PolSc 120 - Graded Recitation 2

for Friday, October 16, 2026 | dude i genuinely hate graded recitations in this subject, i hope sir doesn't pull some shit outta his ass like last time

Government Workforce

• people

• organization

• outcomes

People

• quality of workforce; strengths and weaknesses vis-à-vis job competencies

Organization

• organizational culture and processes

Outcomes

• employee and consumer/public satisfaction

Why is human resource management important to public management?

• People are the main resource of government (private firms focus on financial capital and technology)

• HRM affects the quality of public service

• HRM converts public policy into effective implementation

• HRM affects citizens’ trust

• HRM affects organizational performance

Administrative Code of 1987

• a unified document defining the major structural, functional and procedural principles and rules of governance

• defines policies that regulate or control the administrative organization and operations of government through administrative agencies (AAs)

Powers of Administration

• Quasi-legislative power / Power of subordinate legislation

• Quasi-judicial power / Power of adjudication

• Determinative powers (incidental powers)

Quasi-legislative power / Power of subordinate legislation

• authority delegated by the law-making body to the administrative body to adopt rules and regulations intended to carry out the provisions of a law and implement legislative policy

Quasi-judicial power / Power of adjudication

• power of administrative authorities to make determinations of facts in the performance of their official duties and to apply the law as they construe it to the facts so found

Determinative powers (incidental powers)

• enabling, directing, dispensing,

  summary and equitable powers

Executive Orders

Acts of the President providing for rules of a general or permanent character in implementation or execution of constitutional or statutory powers shall be promulgated in executive orders

Government-owned and controlled corporation

• special charter / parent

• non-chartered under Corporation Code / subsidiary

Appointing Power of the President

President shall nominate and, with the consent of the Commission on Appointments, appoint the heads of the executive departments, ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, or officers of the armed forces from the rank of colonel or naval captain, and other officers whose appointments are vested in him by the 1987 Constitution

• He shall also appoint all other officers of the Government whose appointments are not otherwise provided for by law, and those whom he may be authorized by law to appoint (practically, level of a bureau director)

Cabinet System

• Body of advisers of a head of state, who also serves as the heads of government departments

• Tenure is co-terminus with the appointing power. They serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority

• Appointment is confirmed through the Commission on Appointments (CA)

HRM in Local Governments

• “The chief executive of every LGU shall be responsible for human resources and development in (their) unit and shall take all personnel actions in accordance with the Constitutional provisions on civil service, pertinent laws, and rules and regulations thereon, including such policies guidelines and standards as the Civil Service Commission may establish. x x x” (Section 77, Title III LGC)”

Challenges to Public HRM

• Corruption and accountability

• Nepotism

• Discretion

• Lack of resources

• Role of technology

• Curtailment

• Enhancement

The main principles of traditional management

1. Make money for shareholders

2. Managers control individuals

3. Bureaucracy: rules, plans, reports

4. Efficiency, cost-cutting

5. Top-down commands

6. (repeat cycle)

Personnel Administration

• Formulation of rules and regulations for an appointment in public service (terms and conditions of work)

• Establishment of a compensation and position classification system

• Establishment of a recruitment and promotion system

• Provision of a long-term career development program

• Fair and just disciplinary system

• An equitable retirement and pension plan for employees

Civil Service System

• Central personnel agency (examination, recruitment, adjudicating, legal opinion, personnel policies/standards, discipline and accountability, personnel data information management)

• Civil service eligibility (professional and sub-professional) entitles an appointee to a permanent appointment in government and security of tenure

• Career Executive Service Board (CESB) – focus on career officials from Director up

Position Classification

• first level positions

• second level positions

First level positions

• refer to clerical, trades, crafts and custodial service positions which involve non-professional or sub-professional work in a non-supervisory and supervisory capacity requiring less than four years of collegiate studies

Second level positions

• refer to professional, technical and scientific positions which involve professional, technical or scientific work in a non-supervisory or supervisory capacity requiring at least four years of collegiate work up to Division Chief level

Kinds of appointment

• Permanent

• Substitute

• Co-terminous

• Contractual

• Casual

• Job order

Kinds of appointment: Permanent

• civil service eligible professional; enjoys security of tenure; can only be removed for causes as provided by law

Kinds of appointment: Substitute

• when a regular employee is temporarily unavailable

Kinds of appointment: Co-terminous

• either with the appointing authority, by an incumbent, project, lifespan of agency

Kinds of appointment: Contractual

• specific work/job but should not exceed one year

Kinds of appointment: Casual

• work/job that is essential and necessary when there are not enough staff to do the work

Kinds of appointment: Job order

• specific work/job paid on a daily basis based on a consultancy contract not considered ‘government services’ covered by the civil service; not exceeding 6 months

Salary Standardization Law

• a law fixing the salaries of government employees, providing salary grades ranging from 1 to 33, the latter being the highest. A salary grade (SG) is a numeric designation that determines the monthly payment or income of government employees

• the salary grade assigned to a government position corresponds to its level of difficulty and extent of responsibilities

• each salary grade comprises multiple steps, except for SG 33, which has only two steps. Government employees can get SG step increments every 3 years

• military and uniformed personnel are exempted under the SSL. They don’t contribute to the pension system and retirement benefits pegged to salary rates of active personnel

Compensation and Benefits

• 13th Month Pay

• Mid-year and yearend bonus

• Personal economic relief allowance

• Productivity incentive bonus

• Representation/transportation allowance

• Leave benefits (sick/vacation) commutation

• Retirement benefits (GSIS)

Discipline of Personnel

• Revised Administrative Code of 1987 (Executive Order 292) provided for thirty (30) valid grounds or causes of action ranging from dishonesty to nepotism

• Other grounds are provided under RA 6713 otherwise known as the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, RA 3019 (Anti Graft and Corrupt Practices Act), RA 7877 (Anti Sexual Harassment Act of 1995), Anti Red Tape Act of 2009, and other laws

• Nepotism rules generally prohibit appointments within the 3rd degree of consanguinity or affinity to the appointing or recommending authority

• Any person can file administrative complaint against a government employee/official. It may be filed with the head of the LGU concerned or the Civil Service Commission Regional Office

• Ombudsman is the exclusive prosecutor of officials subject to complaints of graft and corruption

• Sandiganbayan acts as the tribunal that would hear these criminal cases filed by the Ombudsman

Leadership Theories

1. Trait theory

2. Behavior theory

3. Contingency model

4. Transactional Leadership theory

5. Functional Leadership theory

6. Transformational Leadership theory

7. Authentic Leadership model

8. Shared Leadership theory

• nature vs nurture in leadership styles

Trait theory

• (“great man” born to lead) where specific traits determine who is a leader (dispositional traits)

• Myers-Briggs Personality Types

Myers-Briggs Personality Types

• Energy Source: Extraversion (E) or Introversion (I) – Do you focus on the outer world or your inner thoughts?

• Information Gathering: Sensing (S) or Intuition (N) – Do you rely on basic facts or big-picture possibilities?

• Decision Making: Thinking (T) or Feeling (F) – Do you use objective logic or personal values and empathy?

• Lifestyle/Outer World: Judging (J) or Perceiving (P) – Do you prefer structure and planning or flexibility and spontaneity?

Behavior theory

• (learn to lead)

• becoming a leader, is just a matter of proper training to develop leadership qualities, so that anyone can be trained to become a leader (proximal traits)

Behavioral public management

• Bounded rationality

• Cognitive biases

Bounded rationality

• public administrators often choose the first solution that is "good enough" ("satisficing")

Cognitive biases

• confirmation bias (favoring info that fits current beliefs) or status quo bias (resisting organizational change)

Contingency model

• where a situation is the ultimate factor in the leadership style adopted by a leader

• basically, the effectiveness of the leader is contingent upon at least two factors:

• (1) attributes of the leader and

• (2) the degree to which the situation gives the leader power, control, and influence

Contingency models in public management

• Fledler model

• Hersey-Blanchard model

• Lawrence and Lorsch model

Public managers deal with a unique mix of political pressures, budget constraints, and diverse stakeholder demands. Contingency models give leaders the flexibility to switch from a strict, authoritative approach during an emergency crisis to a collaborative, open approach when drafting long-term city plans

Fledler model

• matches a leader's style with situational control

Hersey-Blanchard model

adapts leadership to follower maturity

Lawrence and Lorsch model

• structures uncertain organizations into specialized, highly coordinated units

Transactional leadership theory

• based on rewards in exchange for enhanced performance

• in this model, leaders motivate followers by tapping into their intrinsic values. When followers are able to identify with a leader's mission and vision, they feel better about their work and willing to perform at a higher level

Functional leadership theory

• to assess the needs of their followers and then meet those needs

• leaders monitor the environment, organize activities, motivate and inspire and to participate in activities

Transformative leadership theory

• leaders are reform-oriented

• a transformative leader interrogates and seeks to disrupt that which is taken for granted

  • translating strategy into action

  • building strategic relationships

  • leveraging your emotional intelligence

  • leading through change

  • developing employee capability

Authentic Leadership model

• leadership development occurs when people are able to observe proper patterns of authentic and ethical leader behavior that encourages open sharing of information and welcomes input

• an ongoing process that requires moments of reflection by leaders and associates

Shared Leadership theory

• suggests that leadership develops throughout a team's lifespan as the team dynamic evolves based on inputs, processes and outcomes

• as the culture of a team is formed, reciprocal patterns of interaction emerge and reinforce relationships between members

• the objective of this leadership style is to utilize individuals' talents, skills and knowledge in a group effort to achieve organizational goals

Network Management theories

governance networks can be described as a pluri-centric system as opposed to the unicentric system.

governance networks involve a large number of interdependent actors who interact with each other in order to produce an outcome

Theory “U” in Change Management

• at the core of Otto Scharmer’s "U" theory is presencing: “sensing + presence.” Presencing is a journey with five movements

• this theory shifts leadership from habit to innovation by guiding groups down a path of deep listening, self-reflection ("presencing"), and up through rapid prototyping to co-create future solutions

Public Financial Management

• concerned with aspects of resource mobilization and expenditure management in the public sector and organizations

• expenditures on public services usually account for a third of gross domestic product (GDP) in most countries, thus interest and expectation of these services are high and management of public funds demand scrutiny from taxpayers and citizens

• emerging issue of rising public sector debt and capacity to pay
  
  

Role of Public Financial Management

• provides long term strategic vision for the economy

• demands transparency and accountability in policy making and implementation

• provides clear targets, monitoring, feedback and performance measures

Objectives of Public Financial Management

• provides fiscal discipline (“balanced budget” vs “deficit budgeting”)

• defines strategic resource allocation

• institutes operational efficiency

Characteristics of a Good PFM

• Comprehensiveness

• Predictability

• Transparent

• Accountable

• Consistency and affordability

• Grounded on political realities

Fiscal Administration

• the branch of economics that deals with the income and expenditures of government and their impact on the economy;

• it refers to the formulation, implementation, and evaluations of policies and decisions on taxation and revenue administration, resource allocation, budgeting, and public expenditure; public borrowing and debt management; and accounting and auditing (Briones, 1983)

• Fiscal policy is the heart of fiscal administration

Fiscal Policy

• the use of government spending and taxation to influence the economy

• governments influence the economy by changing the level and types of taxes, the extent and composition of spending, and the degree and form of borrowing

Fiscal Policy Formula

C + I + G + (X-M)

• C = consumption (70% of GDP)

• I = investments (FDI [historically pababa, portfolio investment [capital coming in to buy stocks in the stock market; monitored by the central bank)

• G = government

Fiscal Stimulus

• in the short term, governments may focus on macroeconomic stabilization — for example, expanding spending or cutting taxes to stimulate an ailing economy, or slashing spending or raising taxes to combat rising inflation or to help reduce external vulnerabilities

Taxation and Expenditures

• what taxes will it impose to generate funds?

• on whom will the taxes be imposed? on the business? landowners? 

• what form of taxes will be imposed? direct or indirect?

• in terms of expenditures, what sector in government will the focus be — for development? defense? borrowings? 

Debt Financing

• this key consideration for any government to resort to debt is the availability and feasibility of debt financing

• the deterioration of the fiscal balance is mostly due to shortfalls in government revenues, especially tax revenues (which accounts for more than 85% of the total)

• curbing fiscal expenditure and raising tax revenue — tax revenue increase by 11% per annum and annual economic growth at 5% for the years (ADB, 2005)

Public Finance Institutions

• Department of Finance BIR, Customs

  • Bureau of Internal Revenue

  • Bureau of Customs

  • Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF)

• Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)

• Department of Budget and Management

• Government Financial Institutions (Landbank, Development Bank of the Philippines)
  
  

Forms of taxes: National government

• the basic source of Philippine tax law is the National Internal Revenue Law, embodied in Republic Act No. 8424 (“The Tax Reform Act of 1997”)

• direct taxes - income tax (personal and corporate), customs duties, estate tax, donor’s tax, capital gains tax, documentary stamp tax

• indirect taxes - excise tax, VAT

Forms of taxes: Local government units

• LGU taxation in the Philippines is based on the constitutional grant of the power to tax to the local governments (Art X, Sec 5)

• National Tax Allotment (40% of national revenues)

• local taxes (real property tax, tax on sale of real property business taxes, amusement tax, professional tax, sand/gravel/quarry tax)

• fees and charges (operation of public enterprises, public infrastructure/services)

The budget may be seen as…?

• a contract between the Executive Department and Congress (and the people they represent) that it would deliver some levels of government services for a given amount of appropriation

Executive Power

• determines priorities and expenditure levels based on available resources, revenues and implementation capacity

• Presidential veto power (line item) over the GAB

• after enactment, implements and administer the budget through different agencies and the DBM

Power of the Purse

• Congress scrutinizes proposed national expenditure plan; it cannot increase the NEP

• Congress authorizes the budget (enacts the GAA), exercise oversight over the budget (with independent COA)

• may enact supplemental budget (if additional revenues)

Appropriation

• refers to an authorization made by law or legislative enactment directing payment out of government funds under specified conditions or for specific purposes

Budget

• total amount of appropriations programmed to be spent during the budget year and that can be supported by available resources

Allotment

• authorization issued by the DBM to an agency to incur obligations for specified amounts contained in a legislative appropriation

Budget rules

• Impoundment of budget (retention or reduction) is prohibited

• Existing budget rules prohibit the transfer of funds. What is allowed is augmentation of an existing item in the general appropriations law from savings

• Savings are generated from respective agency appropriations through operational efficiencies/cost drops; unused personnel compensation; program discontinuance; macroeconomic revenue surplus

Objectives of budgeting

• strengthening administrative process

• achieving more effective or more stringent fiscal controls

• securing efficiency & economy

• effecting better utilization of resources

• controlling inflation

• broaden awareness & understanding of budget control

Management functions of a budget

• Budget serves as plan indicating requirements of certain factors like cash and productive capacity

• Budget serves as a control, containing criteria of cost or performance which are compared with actual data on operations, thus facilitating evaluations and possibly encouraging or even enforcing some measures of efficiency

National Expenditure Program (NEP)

• it translates the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) and the President’s policy priorities into a detailed funding program

• it ensures that resources are allocated to government agencies, programs, and projects consistent with national goals

• it is the starting point of the budget process submitted to Congress

• contains the following:

  • projected government revenues (taxes, fees, loans)

  • expenditure ceilings for each department and agency

  • detailed allocations for programs, activities, and projects (PAPs)

  • justifications linking budget items to development priorities

General Appropriations Bill

• After the President submits the NEP (executive proposal), the House of Representatives — through the Committee on Appropriations — drafts the GAB

• GAB 1 – adopted by the House and submits to Senate (GAB 2)

• Bicameral Conference Committee harmonizes both versions (GAB 3)

• ratified by both House and Senate and submits to President who either signs or vetoes the GAB

Can the House totally revise the NEP?

• Yes, in principle

  • the House of Representatives, through the Committee on Appropriations, has the “power of the purse” under the Constitution (Art. VI, Sec. 24 & 25).

  • lawmakers can delete, realign, or reduce items, effectively revising the President’s proposal

  • the Constitution (Art. VI, Sec. 25[1]) prohibits Congress from increasing the budget beyond what the President has proposed

Strategic Policy-Based Budgeting

• comprehensive, multi-year perspective in fiscal planning and budget management (avoiding off-budget and quasi-fiscal activity)

• Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF)

• aligns the annual budget with a multi-year development plan

• ensures that budget priorities are consistent with the Philippine Development Plan (PDP)

Budget Reform Initiatives

• aim to move away from opaque, input-based spending toward a more results-based, transparent, and participatory system that enhances fiscal discipline and citizen trust

• move to have Open Budgets - making budgets open to public input and scrutiny can help ensure that government planning and spending align with public priorities

  • incremental budgeting

  • zero-based budgeting

  • performance-based budgeting

  • participatory budgeting

Obligation-based Budgeting

• the obligation budget is the proposed amount of commitments that the government may incur or enter into for the delivery of goods and services in a fiscal year

• usually, it follows a two-year cycle, disbursing payments as obligations or commitments that may not necessarily be delivered within the same year

Zero-based budgeting (ZBB)

• a budgeting process that allocates funding based on program efficiency and necessity rather than budget history

• as opposed to traditional budgeting, no item is automatically included in the next budget

Cash-based Budgeting

• a cash-based budgeting system limits contractual obligations and disbursing payments to goods delivered and services rendered within the fiscal year

• this means implementing agencies need to complete their contracts by the end of 2019, regardless of possible delays

  • projects that are “not implementation-ready” will be removed from the proposed budge

Bottom-up Budgeting

• an approach to preparing the budget proposal of agencies, taking into consideration the development needs of poor cities/municipalities as identified in their respective local poverty reduction action plans that shall be formulated with strong participation of basic sector organizations

Types of Appropriations

• programmed

• unprogrammed

Programmed Appropriations

• the regular, funded items in the national budget. They are already backed by expected revenues or available financing.

• government can implement them right away because the money is already allocated and funded

Unprogrammed Appropriations

• these are standby appropriations included in the budget but can only be released if excess revenue collections, new revenue sources, or approved loans become available

• Congress usually provides for Unprogrammed Appropriations (sometimes ₱500B+) is too large and undermines the principle of Congressional power of the purse

Confidential and Intelligence Funds

• allowed by law and only exercised by the President

• CIFs should be spent mainly for field operations (not MOOE, capital outlays)

• CIFs don’t follow usual reportorial requirements (e.g. detailed receipts, expenditure plans)

• not divulged to the public

Funding the Budget

• tax revenues, Non-tax revenues, Borrowing / Debt Financing

• Debt financing is significant — about 20–25% of the budget (₱1.6 trillion in 2025)

• Rising debt means more money goes to debt service, which can crowd out social and development spending

• this raises debates about fiscal sustainability vs. development needs

Revenues or costs?

• Freebies, incentives, exemptions, subsidies, tax holidays, allotments (FIESTA) are negative revenue measures

• TRAIN law provided tax exemptions to those earning P250,000 annual income

• CREATE law reduced corporate taxes (from 30% to 25%)

2027 National Budget

• NGAs get 67.0 percent, LGUs (17.5 percent), debt (interest payments) (11.6 percent), and GOCCs and net lending (3.9 percent)

• Maintenance and other operating expenses (37.4%); Personnel Services (29.4 percent), Capital Outlays (21.6 percent), and Financial Expenses (11.6 percent)

Takeaways of Public Financial Management

• National budget is subject to the tragedy of the commons

• the incentive for each stakeholder in the budget is to maximize spending rights, as the cost is paid for from a pooled resource

• generally, it becomes detrimental to the collective welfare

• there must be a “bounded” or “restricted” negotiation strategy providing maximum transparency over fiscal policy and budget results

Policy

• set of principles or course of action or a statement of intent

• policies encourage or discourage certain actions through rules, incentives, sanctions, or programs

• designed (ideally) to steer behavior toward the results you want to

achieve

• may guide implementation, but not always legally binding on all

Public Policy

• a system of laws, regulatory measures, courses of action, and funding priorities concerning a given topic promulgated by a governmental entity or its representatives

• governments and public sector organizations promote public policies for the welfare and wellbeing of its citizens

• policies chosen by government represents an aggregation of individual preferences of individual members of society

Public Policy is Politics

• Policy is politics at its core — the institutionalized expression of conflict in society

• Policy decisions are not just technical or rational exercises

• They are shaped by power struggles, competing interests, values, and conflicts in society

• It is the arena where political conflicts are expressed and resolved (or not resolved)

Public Policy is Good Governance

• Policy is supposed to serve as a legitimate instrument for protecting rights, allocating scarce resources, and redistributing burdens and benefits for the general welfare of society

• It’s how people in a political society define a GOOD LIFE and HOW TO ACHIEVE IT

Why Frameworks Matter

• frameworks help provide order and simplify reality in order to identify trends and solutions to public policy problems

• provide a lens to make predictions about the consequences of public policy reforms

• suggest explanations for public policy process and outcomes

Kinds of Policy

• Formal or Explicit Policy

• Informal or Implicit Policy

Formal or Explicit Policy

• Response by a legitimate authority either through the following:

  • Passage, amendment or repeal of a law

  • Implementation of a legislation,

  • Interpretation of a particular law or administrative issuance in relation to a particular issue

  • Policy proposal for new issues needing legislation

Informal or Implicit Policy

• Response by a legitimate authority through

  • inaction over a particular issue or problem being pushed by interest groups or

  • a positive action over such issue or problem outside of the formal responses mentioned. It could be through the following:

    • Non-implementation by an agency

    • Dialogue and negotiations to resolve an issue

(Core) Attributes of Policies

• Solvability – are there solutions? Can it occur again?

• Complexity – disorganized or organized

  • Political – vested interests involved

  • Programmatic – causal or technical

• Scale of the problem – is it large enough that would merit state intervention?

Attributes of Policy Instruments

• Divisibility – can they be disaggregated to suit particular constituencies?

• Monetization – is it a matter of funding?

• Scale of stakeholders – are there large stakeholders involved in creating the issue?

• Interdependence – can it be addressed by a particular government agency or whole of government