement attitude, but ostensibly less of public concern and workplace etiquette. It is unexceptional to see some laughing like hyenas even in front of clients. But they make a fine “rah rah team” as previously discussed.
Another characteristic of many employees that is counter-productive is their literal interpretation of policies, rules, or regulations. A great majority interprets directives “by the letter that killeth and not by the spirit that gives it life”. Rigidity in interpretation would tie the hands of managers from coming up with sound decisions.
Judging from social media posts, I am of the personal impression that generally millennials imagine that government service is nothing more than a "walk in the park," an employment opportunity, of junkets, selfies, or groupies while in office uniform, and worse, "tic toc dance," etc.
In informal discussions with other middle managers, both in the same and different Agencies, the identical perception of millennial attitude is common.
Posting on social media every activity, no matter insignificant is nevertheless not confined to millennials. For the acknowledgment of deficient middle managers, uploading everything on social media platforms, no matter how ridiculous is the trend.
A classic example is a photograph of personnel busy wrapping pieces of equipment "in contemplation of inclement weather when the typhoon has already passed.
In conclusion, nothing much has changed except in some governmental agencies or units. Contrarywise, in some it has degenerated.
Where goes now government service? Quo vadis, imperium ministerium?
