THE LOBBYiST : More Than Just Views: Running a bureaucracy

Running a bureaucracy
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Ma. Gladys Sta. Rita, MPA, CSEE on 23 October, 2008 06:56:00
 
When I retired recently after writing my lifework in the book Running A
Bureaucracy: A Guidebook for Local Government Unit Administrators, Other Public
Managers, and Elected Officials (available now in Powerbooks and National
Bookstore—Ed.), I found a wealth of institutional memory to last a lifetime
– with more than enough to share. Thus, this column.
When the word "bureaucracy" comes up, the tendency of people is always to equate
it with the national government. But what many people fail to see or understand
is that there are so many big and small bureaucracies all over the country, each
one to a certain extent, autonomous.
A round up of numbers would show that there are 80 provinces, 136 cities, 1,494
municipalities, and 41,995 barangays — all of them vested with the authority
to govern and administer their respective communities, and run their respective
bureaucracies. Thanks to the groundbreaking passage of the Local Government Code
of 1991, LGUs now have the power and authority to chart their development course
and to dream and work for greater self sufficiency.
Running the day-to-day operation of these local bureaucracies is usually done by
the local administrators, except in small municipalities where appointing one is
not mandatory, and in the barangays, which are small enough to be managed by the
barangay captains themselves. The local administrator is the alter ego, the
right-hand man, the “little mayor” or “little governor”. His tenure,
however, may be very short because it is always co-terminous with his local
chief executive. After his mayor or governor leaves, he is expected to be the
next to leave. If he happens to get in trouble with his local chief executive,
he can be unceremoniously terminated because he has ceased to serve at the
pleasure of his governor/ mayor.
Just like anybody, local administrators go through a learning curve.
Unfortunately, in many cases, by the time he has fully learned everything that
is necessary to do his job effectively, the first term of his mayor or governor
has ended. If his mayor or governor fails to be reelected, another administrator
takes his seat and the learning process begins anew.
This is a dilemma many LGUs experience — lack of continuity. This is a far cry
from the experience of developed countries with local governments that are run
by professional managers who enjoy the security of stable career.
This was my motivating force for writing the book Running A Bureaucracy: If I
could help administrators and public managers shorten their on-the-job learning
curve and speed up the realization of the potentials of their position so they
can focus on the more critical issues in their LGUs, then I will have fulfilled
the purpose of my book.
This column shall be devoted to discussing “bottom-up” issues, milestones,
and stories. Thus, Bottom Ups shall carry the same advocacy that Running A
Bureaucracy had espoused — to be an instrument for good governance, to help in
the continuing education of public managers and officials committed to making a
difference in their chosen profession and to help citizenry realize the
significance of people’s participation in the agenda of good government. And
to bear witness that, despite the imperfection of the public service profession,
there still is hope for the bureaucracy. In God’s grace, it can be done.