Local Government and Decentralization Study Notes

Local Government & Decentralization

The Local Government Units (LGU) of the Philippines

  • The structure includes:
    • Province
    • Municipality
    • Component City
    • Barangay
    • Highly Urbanized City

Rationale of Local Governments

  • The Constitution recognizes the importance of local governments.
  • The State shall guarantee and promote the autonomy of the local government units, especially the barangays.
  • This is to ensure their fullest development as self-reliant communities.
  • Local governments are the foundation of the entire governmental structure.
  • Acts of local government units affect the ordinary citizen more directly than those of the national government.
  • The average citizen has more and closer contacts with the local governments and their agencies.
  • They are more concerned with local affairs than with those of the national or provincial scope.

Over-all Supervision of the LGUs

  • The President of the Philippines exercises supervision over the whole country.
  • For administrative control, the Philippines is divided into political subdivisions:
    • Provinces
    • Municipalities
    • Cities
    • Barangays
  • These political subdivisions enjoy autonomy, especially in local affairs.
  • They are under the general supervision of the Chief Executive, through the Secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).
  • Local governments act as agencies of the national government in:
    • Collection of taxes
    • Law enforcement
    • Other governmental functions delegated by the national government

Provinces

  • The provincial government takes care of functions affecting the people of a certain province.
  • The province is the largest political unit in the Philippines.
  • It possesses the following powers:
    • To acquire and transfer real and personal properties
    • To enter into contracts, including those incurring obligations, which are expressly provided by law
    • To exercise such other rights and incur such other obligations as are expressly authorized by law
  • There are 77 provinces in the Philippines.
  • They are classified according to their average income for five consecutive years.
  • The higher the income of the province, the higher is its classification.
  • Salaries paid to provincial officials depend upon the class to which the province belongs.
  • Higher salaries are paid to officials of higher-class provinces.
  • Executives are elected:
    • Governor
    • Vice Governor
    • Members of the provincial board (vocales)
  • There are three vocales in the first, second, and third-class provinces, and two in the other classes of provinces.
  • The rest of the provincial officials are appointed by the corresponding departments of the national government:
    • Provincial treasurer
    • Provincial assessor
    • District auditor
    • Judges of the Regional Trial courts
    • Provincial fiscal
    • Division superintendent of schools
    • District health officer
    • District engineer
    • Register of deeds
  • The election of the governor, vice governor, and members of the provincial board takes place on the Second Tuesday of November of the election year.
  • They hold office for three years.
  • They cannot serve for more than three consecutive terms.
  • The provincial governor exercises general supervisory powers over the entire province.
  • He also:
    • Makes known to the people of his province all laws and orders of the government, especially those which directly concern them
    • Sees to it that they are faithfully carried out.
    • Acquaints himself with the conditions of the municipalities comprising the province
    • Advises local officials in matters affecting their official work.
Top Provinces by Population

The list of provinces by population, percentage of population, and notes are provided in the transcript. Some examples:

  • Metro Manila: 12,877,253 (12.75%)
  • Cebu: 4,632,359 (4.59%) - Includes Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu, and Mandaue

(The rest of the provinces and their details are available in the original transcript - Pages 11-14)

Municipalities

  • A municipality is a local government unit (LGU) in the Philippines.
  • A municipality is called town in its archaic term
  • It is distinct from a city, which is a different category of local government unit.
  • Provinces are divided into cities and municipalities, which in turn, are divided into barangays.
  • As of 7 September 2019, there are 1,488 municipalities across the country.
  • Each province is composed of municipalities commonly called towns.
  • The municipality is a public corporation created by an act of congress.
  • It is governed by the Municipality Law, which defines its duties and powers.
  • Being public corporations, municipalities:
    • Can sue or be sued in court
    • Enter into contracts
    • Acquire and hold real and personal properties for municipal purposes
    • Exercise such other powers as are granted by law.
  • Municipalities are classified according to their average annual income for the last four fiscal years.
  • There are 1,540 municipalities in the Philippines.
  • They are autonomous units of government and have elective and appointive officials.
  • The elective officials:
    • Municipal mayor
    • Vice mayor
    • Councilors
  • They are elected by the qualified voters for a term of three years.
  • They cannot serve for more than three consecutive terms.
  • The appointive officials:
    • Municipal secretary
    • Treasurer
    • Justice of the peace
    • Chief of police
  • The municipal mayor is the chief executive officer of the town.
Functions of the Mayor:
  • To execute all laws and municipal ordinances
  • To supervise the administration of the town
  • To issue orders relative to the maintenance of peace and order
  • To preside over the meetings of the municipal council
  • To recommend measures to the municipal council aimed at the improvement of the social and economic conditions of the people
The Municipal Council:
  • The municipal councils are the lawmaking body of the town.
  • It is composed of:
    • The mayor (chairman of the council)
    • Vice mayor
    • Councilors
Functions of the Municipal Council:
  • To fix the salaries of all municipal offices and employees, except the treasurer, teachers in the public schools, and staff of national government agencies assigned to the municipality
  • To provide for expenses necessary to carry out the functions of the municipality
  • To provide for buildings adequate for municipal uses, including school houses
  • To provide for the levy and collection of taxes, fees, and charges as sources of municipal revenue
  • To establish and maintain an efficient police department and an adequate municipal jail

Cities

Chartered City
  • The chartered city is also a unit of local administration.
  • It is created by a special law which serves as its charter.
  • The charter is the constitution of the city.
  • The charter:
    • Creates the city
    • Defines its boundaries
    • Provides its system of government
    • Defines the powers and duties of its officials
  • A city or any of its officials cannot perform any official act which is not permitted by its charter.
  • The city elective officials are:
    • The mayor
    • Vice mayor
    • The members of the city council
  • They are elected for a term of three years.
  • They cannot serve for more than three consecutive terms.
  • The mayor is the executive official of the city, aided by the appointive heads of the various departments.
  • The vice mayor is the presiding officer of the board.
  • The city courts exercise judicial functions.
  • The lawmaking body of the city is the council.
Functions of the City Council
  • To levy and collect taxes in accordance with law
  • To enact ordinances
  • To provide for public works constructions and for the maintenance of a local police force
  • To establish fire zones within the city and to regulate the type of building which may be constructed within each zone
  • To provide for the protection of the inhabitants from public calamities and to provide relief in times of emergency
  • There are 67 chartered cities in the Philippines.

Barangays

The Barangay Council
  • Each municipality or city is composed of a number of villages or barangays.
  • The barangays are the smallest units of local government in the Philippines.
  • They are governed by the Barrio Charter.
  • The elective officials of the barangays are the Barangay Captain and the Barangay Councilors.
Functions of the Barangay Captain
  • As chief executive, the barangay captain is its recognized leader.
  • He enforces all the laws and ordinances applicable to his constituency.
  • He may:
    • Organize fire brigades
    • Preside over all meetings both of the barangay council and assembly
    • Organize groups of citizens to fight criminality and brigandage
    • Approve all payments from barangay funds
  • He also signs all contacts in which the barangay is a party.
Nature of the Barangays
  • There are 41,945 barangays in the Philippines.
  • They are public corporations and so, they:
    • Can sue and be sued in court
    • Can enter into contracts
    • Can acquire and hold all kinds of property
    • Can exercise such powers or perform such acts as are provided by law

Decentralization

  • Decentralization is defined as the transfer of power and authority from central institution to lower or local levels of a government system.
  • According to Raul P. De Guzman, decentralization generally refers to the systematic and rational dispersal of power, authority and responsibility from the center to the periphery, from top to lower levels, or from national to local governments.
  • Decentralization refers to the transfer of powers from central government to local levels in a political-administrative and territorial hierarchy.
  • This process allows the participation of the people and the local government.
  • Decentralization hands over political, financial and administrative authority from central to local governments, so that the government can facilitate and guarantee better public services for the people.

Three Forms of Decentralization

  1. Devolution – transfer of power and authority from the national government to local government units; political and territorial decentralization
  2. Deconcentration – transfer of power, authority or responsibility or the discretion to plan, decide and manage from central to local levels; administrative and sectoral decentralization
  3. Debureaucratization – transfer of some public functions and responsibilities, which government may perform to private entities or non-government organizations (NGOs). It involves the harnessing of the private sector and non-governmental organizations in the delivery of services through various modalities including contracting out, private-public partnership and joint ventures.

Three Components of Decentralization:

  1. Political Decentralization - focuses among others on improved planning and monitoring of development measures, formulating strategies for the active integration of civil society and the economic sector, and the promotion of information exchange and management.
  2. Fiscal Decentralization – focuses on the increase in local government’s responsibility for expenditures.
  3. Institutional Decentralization - focuses among others on the delivery of basic services from the national government to the local government units concerned.

Indicators of Political Decentralization:

  1. Accountability – local committees consisting of men and women work in selected LGUs according to the guidelines of the Local Government Code of 1991 to implement result-oriented & target-relevant decisions and measures.
  2. Transparency – selected LGUs and national organizations / departments publish their annual budgets in media accessible to citizens such as newspapers, bulletin boards at the town hall and churches; and report semi-annually on the implementation status of programs in citizen’s assemblies.
  3. Responsibility and Participation – The portion of programs and projects realized by LGUs through active and quantifiable participation, such as job performance & financial contributions of citizens.

Impact of Political Decentralization:

  • Decentralization empowered Local leaders to take greater control over their region’s destinies.
  • Local leaders, citizens and other stakeholders are given more freedom in determining their development paths.
  • Political Decentralization delegated some powers from the central authority to the local authorities, who are much familiar with the cultural, social and economic aspects of their respective regions.
  • The main objective is for the provinces, cities and municipalities to use their financial resources more efficiently, generate additional resources and tap alternative resources.

Indicators of Fiscal Decentralization:

  1. Improved financial management including qualification of participants in areas of financial management
  2. Strengthening cooperation on different levels
  3. Promoting exchange of experiences, formulating strategies for an improved integration of the business sector and civil society in social and economic programs.

Impact of Institutional Decentralization:

  • Better service delivery is a matter of coordination & collaboration.
  • Bridging and empowering the public and private sectors of different regions in the country through forums, seminars, workshops, studies and researches.
  • Working within networks is a strategic element in achieving sustainability, reliability and a broad effect, especially for the forging of “strategic alliances”.
  • Exchange of ideas and mutual understanding among local chief executives, police and military is crucial in achieving sustainable peace and development