Bureaucracy in the Philippines - Book Review

Book Review The Bureaucracy in the Philippines Dr. Onofre D. Corpuz - Institute of Public Administration: University of the Philippines, 1957. 268 pp. This book is about the administrative history of the bureaucracy in the Philippines. It spans from the 1560’s when Spain undertook to administer the affairs of the natives of the archipelago to the 1950’s when the Filipinos assumed the responsibility of self-government.The author presented the significant phases in the evolution of our administrative apparatus to identify the important characteristics of the current form and functions of the civil service of the Philippine government. In Chapter 1, Dr. Corpuz described the native life of the inhabitants before the arrival of the Spaniards. These inhabitants were not strangers to progress and civilization. Although the pre-Spanish Filipinos were in a state of cultural maturity, it was maturity at a low level.It was a stage of cultural inadequacy based on an old and simple framework. The author briefly discussed the transition of the Philippine bureaucracy from the time that we’re still a colony of foreign nations to the time that the Philippines became an independent republic. The author reconstructed, in Chapter 2, the setting in which Spain’s colonial bureaucracy appeared around the middle of the 16th century. The author also described how the Spanish colonial government â€Å"organized† the colony in Filipinas.Also discussed was the expedition headed by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi in 21 November 1564, how his peaceful diplomacy won the allegiance of many subjects and the establishment of Manila as a city and Legazpi’s capital. Chapter 3 discussed the two concepts on how bureaucracy may be viewed: (1) as an organization or apparatus; (2) as a collection of individual bureaucrats, placing more emphasis on the 2nd concept of bureaucracy – the realities of bureaucratic behaviour. The chapter is devoted to a study of Spanish bureaucrats. The author also discussed the following: a. how bureaucrats are appointed in Filipinas and in Spain – the processes and criteria involved in obtaining the king’s favor; b. how to acquire/purchase an office where many bureaucrats obtained their positions; c. detailed conditions under which Spanish bureaucrats as a whole lived and worked; and d. ow the administrative organization was centralized in Manila for control and communications purposes. The next two chapters are dedicated in highlighting the essentials of life and service of the highest-ranking bureaucrats – the Presidente-Gobernador (Governor-General), the Oidores, Fiscales, and Reales Oficiales – who constituted the governmental bureaucracy in Manila. The author, in Chapter 4, described the governor-general of Filipinas which had the attributes of a super-bureaucrat.Also discussed, in general, was the performance of the different governor-general appointed in Filipinas and illustrated the conflict between the clergy and the governors and the instability of the governorship – which office was considered as an opportunity for private material profit. Chapter 5 is dedicated to the discussion of the Audiencia of Manila and its bureaucrats and the Royal Officials. The Audiencia performed functions of a superior judicial tribunal; the highest court of justice in the colonies.The author discussed the conditions, restrictions, the legislative and judicial functions and the organizational changes of the office. Also discussed are the functions and conditions of the â€Å"Royal Official† (Reales Oficiales) or the oficial de la real hacienda who are the administrators of the king’s personal estate or the royal hacienda. It should be remembered that the various dominions/colonies in the Indias are considered as the king’s personal property or estate. â€Å"As a monarch, he entrusted the government of his kingdoms and provinces to viceroys, governors-general, and Audiencias.As a proprietor, he entrusted the administration of his estate and revenues to the royal officials. † The structural defects and administrative weakness of the bureaucracy is brought about by the pervasion and corruption of the office of men who only saw the position as a means for private personal gain. In Chapter 6, the author then discussed the conditions, restrictions and all the functions and duties of the provincial government and the provincial officers/bureaucrats commonly known as alcade-mayor. The alcaldes are the provincial equivalent/counterpart of the governor-general of the archipelago.The author also highlighted how the alcalde-mayor was also the judge with provincial jurisdictions and since these bureaucrats have no background in the law and having arrived in the province with questionable motives, it is therefore said that the â€Å"pr incipal vice† of province administration is the absence of â€Å"true justice†. The author emphasized that provincial administration has no direction since the system of concentration of functions is in one man and this has disadvantageously rendered the bureaucrat inefficient. This inefficiency neglect or non-performance of duties – easily turned into oppression.The alcadeship evolved into an office of abuse since there were no checks to the alcalde’s excesses and frauds. He is the judge – administrator – military commandant of the province – an action against him is futile. However, reforms were undertaken to improve the administration in the provinces. But these reforms weren’t able to bear fruit for the main reason that they were enacted too late. Discussed also were the native bureaucrats and the system of local government; the principalia which was a social and political aristocracy on the village level – the details of its participation and the conditions under which it was actually exercised.The author also described the undeniable influence or relative power of the clergy in civil and political life, them being more â€Å"unified† than the group of the bureaucrats. In Chapter 7, the author summarized the weaknesses of the Spanish colonial bureaucracy, fundamental of which was the internal moral corruption of its members made worse by the fact that the Madrid government placed its political faith not in the bureaucracy but in the church. Discussed also as the futile attempts to reform the colonial bureaucracy and the general structure of the central administration and the budgetary practices of the central government in Manila. Chapter 8 is a â€Å"discussion of the principal events and factors that shaped the new era that constituted the basis upon which the new political administration was established, and that provided the context for the new bureaucracy and the new bureaucrats. † The author discussed Aguinaldo’s action and the general features of the scheme to organize the town and provincial governments.The new institutions under the Revolutionary Government were closely patterned after the preceding scheme of the Spanish a dministration due to the lack of time for innovations, but the local authorities and institutions were now more popularly based and autonomous. Discussed also was the principal features of the Malolos Constitution of 1899 which was an admirable work of constitutionalism, considering the difficult conditions of the times and the inexperience of its authors. Ideal as it may seem, the first attempt to self-government was aborted as the Philippines was once again under a colonial regime – now in the hands of the Americans. According to the author, the American occupation of the Philippines is generally pointed out as a major phase in the evolution of modern colonial policy and colonial administration. During this time, there were increased economic activities – in agriculture, manufacturing and commerce – such that the colony enjoyed vastly improved standards of living and for the first time, the masses have a chance to escape from poverty. The author also studied the formative period, from 1900 to 1913, of the new bureaucracy.The author identified the salient features of this advanced civil service system which is in great magnitude different from that of the old Spanish system. In Chapter 9, the author focussed on the period from 1913 to 1935 in which the civil service continued to evolve and which was respected by both American authorities and Filipino officials and politicians. But the evolutionary development was unremarkable. It was a steady but rather dreary process, unmarked by ba sic structural alteration or dramatic innovation in the service itself. During this period, both houses of the lawmaking bodies were under Filipino control.This period also marked the beginning of Filipinization of the civil service. In Chapter 10, the author discussed how the Philippine Civil Service, from 1935 to 1955, passed through brief but basic evolutionary governments. First discussed was the establishment of the Philippine Commonwealth Government (November 15, 1935) which completed the gradual transfer of government functions to Filipinos. The Philippine Government was a 10-year transitional government – republican in form, Filipino in personnel and has autonomy in domestic affairs – to be superseded by the Republic of the Philippines on July 4, 1946.Further discussed were the constitutional changes and phases of which the civil service is also undergoing namely: First, the phase of consolidation and further expansion, lasting until the Japanese invasion; Second, the phase of dislocation and demoralization covering the war and ear ly postwar years; and Third, the phase of reconstruction and modernization. The author, in the last chapter, summarized the important phases in the bureaucracy in the Philippines from the pre-Spanish period to the year 1955 which was discussed in detail in the preceding chapters. Also discussed briefly were the weaknesses and characteristics of the bureaucracy.This work of Dr. Onofre Corpuz is a vital contribution to the study of Public Administration. I have but good words for this work. The topics were well-organized and clearly written. He was able to piece together different historical data and I was impressed by the historical information presented in this book and his sources which dates from early 1600’s. Because of this book, the reader will have a better background and clearer understanding of the current conditions of the bureaucracy. I hope there could be further study on the conditions of the bureaucracy, if significant change has been attained after 1955.