Reforming the Civil Service - Interview with Corazon de Leon

United Nations ESCAP
HRD Section

Reforming the Civil Service of the Philippines

Interview with Corazon de Leon

FROM ESCAP HRD NEWSLETTER NO 7

Ms Corazon Alma G. de Leon is Chairman of the Civil Service Commission of the Philippines. She was formerly Secretary (Minister) for Social Welfare and Development of her country. During a recent visit to Bangkok we asked her to discuss her work to reform the public sector in the Philippines.

The public sector in many countries of the region has lost large numbers of highly qualified civil servants to the rapidly expanding private sector. Is this also happening in the Philippines?

Yes, but we should not look at it negatively. As long as they remain in the country, if they remain in the private sector, it would still be to the advantage of the country. It is a problem when we lose the people abroad.

As public expectations of governments are increasing, governments in the ESCAP region are under increasing pressure to perform more effectively. What is the situation in the Philippines?

The Philippines is facing a very critical moment right now, in terms of the need to re-engineer or re-organize the bureaucracy. There is a perception that the bureaucracy is incompetent, inefficient and corrupt. We want to build a strong civil service that is committed to good governance, or better governance. There is a growing debate on what really should be the role of government. More activities of the government are being privatized. Even in the area of social development, activities are being undertaken by civil society. Which activities could be best performed by government, and which activities could be best performed by civil society? It depends on the nature of the civil society and the nature of the government. If the government is not capable, and if there is a private sector which can better do it, the private sector or NGOs can undertake it. But there is a role which the government cannot ever abdicate. That is the role to provide leadership, to steer and provide direction. That is what "governance" is all about. To govern is to rule, but not to rule that you do everything, but to rule and provide opportunities for others to share in governance.

A strong government does not mean a controlling government

Do you see differences within the region of that perception of governance?

Yes, there are differences. The assumption of a strong government does not mean that you have a controlling government. A strong government, in my view, is a government that allows all institutions of civic society, such as schools, NGOs, private companies, and the media, to play a role in the building of society. The media is particularly important; it is the conscience of a transparent society. To me, a good government is one that is accessible, answerable, and accountable.

The Philippines has a very strong NGO sector. It is sometimes alleged that the strength of NGOs is a result of the weakness of the public sector in fulfilling the needs of the people. What is your opinion?

I disagree. I think the NGOs are doing so well because the Government recognizes their role in civil society. I think it should not be viewed as a result of weakness.

What are the main functions of the Civil Service Commission? As its Chairman, what do you see as your main mission?

The Civil Service Commission (CSC) in the Philippines is the central personnel agency responsible for the merit and fitness of people in the Government. But beyond that, there is a vision that the CSC should be mobilizing human resources for good and better governance. We do this on two tracks: one is to make sure that the delivery of services is undertaken properly, with the three criteria of accessability, answerability, and accountability. The second track is to become a resource centre internationally. People from other countries are coming to the Philippines to observe how we do assessment of people in governance. We were visited by officials from China and Vietnam, so I think we may be able to make a contribution to professionalizing bureaucracies in the region. We should be creating an environment for volunteerism in the civil service. I feel that to truly humanize the bureaucracy, we must be able to give opportunities to people in the civil service to render services to the community and to the poorer sectors of society. Beyond their ordinary jobs, they can use their time and talent to do voluntary work. So I started this year what I call the Spirit of 100 Hours, whereby people in the civil service can give their time, 100 hours a year, in a flexible way, to an NGO or to a community, where their talent can be harnessed.

The price you have to pay in an open democracy is that you have to listen to many voices

You have also served as Secretary for Social Welfare and Development of the Philippines from 1993 to 1995. What do you feel are the major social problems in the Philippines?

Well, definitely poverty, our inability to meet the basic needs of the people. Number two is the crisis in governance. There was supposed to be decentralization. But decentralization will work only when you have the appropriate resources to be able to deliver the services. Otherwise you have too high expectations that the local government can do the job, when the national government is not able to give the support. But you have a very uneven human and financial resource base for all of these areas. It really depends a lot on capability-building at the local level.

Does the Civil Service Commission deal with this issue?

Yes, we are now addressing the problem of capacity-building of local government. For instance, in July 1995 we undertook what we call a "Massive Executive Forum" for local governments, so that they could improve their personnel practices. What promotes capability in any organization is the people in it. I believe strongly in having good human resources that can be harnessed for effective delivery of services. Then people will be satisfied. People who are satisfied will not fight against the Government, and we would not have the insurgency that we have in certain areas which cannot be reached by public service.

Educational standards in the Philippines have been among the highest in Southeast Asia. Yet in terms of economic development, the Philippines appears to lag behind other countries in Southeast Asia. What is your view on this?

Well, the price that you have to pay in an open democracy is that you have to listen to many voices. Participatory decision-making requires a longer time span in coming to agreement on certain policies, because there is a lot of consultation. I would rather err on the side of the time process than shorten the process at the expense of not involving the people. But maybe what makes the Philippines different is that we are politicizing decisions, even technical decisions.

What do you think are the prospects of economic development of the Philippines for the remainder of this decade?

I think it will continue to grow slowly, even though all the ingredients are there for development. We are hamstrung by at least 20 typhoons or other disasters a year; we also cannot perhaps compete with tiger economies that function with one language and have a political system that is more controlling.

You recently visited Cambodia as part of an ESCAP-sponsored advisory mission on youth policy development in that country. What do you think are the main ingredients of an effective youth policy in the region?

The emphasis on youth should really be on the five "Es". One is that we must make sure that the youth get their "education": education for life, meaning knowledge, aptitude, skills and values. The second E is "employment." We need to ensure their potential for productive and meaningful employment, meaningful work. It might not be in large industries, but in small neighbourhood factories where they can work and feel productive.

The third is "empowerment." Youth must be given opportunities to participate in community life and capacity-building. Their leadership needs to be harnessed. The fourth is an "enabling environment." We should utilize their energy in leadership. We should enable them to participate in political activities. And finally, we must provide opportunities to see "experimentation" and innovation. We must honor the organizations that are pushing for excellence. Because you cannot become a centre of excellence unless you experiment. The competition is not with others, the competition has to be with yourself. To me, that is human resources development.

SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR THE ESCAP HRD NEWSLETTER