The UNDP’s
main focus in relation to democratic governance relates to areas such as
justice and human rights; public administration; and political development
(UNDP, 2011b). The focus on justice and human rights deals with reforms in the
legal systems and the institutionalisation of government practices in a manner
that encourages the use of the rule of law and accountability. The most
commonly targeted institutions in enhancing justice reforms are the courts of
law, the law enforcement agencies, the prosecutor offices, the correctional
facilities and human rights advocacy groups (UNDP, 2011b). Some of the
practices focused on include approaches to legal justice and alternative
mechanisms, gender sensitivity and other indigenous practices. Public
administration on the other hand focuses on areas such as efficient provision
of government services, rationalisation of procedures, corruption free
practices and the maintenance of good ethics across all levels of government.
Political reforms have more to do with the extent to which all sections of the
society are included in the decision making processes which mainly border on
electoral processes (UNDP, 2011b).
The political
system in the Philippines is democratic and a multiparty system. It is a
representative presidential system where the president is the head of state and
government (National Democratic Institute, 2006). The government is organised into three distinct
branches including the judiciary, the executive and the legislature. The
Philippine judiciary system is headed by the Supreme Court while the executive
is headed by the president. The legislature on the other hand consists of the
two-chamber congress which shares the legislative power with the government (National
Democratic Institute, 2006).
The two-chamber congress comprises of both the Senate and the House of
Representatives. In addition to these distinct functions, the Philippine
government maintains a fully functional office of the Ombudsman which is
independent and monitors all the three government functions. This office is
charged with the responsibility of ensuring that the various government
functions execute their mandates devoid of any crimes, graft, corruption or
unethical practices. The Philippine government is ranked as Medium Human
Development country by the UNDP and has been known to make some decisive steps
in ensuring better governance systems are in place in the country in order to
encourage greater economic growth and development (UNDP, 2010).
Democratic
governance is considered to be one of the greatest pillars for ensuring
development in any country. This is especially so where executive authority is
exercised by elected officials as is the case in the Philippines where the
president and vice president are elected by the citizens (UNDP, 2011). The
rationale behind this presumption is based on the fact that democracy ensures
that the leaders remain accountable to their electorate at all times and their
continual survival in leadership is predominantly influenced by the
effectiveness with which they are seen to advance the public interest. Presidents
are elected for one term in office which runs for six years (National
Democratic Institute, 2006).
Such presidents are barred from seeking re-election unless in situations where
a president assumes office as a result of a constitutional succession where
such a president serves for less than four years. Even though the presidents
are largely ineligible for re-election, their sponsoring political parties
continue to have a stake in the democratic processes and provide the pressure
for the members of the executive to ensure that the policies designed and
implemented are aligned with the public good. Indeed most of the leading world
economies tend to be governed democratically; illustrating the possible
implication of democratic governance in development (National
Democratic Institute, 2006).
In the more developed economies, political debates revolve around issues that
affect the citizens’ daily lives. Such issues may range from jobs availability,
security, education plans, and others. The primary concern of the electorate in
the Philippines revolves around issues such as the eradication of corruption in
governments, adequacy of infrastructure, the soundness of the business
environment, unemployment levels, security, and transparency and accountability
in governance among others. It is on the basis of their performance on such
issues that the country is ranked as a medium human development country.
Democratic
governance in the Philippines is still lacking in various areas. Firstly, the
level of bureaucracy in government has with time proven to be highly
inefficient due to inadequately developed enabling institutional and policy
frameworks. Firstly, the sole medium through which the population expresses
their sovereignty (the electoral process) has been found wanting in several
areas (UNDP, 2011c). The government has been focussing on raising the voter
turnout during the elections in order to ensure all eligible voters express
their will. These efforts have especially been directed towards the youth, a
segment whose voter turnout in elections remains significantly lower than that
of the rest of the population (UNDP, 2011c). Emphasis on the importance of
expression and the assurance that opinions expressed would not be ignored has
formed the focal point of these campaigns.
The
inclusion of the office of the Ombudsman as a supervisory body of government is
illustrative of the seriousness with which corruption is being taken in the
Philippines. However, corruption persists and the government has been embarking
on a number of processes that would help reduce the corruption levels within
government (Lallana, 2010). The main approach has been through the use of
public awareness campaigns which are aimed at sensitizing citizens on their duties
and responsibilities and encouraging whistle blowing tendencies in order to
curb the vice. The government has also been seeking to reform their political
systems where funding for political party funds are expected to be accounted
for and their sources disclosed (Lallana, 2010). This is aimed at ensuring that
corruption is eliminated at the political level or is minimised as much as
possible.
More
actions involve a concerted effort to make government services more accessible
to the population through the embracing of the modern technology. The
government has made considerable progress in providing e-government which is
slowly taking root in the country (UNDP, 2011). There have also been efforts
towards demystifying the practices of government where transparency and
accountability in government is improved. The Philippine government has been
using media campaigns to build faith in the government systems while conducting
training programs to the civil service in order to improve their service
delivery.
Some of the
frameworks needed to implement good governance practices can be quite costly.
The Philippines, being underdeveloped, the country has other pressing needs
such as poverty eradication, provision of basic education and ensuring food
security among other needs (Lacanilao, 2011). For instance, reforms such as
those involved in the judiciary may involve having a costly program to empower
judges and investigation bodies with expensive modern equipment whose cost may
be beyond the country’s ability to afford in the face of other pressing
priorities. The country therefore has to either depend on donor funding to
implement its reforms or at the very least do it in smaller chunks whose
overall effect may be insignificant (Lacanilao, 2011). The public sentiments
about the government and their commitment to deal with their problems to their
satisfaction have also been quite negative. These sentiments have made the
government’s efforts to enlist public support for some of their reform agendas
largely ineffective (UNDP, 2011). The country’s systemic corruption has also
been so deeply embraced in the system that many policy makers and implementers
have been keen to frustrate any meaningful efforts of fighting off the vice. In
addition, the regulatory frameworks established to curb corruption are
increasingly being proven ineffective in the face of more sophistication in the
conduct of the vice.
Democracy
in governance is becoming more popular across the world with many of the
countries with different systems embracing democracy in part or in total (UNDP,
2011c). It is therefore emerging as the best mode of governance for the
enhancement of development and the public good. Democracy as is practiced has
been in the Philippines and in many other countries has been criticised as
partial and in desperate need for enrichment. Traditionally, democratic rights
are evident only during the election of the government officials who then proceed
to execute their mandate with little or no consultation with the electorate in
most issues (National Democratic Institute, 2006). The leaders are then evaluated on the basis of
their satisfaction of the needs of the electorate and the verdict given in the
subsequent election with re-election being the most probable eventuality where
satisfaction is achieved. There are calls to involve the electorate in decision
making on a continuous basis. Various structures to allow citizens to air their
views on issues prior to the formulation of policies are being formulated to
ensure such views are aired in good time. The quality of voter decisions is
also bound to increase hence making democracy good for development in the
affected economies (UNDP, 2011). With increased public awareness on economic
policy and the development agenda, it is increasingly likely more qualified
officials will be getting a chance to serve hence making the economy more
sophisticated and in the interest of the public.
Lacanilao,
F., 2011. Democratic governance impedes
academic reform. (Online) Available at:
http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view/20110314-325325/Democratic_governance_impedes_academic_reform
(Accessed 20 September 2011)
Lallana,
E.C., 2011. SMS and Democratic Governance
in the Philippines. (Online) Available at:
http://www.apdip.net/projects/e-government/capblg/casestudies/Philippines-Lallana.pdf
(Accessed 20 September 2011)
National
Democratic Institute, 2006. Philippines:
Promoting Democratic Governance and Enhancing Community Relations in the
Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. (Online) Available at:
http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PDACJ506.pdf (Accessed 20 September 2011)
UNDP,
2010. Human Development Report.(Online)
Available at: http://www.beta.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/corporate/HDR/HDR_2010_EN_Complete_reprint-1.pdf (Accessed 20 September 2011)
UNDP,
2011. Democratic governance: Country Case
Study: Philippines. (Online) Available at:
http://www.undp.org/governance/docs/DGTTF_Philippines.pdf (Accessed 20
September 2011)
UNDP,
2011b. Fostering democratic governance. (Online) Available at: http://www.undp.org.ph/?link=10
(Accessed 20 September 2011)
UNDP,
2011c. Empowered and Equal: Gender Equality Strategy. (Online) Available at:
http://www.undp.org/women/docs/Gender-Equality-Strategy-2008-2011.pdf (Accessed
20 September 2011)
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