TOWARDS GOOD GOVERNANCE

Rationale for the Local Governments' Existence

Local governments are established or organized consistent with the principles

of decentralization. Generally, local governments are legal authorities constituted by laws providing
services, with the rights and necessary organization to regulate their own affairs. Consequently, they
came to exist for the following reasons:

1. Certainly, local officials know best the needs and interests of local popula-

tion. Local governments are directly responsible in crystallizing the interests of the people living in
common political units, and are in better positions to serving them.

Hence, they can easily come up with local ordinances responding to specific area concerns than the
national government whose concerns are much broader, and which may not immediately address to
community conditions and needs;

2. Local governments come to exist as administrative convenience to the State

creating them, particularly in delegating administrative functions to field offices making them more
accountable to the people and at the same time promoting better and effective delivery of social and
welfare services;

3. Local governments are also effective partners of the central or national gov-

ernment, in harnessing not only community development and growth but also na-

tional development and growth. The closer the people to the government, the better

the governance would become;

4. Local governments boost the civil morale of the population as they can di-

rectly participate in the political affairs and processes towards more efficient local governance at the
grassroots levels; and

5. Local governments provide a clear understanding of the relationships be-

tween the desired project objectives and resources available to implement them. In the process of
mobilizing local resources they also promote participation of the people.²

Creation and Structures of Local Governments

In most countries of the world there are at least two levels of government, the

upper level (national/central) and the local level (community). Usually the national/

87
central government is the sovereign state, or the "government of the whole country."

As a sovereign national or central government, it assumes the functions of determining and managing its
own local affairs without interference from the outside world. The central government pursues an
exclusive function, which lower levels cannot perform, such as foreign relations or coinage of money,
and also capable of commanding state recognition from other nation-states in the international system.

On the other hand, below the central government is the "government of the parts," which level of
typology may vary from one state to another based on historical experience or political system of one
state. They are variously called provinces, counties, prefectures, changwat or special structures such as
regional or metropolitan governments. Below them are basic units of local governments, those
performing services for the people who live together in a community. These are the cities, in townships,
districts, panchayats, tambons, and the like. They perform services that include sanitation, protection to
lives and property, and provision of public utilities. In a few countries, a lower and smaller form of local
government forms the sub-municipal level, typified by the barangays in the Philippines, the parishes in
the United Kingdom, and the mahalles in Turkey. In Federal and in Unitary States Local governments as
earlier stated are usually constituted by laws as subordinate political bodies of provincial authorities in
federal states, or they are subsidiary units under national government in unitary states. In organizing a
local community in the direction of economic growth, certain autonomy is given to constituted local
bodies to accelerate development. In this decentralized system, a dispersal of power is extended to local
government units to enable them to meet the needs of the constituencies and to crystallize their
interest as well towards more progressive and self-reliant communities.

Also, in federal governments like the United States, Canada and India, there are

second layers of government that are described as "quasi-sovereign" states (some-times called
provinces) which have some aspects of sovereignty but otherwise subordinate to the nation. These
states supervise units, which can be described as "infra-sovereign local governments" (Humes and
Martin in Lazo, 2009), those, which do not have any aspect of sovereignty. In unitary states like the
Philippines the supervision over local governments is done by the national government, as there is no
intervening

layer of government between the sovereign nation and the local units. Thus, from the point of view of
local units, the central government in a federal government are the states or provinces. In unitary states,
the central government is the nation as a whole.

Generally, local government is a worldwide concept of governance. It is not only found in federal and
unitary states but also in most forms of government and political systems. It is called through various
names like prefects, communes, municipalities, regions, and so forth. It is the lowest level of elected
territorial bodies constituting a sub-national organization within a state. Countries anywhere in the
world make use

of local governments for administrative purposes and those services are effectively delivered and made
them available throughout their territorial spheres.

88

Groupings of Local Governments

There are classically four basic patterns of local governments from which the present local government
systems in the world evolved, the Traditional model, the English Model, the Soviet model, and the
French model. Initially, the Traditional model gave an impetus for local governments to exist. It
considered that local governance is naturally inherent among the people in a village or community. A
system of government by and large has resulted from the relationship of the inhabitants, with defined
but autocratic system of executive, legislative and judicial powers, usually controlled by a local chieftain.
Although, it has a rather simple structure of command obedience; it is usually solidified by community
practice and traditions.

Furthermore, the International Union of Local Authorities (TULA) observing "an obvious resemblance
between the structures of local government in neighboring countries, classified local government
systems in terms of geography and culture, including language, religion, governmental traditions and
philosophy and closely related history." Thus, it came up with the following classifications: East Asia
Group (the Philippines, Thailand, Japan); Anglo Saxon Group (the United States, Australia, Union of
South Africa, the United Kingdom, Canada); Eastern European Group (former USSR, Poland, Bulgaria,
former Yugoslavia); South Asia and East Africa Group (India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Sudan, Burma,
Ethiopia); South Europe Group (France, Italy, Greece, Spain, Portugal); Central and Northwest Europe
Group (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg); and West Asia and
East Africa Group (all Islamic countries, mostly Arab and Arab influenced states).

Nature of Local Governments Local governments are widely recognized in every democratic state as
general purpose units created by the national government. They represent vital constituent parts of the
nation's politico-administrative system and play an important part in the administration of public
services.

To reiterate, local governments are political subdivisions of a nation or a state constituted by law, which
have substantial control over local affairs, including the power of taxation. The governing body of local
government may either be elected or appointed.

Characteristics of Local Government:

1. Local governments are defined territorial boundaries with political and administrative jurisdictions;

2. Local governments are non-sovereign communities with subordinate status,

governments which are below the national government;

89

3. Local governments have authority and power to undertake public activities;

4. Local governments are continuing organizations with population of more or less numerous; and
5. Local governments are municipal corporations.

Local governments in the Philippines are territorial subdivisions of the state, which are the provinces,
cities, municipalities, and barangays. A distinct provision of the law likewise provides for the creation of
regional governments namely: Cordillera Administrative Region and Autonomous Region of Muslim
Mindanao. Above all, the MMDA as a metro-wide system of governance has been accepted to address
the problems of rapid urbanization, which cannot be solved independently by a local unit." In general,
the functions of local governments (Lazo, 2009:247) may be gleaned from the following features they
generally assume:

a. Local governments provide greater political participation from the people at lower level communities;

b. Local units impart socioeconomic services for the constituency consistent with national government
policies;

c. Local governments offer a means of dividing power, responsibilities and functions by geographic area
or locality of the state; and

d. Local governments confer or vest upon distinction among desperate local communities.

Local Governments in the Modern World

The status of local government is distinguished between the new world and the old world of Europe. In
the old world, the European countries, local units assume higher and significant roles with more defined
character than in the new world. They allow direct coordination between local administration and the
central governments. As Hague (2002) noted, Sweden's 'Instrument of Government' is an example. It
roundly declares that Swedish democracy "shall be realized through a representative and parliamentary
polity and through local self-government. In addition, local authorities in continental Europe normally
enjoy 'general acceptance', that is, the authority to make regulations in any matter of concern to area."
Germany's Basic Law, for instance, gives gemeinden (municipalities) the right to regulate under their
own responsibility and within the limits of the law all the affairs of the local community, and within the
limits."

On the other hand, the new world like the United States, New Zealand, Australia, and Canada regard
local government with utilitarian purpose or function. Local governments are organized to facilitate
infrastructure services and provide basic amenities for the villages. Even local licensing and regulatory
services are established independent of political parties to address specific concerns.

Decentralization, Devolution, and De-concentration

In Great Britain, it is proven that local governments became effective conduits of central government,
as they are partners of the national power in organizing community

90

development and economic programs. Also in Scandinavia, local governments put into practice
numerous social welfare and development projects agreed at the national level. There are three ways in
which political powers from the central government can be dispersed to the local governments:
decentralization, devolution, and de-concentration.
In the Philippines, RA 7160, otherwise known as the Local Government Code of 1991, became the legal
instrument that strengthened the spirit of democracy, and attain the highest possible level of
development at the local levels in the Philippines. It is so designed in enriching the capabilities and
maximizing the limited resources of LGUs by empowering the people through direct participation in the
affairs of the government. The Local Government Code provides for much greater powers and
responsibilities by which local governments may come up with different programs and activities
fashioned to uphold the general welfare of the people. There are several reasons why decentralization is
adopted and applied as a tool of development administration.

1. It enables maximum participation of the people concerned in the decision-making processes on issues
that concern them directly. Decisions, aside from ensuring maximum citizen participation, are also more
responsive to the needs of the people;

2. Lower levels of government are encouraged and trained to be more self-reliant through
decentralization;

3. It hastens the decision-making processes, doing away with traditional red tape of having to go all the
way up the central authorities for action or authority to perform appropriate actions, and then
downwards; and

4. Decentralization decongests the central government of certain functions that could well be done at
the lower levels.

Decentralization may be defined as the dispersal of authority and responsibility and the allocation of
powers and functions from the center or top level of government to regional bodies or special-purpose
authorities, or from the national to the sub-national levels of government." Decentralization may also
take the form of devolution or political decentralization, which is the transfer of authority and power
from the central government to the local governments to perform certain governmental functions and
services. Political decentralization involves the granting of authority and power to the provincial, city
and municipal governments to manage their own affairs, which process partakes of the nature of what is
commonly referred to as local autonomy.

91
Also, decentralization can be operationalized into several modes or strategies aiming to disperse
politico-administrative powers and responsibilities to lower levels of government. One form of
decentralization is what may be termed as de-concentration or administrative decentralization, which is
the delegation of authority by a central government ministry or department to field offices to undertake
certain programs or perform administrative functions. Another one is devolution which essentially is the
transfer of power for the performance of certain functions from the national or central authorities to
the lower levels of government." Devolution exists when the central government grants some decision-
making autonomy to new lower levels like regional governments in France, Italy, and Spain. Devolution
is the transfer of political power and authority from the central national government to local
government units of a state. However, Abueva (1998) noted that in the Philippines, the implementation
of Local Government Code of 1991 raises three basic concerns:

The issues are: a) the capabilities of local units to absorb the necessary respon sibilities and raise
resources; b) the fear among many sectors that devolution will create local warlords; and c) the
fragmentation of the delivery of basic services. (p.117)

Meanwhile, de concentration may also refer to the assignment of functions to adhoc bodies and special
authorities created in the region to render technical assistance on regional development. Administrative
decentralization, or said delegation of authority, can take effect without the necessity of legislation, just
with the issuance of an executive or administrative order." De-concentration then implies to the location
of central government employees away from the capital region. "The case for a de-concentrated
structure is that it spreads the work around, enabling field offices to benefit from local knowledge and
freeing central departments to focus on policymaking."

92