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Multiple Corporate Objectives and Performance Contracts: The case of Philippine Government Financial Institutions

14/9/2017

Al-Habbyel Yusoph (University of the Philippines)

This paper explores how Philippine government financial institutions (GFIs) balance their multiple and conflicting objectives by examining their performance contracts with the government. GFIs and other state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are often mandated to pursue other goals aside from profit maximization. In 2011, the government institutionalized reforms in the corporate governance of its SOEs and, in 2014, implemented performance contract agreements which required GFIs to develop balanced scorecards following Kaplan and Norton (1992). Using various corporate governance and goal-setting theories, this paper reviews the performance contracting process and twenty-three (23) actual balanced scorecards. The review finds that GFIs have different priorities, with social and financial goals having the highest weights. With the use of balanced scorecards, GFIs were able to solve their multiple objective problems by specifying the tradeoffs and developing a single annual objective score. First-year results of the performance contracts indicate that GFIs might be gaming the goal-setting process and exhibiting “ratchet effects”. Finally, this paper recommends that (1) the government review GFI objectives, especially with regard to the primacy of financial goals over non-financial goals, and that (2) control and quality measures be added to ensure that performance contracts are effective.

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Local Politics and Institutional Reform: Lessons from Indonesia and thePhilippines

14/9/2017

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Carl Marc Lazaro Ramota (University of the Philippines)

In Southeast Asia, the Philippines and Indonesia are widely considered the only two electoral democracies in the region, having successfully conducted a number of presidential elections, which have been considered as largely fair, popular, and competitive. While neither of the two countries can be considered as a mature democracy, they have at least managed to qualify as what academics classify as a "minimalist-procedural" democracy. In contrast to their autocratic neighbors, which regularly conduct parliamentary elections to create a veneer of democratic competition, the Philippines and Indonesia have seen a genuine rotation of power among competing political parties: Elections were not simply a staged effort for the legitimization of the incumbent party/coalition, providing opposition parties a genuine chance at electoral victory.

In defiance of autocratic leaders, which have self-servingly argued against democratization and human rights at lower stages of economic development, both Indonesia and the Philippines have managed to qualify as electoral democracies despite widespread poverty, inequality, and relatively low income levels. However, in absence of an egalitarian economic system, and the failure of land reform in both countries, electoral contestation has been largely dominated by political dynasties and oligarchs, which bankroll personalized political parties that lack any genuine ideology and grassroots support. Bureaucratic red tape is a huge problem in Indonesia and the Philippines, which feature among the most corrupt countries in Asia.

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Sustainable Housing for the World’s Urban Masses: Incrementalism and the Policy Innovation Imperative

14/9/2017

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Haydee Jacklyn M. Quintana Malubay (University of the Philippines)

Proof of the global housing urban challenge is glaringly manifest in the data that oneseventh of the world population visibly lives in slums unfit for human habitation,
wallowing in abject poverty and blight. From the Philippine experience, the housing sector narrative is about the institution that traces its history back to the post-World War II period. It is currently under a coordinating council. Many contend that this is why most of its programs fail to deliver the committed results. Is a whole new law necessary to reinvent the housing council? This begs to be answered. Incrementalism is a Public Administration school of thought. This paper reviews incrementalism with new eyes, specifically on how it can ensure modest gains for sustainable housing when there is almost very little in proportion to the magnitude of the challenge.

This paper essentially digs deep into the author’s involvement, a member of the General Assembly of Partners, in the (1) United Nations Habitat III in Quito, Ecuador in October 2016, (2) at the Preparatory Committee for UN Habitat III in Surabaya, Indonesia in July of 2016, and (3) the Urban Thinkers Campus in Geneva, Switzerland in October 2015. UN Habitat world conferences happen every twenty years. It sets world policies on housing and urban development. Incrementalism might not exactly result to the ideal but this paper contends that as a general direction towards policy innovation, it can make real the vision to start making a dent into this debilitating and ever-growing urban challenge in this dynamically-urbanizing world now more than half of humankind call home., and one-seventh sadly call homelessness.

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The Capacity of Selected Higher Education Institutions and Training Institutions in DeliveringGovernance Education Programs

14/9/2017

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Ederson Delos Trino Tapia (University of Makati)

Currently, there has been no study yet on the existing capacities of GovEd institutions in the Philippines. It would be interesting to ask the questions, what are the existing capacities of these GovEd institutions? Do they have a high level of capacity, average level of capacity, or lower than average capacity to deliver GovEd programs/courses?

Moreover, what factors make for a higher level of capacity compared to those factors which effect a lower level of capacity among the GovEd institutions to be covered by the study? Also, in which capacity component or aspect are some GovEd institutions strong, and in which capacity component/aspect are some lacking or inadequate?

Do some of these GovEd institutions know their existing capacities? Are they aware of their strengths and of their weaknesses? Do they make some efforts to measure their strengths/weaknesses as well as venture into some ways and means of measuring other GovEd institutions’ strengths/weaknesses for benchmarking purposes?

If these GovEd institutions are aware of their strengths/weaknesses, what have they been doing to sustain their strengths and to remedy their weaknesses? What problems do they encounter in building up their capacities? This paper addresses these questions and provides some initial recommendations on how some measures may be introduced to provide solutions to the problems identified.

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E-GOVERNMENT IMPLEMENTATION: THE CASE OF CITY LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS (LGUs) IN MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES

14/9/2017

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Jhon Dave E. Llanto (University of Southern Mindanao)

The UN-SDGs, Goal 16 specifically target 16.7 of the 2030 Agenda addresses the need for responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels. In the 2016 UN e-government survey, countries in all regions in the world are increasingly embracing innovation and utilizing ICTs to deliver services and engage people in decision-making processes. Thus, providing new evidence that e-government has the potential to help support the implementation of UN-SDGs.

Together with most countries in the world, Philippines likewise made significant progress in the area of e-government as per the UN reports from 2008-2016. Republic Act 8792, otherwise known as the E-commerce Act of 2002 aims to get “ICTs into the bloodstream of Local Government Units (LGUs) and enable better and faster delivery of government services to citizens. However, the status of e-government implementation as a tool to become accessible, responsive, transparent, interactive, and citizen-centered digital governance for citizen’s participation in decision-making in city LGUs has not been fully explored.

This paper evaluates the content of 33 city government websites in Mindanao on the aspect of functionality on citizens’ awareness and understanding of their city’s physical, social and political characteristics; delivery of Frontline services; transparency and accountability in operations and services; promote citizens’ awareness of policymaking process; linkage and interaction; and linkage between government and business; and best practices. This is to concretize present picture of city LGUs in the context of social, political, economic and cultural diversity.

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From Reconstruction to Innovation: 65 years of NCPAG’s Role in Shaping the Discourse of PhilippinePublic Administration and Governance

14/9/2017

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Vincent Q. Silarde (University of the Philippines)

The paper is a historical accounting and valuation of the role of the National College of Public Administration and Governance (NCPAG), the first and premiere school of public administration in the Philippines, in shaping the academic and popular discourse on governance in the country and the internal and external factors that molded its intellectual foundations, focus and traditions since its birth in 1952. The focus of inquiry is on the development of the College’s academic, research, and extension programs in relation to the changing politico-economic landscape in the Philippines as bookmarked by the post-war reconstruction and postcolonial transition of the Philippine republic, the Marcos dictatorship, neoliberalism, and post-EDSA regimes, to name a few. It examines the dialogue and engagement that transpired between NCPAG and the broader systems of both academia and the Philippine nation-state around which the College defines its significance and existence. The concepts of discourse and episteme popularized by philosopher Michel Foucault are employed to perform an analysis on how and to what extent the College played an enabling role in introducing and propagating paradigms and practices in governance such as decentralization, corporate governance, new public management, and citizenship, among others. The same framework of analysis also allows for a profiling of the College’s identity and influence on Philippine social and political affairs across different historical junctures.

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The Ifugao Rice Terraces World Heritage Site: The Need for Culture-Sensitive Conservation Strategies

14/9/2017

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Loreta Vivian R. Galima (Nueva Vizcaya State University)

The Ifugao Rice Terraces as a designated World Heritage Area which had for a time been listed on the danger list, had been the subject of serious restoration and conservation efforts by the national, provincial and local levels of the Philippine government in partnership with the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and some local interest groups. This study probes into the strategies pursued by the government in restoring and conserving the world heritage areas in Ifugao, clustered as: (1) the Nangadacan terraces cluster of Kiangan, (2) Batad rice terraces cluster of Banaue, (3) Bangaan rice terraces cluster, (4)Hungduan rice terraces cluster and the (5) Central Mayoyao rice terraces cluster. Through qualitative research, data on how the local and provincial government intend to pursue strategies in stemming the tide of environmental degradation and the proliferation of structures and other problems and issues concerning the heritage sites were collected. The issues and problems were identified through environmental scanning, face-to-face interviews with the people in the heritage areas and the officials of the province, down to the barangay (village) level. The whole research proceeded on grounded theory, employed theoretical sampling techniques in the selection of informants and key informants, and both non-participant and participant observation. The so-called attempt toward “disneyfication” as a means of preserving the heritage sites was met with enthusiasm for the “development” it promises, and dismay on the other hand, because of the perceived impending loss of identity and uniqueness of the heritage sites. Eventually, the people will have to look towards indigenizing conservation strategies to preserve the uniqueness of the heritage sites.

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4th Industrial Revolution and Smart City Open Innovation

14/9/2017

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Jaewon Peter Chun (XnTree, United Kingdom)

As city problems are becoming more diverse and complex, governments are moving towards Open Innovation to bring all city stakeholders together to participate in developing and revolutionizing the city. Open Innovation within Smart City platform focuses on a decentralized approach to innovation as it is has become apparent that knowledge and expertise cannot be found solely within the government, but is widely distributed to various sectors of society. It values the importance of a collective effort from various actors and stakeholders to successfully innovate and overcome the overwhelming challenges that cities currently face and will be facing in the future.
Seeing the positive results of Open Innovation, cities have taken an even more proactive approach by developing Living Labs to further encourage and drive innovation. These Living Labs serve as a space for multiple stakeholders to collaborate, work, and develop solutions to city challenges, with the government providing the necessary support to fund these ideas and bring them to fruition. Through these Living Labs, governments and other city stakeholders have co-created solutions from the ground up, cutting the costs and time it usually requires to develop a ground-breaking city project.
The presentation will demonstrate how various cities encourage Open Innovation within smart city platform, as well as the struggles they faced in realizing it. Actual results from various Smart City Living Labs will also be presented to encourage the audience to develop a similar setup in their respective cities. It will feature presentations from different city stakeholders to fully illustrate the importance of multispectral cooperation in the implementation of Open Innovation and Smart City Living Labs.

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Does Public Policy Innovation Promote Inclusive Economic Growth?: The Case of Surabaya and Bandung City- Indonesia

14/9/2017

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Octa Soehartono (National Institute of Public Administration)
Tari Lestari (Ministry of National Development Planning)

The ultimate goal of national development is to achieve prosperity and welfare of the people in a nation with no exemption, while achieving the target to be equivalent with high-income countries as stated in the Indonesia’s President goals namely “Nawacita”. In relation to this, there is a wide consensus mentioned that public service reform is a crucial factor for economic outcomes at the national and regional levels. Public policy innovation could create inclusiveness through several ways such as: generating employment, improving public expenditure efficiency, providing good quality of health services and education, as well as controlling corruption. Open and responsible government can help reduce poverty and promote economic growth. This paper explores the impact of public policy innovation to achieve inclusive economic growth in Surabaya and Bandung City - Indonesia. By using path analysis, supported by qualitative analysis, within period of 2010-2016, innovation in public policy does make some huge impact in promoting inclusive economic growth through reducing poverty and unemployment rate in both cities. The inovations have been reached a much larger segment of the poor and excluded population. There are similar approaches using by Surabaya and Bandung in reaching their potential to achieve inclusive economic growth: (i) support local investment that creates new jobs; (ii) improve human capacity/labor productivity; (iii) strengthen entrepreneurial and academic collaboration that promotes innovation; (iv) support the improvement of cultural events and entertainment activities.

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Are local governments in East Asia becoming “too big” or “too small” to deliver services?: The cases of Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines

14/9/2017

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Michael Tumanut (University of the Philippines)

Local governments are social and political constructs. They configure power structures, control taxes and determine type of services within their local jurisdictions. This paper will examine the evolving size of local governments in East Asia, particularly focusing on local governments of Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines, and its cursory effects on service delivery, some of which are the metrics used in sustainable development goals. Although local government size is usually measured in terms of population and land area, in this study, the changing size of local government (e.g., becoming too big or too small) is determined by the volatility of its borders. Subnational territorial fragmentation is hypothesized to be triggered by ballooning population, while territorial consolidation or merger by a declining population. The literature on the pervasiveness and impact of territorial redrawing in East Asia is limited. Territorial redrawing in many countries is a collective action issue. Such an action may also be construed as innovative or responsive to changing times. From an institutional perspective, the varying size or porous borders of local governments is not solely triggered by population, but instead is a proximate function of the number of veto players (VPs), cohesion, and congruence of preferences of the key players. Using cases of subnational territorial reform (i.e., merger and fragmentation) in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia, incidence of territorial reform and rate of reform are both illustrative of the influence of the number of VPs on the volatility of borders. There are also differences on volatility patterns or outcomes within each country, due to varying reform rules spatially or temporally.

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Theme A: Public Sector Transformations

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