LNU DPA 101

1. Life begins at 40
An Inquiry on Administrative Theory
in the Philippines and the Structure
of Scientific Revelations
Author: Danilo R. Reyes
NCPAG, UP, Diliman, Quezon City
Presented by: Edwin Badu Rawlings Gbargaye, MPA, MDM
LNU MPA Class as Guest Lecturer

2. Introduction
• Public Administration as an academic
enterprise in the Philippines suffers from
the problem of a precarious and
unwiedly intellectual tradition. It is a
predicament that can be best
described as visceral, emerging and
gnawing at the bowels of the
discipline after forty years of academic
bliss and intellectual hubris.

3. • One generally viewed by contemporary
scholars as academic questions that can be
set aside in favor of pressing issues that figure
prominently in the horizons of the profession.
But these questions, however, strike at the
heart of the discipline, they reflect a poverty
of epistemology spawned by four decades of
conceptual neglect, incubating as it
did, because of our over-preoccupation with
what passes as more important an visible
dilemma of the administrative praxis.

4. • Public Administration in the
Philippines today can only appreciate
vicariously the efforts invested by scholars of
the field in other countries in defining and
examining the intellectual heritage of their
discipline.
• Sad to say, public administration as a field of
study in this country exhibits richness in
experience but is blunted by its complacency
to assess how far it has gone to advance the
frontiers of the discipline.

5. • Public Administration in the
Philippines undoubtedly has largely been
atheoretical, ahistorical, and inattentive
to the development of its own intellectual
and ontological well-being. It has not
sufficiently articulated its theoretical
legacies, its conceptual foundations, or
its basic normative values mainly remains
indifferent to introspective questions
which may be subversive to its current
fundamental commitments.

6. • PA in the Philippines as a discipline has
experienced rapid and remarkable
strides in curricular
development, training, applied
research and continuing involvement
in professional affairs. But however, it
has not enrich its theoretical
foundations in addressing such
question like “Is there a Philippine
Public Administration?”.

7. Four decades of PA in the Philippines
have found administrative theory in
that neverland. Four decades have
not provided a cogent and
administrative theory or to serve as an
intellectual reference point to the
scientific and moral authority to
legitimize the field‟s competence to
provide solutions to the many
problems.

8. • After forty years of seemingly „self
aware‟ PA in the Philippines
…because according to Reyes it has
not been generally self-conscious or
insecure with regard to its standing in
the Filipino academic community as
compared to that of the American
counterpart with whom the field
gained acceptance in the seventies.

9. The Purpose and Structure
of the Article
• Reyes advised that the paper should
not be view as an indictment of PA or
the efforts of the Scholars today or in
the past. He says it is „a call to
arms‟, plea to retool the armory of
concepts and philosophies to evolve a
distinct administrative theory suitable
to Philippine setting.

10. • This work is a preliminary initiative
towards inquiring into the
development of administrative
thought in the Philippines, it took into
account the growth of the discipline in
terms of its contributions of scholars in
the field since 1952 when the institute
now CPA (that time) was established
at the University of the Philippines.

11. Development of PA in the
Philippines – Four Phases
Cataloguing the Intellectual Past
• These phases are separable and
overlapping periods.
• Segmented on the basis of
peculiarities of the literature that
characterized the period and event.

12. Two basics Orientations of the
Four Phases
Inward looking perspective:
dominated the early periods of
PA, moving to the sixties.
Outward-looking theme: evolved
afterwards, especially in the aftermath
of the martial law era-preoccupied
with development administration.

13. Conceptual Framework of
Analysis
• A discussion to kick off Philippine PA from
neverland at forty years of existence.
• It is the reassessment of the discipline:
where we have been, where it is and
where it is going.
• He describes it as „self-aware‟ in giving
meaning to developing an indigenous
theory of Philippine Public Administration.

14. Four Phases
• Beginnings, 1952-1956
• Foundations and Growth, 1957-1972
• The Transition Years: 1973-1981
• The Activist Public Administration:
Reform and Reflection, 1982-Present

15. The Inward and the Outward-
looking Orientations
• An inward-looking focus on the
phenomena administrative
institutions, their
dynamics, processes, resources, structu
ring, the operations, that pervade
within them and the efficiency of these
institutions, values of
efficiency, effectiveness and economy
of public organizations.
• Focuses on institutional concern

16. • The outward-looking focus refers to PA
interaction with its public, or its
environment. It goes beyond the study
of public organizations or institutions.
• It extends to examine their impacts on
their clientele, the general public, and
their linkages and interaction with the
environment.

17. The Study of PA in Perspective
• According to Donald Kettl (1990) Every
discipline periodically undergoes a
period of sometimes wrenching
reassessment. For PA this has been
nearly constant, as the discipline itself
continuously struggled for
acceptance.

18. A Self-Aware Public
Administration in the Philippines?
• Reyes reminds us that the peculiarities
with which PA as a field of study was
introduced in the veins of Filipino
scholarship may account in part for its
atheoretical and ahistorical stance
towards epistemological questions.
• He says it was not under a hostile manner
unlike that of the US PA which was
influenced by the challenges of the civil
service reform in the 1880s.

19. PA in the Philippines: A Review
• Philippine Public Administration
Primeval
• PA emerged in the Phil in the
postcolonial period marked by
auspicious and ominous ambivalence.
• Emerging from the ruins of WWII.
• Phil gained independence in 1946 was
ushered into a volatile period of
reconstruction.

20. • PA as a discipline appeared in this era
with uncertainty and conflict as the
Philippines found itself into turmoil with
political, social and economic problems.
• The move towards professionalizing the
conduct of Public affairs started in 1947
when a joint US-Phil Commission was set
up in Washington to study and help
improve the financial position of the Phil.

21. • In Nov. 1950 a Memo of agreement was
concluded between Pres. Quirino and
Foster. The agreement was known as the
Quirino-foster agreement which provided
for the creation of the Phil council for US
Aid (PHILCUSA).
• Among the components of the
assistance program was the
establishment of an Institute of Public
Administration at the University of the
Philippines.

22. The Institute of Public Administration
University of the Philippines
• The institute of PA was set up under a
private contract between the UP and
the University of Michigan with
technical and professional aspects of
the organization.
• A two and a half years beginning June
15, 1952 and was later extended to
June 15, 1956.

23. Three Areas of Concern
For the IPA
The establishment of a public
administration library.
An educational program which was
two-pronged, in-service training
initiative, the academic program
which began second semester of
1952-53.
The conduct of research and
publication of literature on PA.

24. Philippine Public Administration:
Beginnings, 1952-1956
This first phase started at the time when
PA Was formally introduced at the IPA in
UP. It saw the coming of American PA
scholars to the IPA as early as 1952.
James K. Pollock and John W. Lederle
Survey mission: Prof Lederle was
appointed Director of the Institute

25. • The American Scholars had to relied
on stock of books on history of the
Philippines in order to understand
Philippine History.
• They had to observe and experience
public processes by way of extension
of services in the observation of
bureaucratic phenomena.

26. This stage was the in-ward looking
orientation of the program.
They had to look at collection that the
emphasis was very much centered on
the internal and procedural
management of public organizations.
1955, the IPA published one of the first
comprehensive text book on PA.

27. 1956, the year the UP contract with the
University of Michigan was terminated.
 HB Jacobini edited a collection of
essays devoted to a critical
examination of various governmental
services in the Philippines.

28. The preface to the volume was
directed to govt. personnel
services, students of PA, political
science and related disciplines, a
careful, accurate, and comprehensive
survey of the services which the
government performs.

29. Foundations and Growth
1957-1972
During this period Filipino scholars
began to take over from their
American counterparts
Carlos P. Ramos was appointed as
director of the Institute succeeding
Jose Velmonte who served as Acting
Director after Ferrel Heady.

30. • Ramos later served as Dean when the
Institute was renamed as the
Graduate School of Public
Administration (GSPA) in 1963, as the
School of Public Administration (SPA) in
1966 and later as the College of Public
Administration (CPA) in 1967.
• He served as Dean until 1973.

31. In 1972 the IPA, now CPA marked its
twentieth year.
It was also in this year martial law was
declared in the Philippines
Again it was in 1957 the first publication
of the PJPA was published under the
editorship of Jose V. Abueva

32. PJPA has since become a major forum
for the publication of articles, papers
and research reports in the discipline.
Lastly, it was during this era that the
Institute, now renamed as the UPCPA
expanded from a single unit to shelter
three specialized sub-units under its
umbrella.

33. These units are the Philippine Executive
Academy, estd. in 1962 for executive
development
The Local Government Center set up
as a research program in 1963
Administrative Development Center,
organized in 1968 later known as the
Center for Policy and Administrative
Development (CPAD)

34. This period had a profound effect on
Filipino scholarship, this time Filipino PA
scholars assumed responsibility of
determining the course of the IPA as an
organization, and the discipline itself.
In 1956 the institute revised the entire
masters program in PA.

35. This period saw intense applied
research and studies done.
This era saw research efforts began to
multiply into the areas of ;
 Concern for local government admin
 Concern for public accountability
 Concern for comparative
administration(study for admin systems

36. Leading Filipino PA Scholars
• Raul de Guzman: Public
Accountability
• Gerardo Roxas: analyzed pork barrels
• Ledivina Vidallon: Systems Theory in
Research; Pork barrel cases
• Benjamin Cariño; „Pork barrel‟ at the
crossroads.

37. 1972: Year of Neglect
De Guzman raised the
disenchantment in 1972of the field in a
paper he wrote entitled: “Achieving
Realism in PA Academic Programs.
He decried the lack of teaching
materials on basic concepts in the
field.
The year martial law was imposed.

38. The Transition Years:
Social Consciousness an The
Search for the Development
Model, 1973-1981
• During this period PA took the initiative
to move out of its institution or
organization orientation.
• This period saw the concept of
development administration crippling
into the Philippine administration.

39. In 1973 Raul de Guzman assume the
deanship of the UPCPA succeeding
Dean Ramos.
The turn of the seventies found Phil
society in disarray as discontent
became increasingly endemic.
September 1972, Pres Marcos
declared martial law.

40. • Philippine society was plunged into
uncertainty as to which direction it was
heading.
• Pres Marcos promised a „new society‟
• Pres Marcos legislated by decrees
under an arrangement he called
„constitutional authoritarianism‟
•

41. • The martial law rule found PA in a web
• It affected the bureaucracy of which
PA was mostly concern
• This period PA scholars began to write
about „negative bureaucratic‟
behavior in government.
• Corruption and nepotism were
institutionalized at a large scale.

42. • This period saw „Filipinization‟ of
contemporary PA approaches to
pervasive issues and problems.
• Martial law regime saw various
commentaries that both justified and
criticized it.
• PA scholars like Reyes(1979) began to
question the „identity‟ of PA

43. The Activist Public
Administration: Reform and
Reflection,1982 to the Present
• Researches on graft and
corruption, bureaucratic
inefficiency, rural development, local
government administration and
specialized studies on various social
concerns have continued to appear
to the present.

44. • PA is no more confined to bureaucratic
institutions as in the past.
• The activist nature of PA in this period is
manifested not only by its growing
concern for political institutions, but on a
propensity towards examining other
interests in the discipline.
• Scholars and students have been finding
answer to question raised by de Guzman
and Corpuz „Is there a Philippine PA?

45. IPA-NCPAG Deans
1952-Present
 John W. Lederle : 1952-1953
 Ferrel W. Heady : 1953
 Jose E. Velmonte: 1954
 Carlos P. Ramos: 1955-1963
 Paul P.de Guzman: 1973-1982
Gabriel U. Iglessias: 1986-1989
Romeo B. Ocampo: 1989-1992
Proserpina D. Tapales: 1992-1995

46. Jose N. Endriga : 1995-1998
Ledivina V. Carino : 1982-1984;1998-
2001
Ma. Concepcion P. Alfiler: 2001-2004
Alex B. Brillantes, jr. : 2004-2010
Edna E. A. Co : Present

47. Conclusion
• Prof Reyes says that the paper is a
preliminary report of a larger study on PA
in the Philippines.
• He says the shortcoming of this paper is it
did not provide the entire range of
output during the forty years span of PA
entry into the Philippines because books,
articles and monographs that served as
part of the foundations of PA were
excluded from the writing of this article.

48. • He acknowledged that with this in mind
he did not do justice to the works of other
scholars who contributed to the field in
the country.
• He offered a Filipino proverb “ang hindi
marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan,
hindi makarating sa patutunguhan.”
•

49. Thanks for Listening