1:00-1:45
REGISTRATION
1:45-1:50
WELCOME REMARKS
J. PROSPERO E. DE VERA III
Vice President for Public Affairs
University of the Philippines
1:50-1:55
INTRODUCTION OF THE 2011 TWSC PUBLIC FORUM SERIES
MARIA ELA L. ATIENZA
Director
Third World Studies Center
College of Social Sciences and Philosophy
University of the Philippines-Diliman
1:55-2:00
INTRODUCTION OF THE SPEAKERS
2:00-2:20
ALEX B. BRILLANTES, JR.
Professor and Former Dean
National College of Public Administration and Governance
University of the Philippines-Diliman
2:20-2:40
DANTE B. GATMAYTAN
Associate Professor
College of Law
University of the Philippines-Diliman
2:40-3:50
OPEN FORUM
3:50-4:00
CLOSING REMARKS / SYNTHESIS
MODERATOR:
JORGE V. TIGNO
Associate Professor
Department of Political Science
College of Social Sciences and Philosophy
University of the Philippines-Diliman
Organized by the Third World Studies Center (TWSC) and co-sponsored by the UP Office of the Vice-President for Public Affairs (OVPPA), the Philippine Political Science Association (PPSA) and the College of Arts and Letters Office of the Dean, this forum is the third installment of the 2011 TWSC Public Forum Series, "
The B.S. Aquino Administration: Possible Perversities, Perverted Possibilities."
ABOUT THE FORUM
At the very start of his presidency, President Aquino took the helm of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG). But as with his romances, the dalliance lasted a mere nine days. He eventually appointed to the post the current secretary, Jesse M. Robredo. Not to begrudge him his personal happiness, but since then, President Aquino’s romantic escapades have been part of the news cycles more often than his articulations on how his administration would take on the bastion of political patronage and locus of feudal rule, the local government units. The exception to this observation are the instances when the president pines for Puno—Rico Puno—to remain DILG undersecretary in charge of police matters even after Puno confessed to a possible liaison with a jueteng lord. Add to this Puno’s wooden response to the Luneta hostage-taking incident. The president’s enthusiasm as a serial dater may be inversely proportional to his inclination to address broad and complex institutional policy issues like local governance. But this perception seemed not to be true when he was running for the presidency. On October 6, 2009, in front of a hundred local government executives, then presidential aspirant Sen. Benigno Aquino made this statement: “Ang paniwala ko ‘yung local government unit, d’yan ho nababatay kung maayos na gobyerno o hindi.” He went on to commit for a review: “I-review muna natin ‘yung na-devolve. ‘Yung mga nag-succeed, bakit nag-succeed? ‘Yung nag-fail, bakit nag-fail?” Then, he became president and nothing was heard again from him on this matter. Not even in his State of the Nation Addresses. Perhaps the president prefers courting chieftains and wooing warlords, as when Malacañang was accused of playing footsie with the Ampatuans just to be able to nail whatever charge on his despised predecessor. Should this not be true, then October 10, 2011 must have a particular significance to his administration. Said date marks the Local Government Code’s two-decade existence that spans five presidencies. The code started as one of the achievements his mother’s presidency. But in his administration, the code may end up as an object of benign neglect, if not considered first as a tradable political commodity. It will be—if not already—a code of governance unsullied even by the most glancing of critical reviews yet marked by ravages of local politicos’ adeptness in exploiting the limitations of the code to perpetuate themselves in power. And as the administration pursues its peace agenda, most visible in its negotiation with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the limits of the code will be further exposed to the pawing, clawing, biting horde of opportunists and provincial potentates.
Can the Aquino administration offer transformational leadership sans any alteration of the basic code of local governance? What failures and missed opportunities will this adherence to the status quo bring about? Maybe it is a misplaced hope that trifling with the Local Government Code will ever lead to reforms. Maybe nothing’s broken. Maybe there’s nothing to fix. Maybe, just like the president, a perfect date is all there is to it.
KEY QUESTIONS
- Are there any chances that the Local Government Code of 1991 will be, at the very least, reviewed during Aquino’s government? What developments could possibly pressure the administration to take a stronger and more definite stance regarding local governance issues?
- What are the chances that the president will exercise his power of "general supervision" over local government units (sec. 25, par. a, R.A. 7160) to influence the outcome of the upcoming local elections during his administration?
- How judiciously will President Aquino exercise his power to direct national agencies to “provide financial, technical, and other forms of assistance” (sec. 25, par. c, R.A. 7160) to local government units?
Please follow the links below to access Dr. Brillantes' and Prof. Gatmaytan's PowerPoint presentations:
