Speech

of

His Excellency Fidel V. Ramos

President of the Philippines

At the Second National Symposium on the Local Government Code

[Released on September 14, 1992]

The role of Local

Governments

IN A LANDMARK decision for which it will long be remembered, the eighth Congress approved on July 21, 1991, Republic Act 7160 providing for a Local Government Code in the system of governing our country.

At the time of its promulgation and on many occasions since, many have praised the law as a breakthrough in government administration in our country.

Yet we would not be telling the whole truth if we do not also say that the Code has filled many with fear and foreboding, not least our Local Government officials, on whose hands the responsibility of realizing its letter and spirit has fallen.

Answered prayers

Looking at the mixture of jubilation and fear that has arisen with the passage of the law, I am reminded of the ancient saying that “when the gods want to punish us, they answer our prayers.”

From as far back as I can remember, since I became a national official, there has never been a day when I did not hear many a leader orate about the need to decentralize government in our country. Now that that prayer has at last been answered, there is now never a day when I do not hear from some officials about their fear and trembling over the law.

I see this national symposium as a critical instrument for exorcising these fears around us. It is crucial to the devolution process, so that we do not wind up cursing the passage of the Local Government Code, instead of welcoming it as necessary for the liberation of energies throughout the nation.

This is the second time this year that we are holding this symposium on the Code. The first time was last February under the administration of President Aquino, when the devolution process was just beginning. Today, we hold this symposium with my Administration in place. Today the process must now move with direction and dispatch.

I would like to believe that at this time some of the initial fears have at least been dispelled, and that our collective attention can now be focused on how we can fully implement the Code, with the minimum of dislocation and disruption.

Holding the islands together

Let us understand first the context in which the Code must do its work. There is a historical explanation why the system of government was centralized at the start, just as there is now a compelling need to decentralize it.

Our country is an archipelago of over 7,000 islands, so it is itself already remarkable that through the centuries our islands have remained together to form the territory of the nation we are today. To hold them together, it was not enough that we appeared on the map as a natural unity of islands and seas. It required several wars to keep intact the integrity of our archipelago. And our colonizers—Spain and then America—saw as fundamental to cohesion a centralized system of government, with Manila as the center of administration.

When self-government passed into our hands, our past leaders recognized as well the indispensable need to keep that system of administration intact, knowing that a new, archipelagic nation could fall prey to separatism and regional ambitions. To the centralized system of administration therefore, it is correct to pay tribute for our coherence as a nation.

But it is also manifestly true that this centralized system has exacted a heavy price from our local communities, particularly those far removed from our national capital. We are a nation today of many communities at varying stages of development. And we are now a nation of 62 million people divided into rich and poor, rural and urban, educated and uneducated.

While some have gone far in entering the modern world, others have remained imprisoned in the past. While some among our countrymen have known the good life, the great majority of others have continued to live and work in poverty.

The issue of fairness knocks at the heart of this uneven development of our country. But more than fairness, it also underlines the crux of our national decline and failure. We have not developed as fast as was prophesied early after World War II, because we have neglected to release the talents and energies of all the communities that constitute the nation.

To this problem of decline and underdevelopment, decentralization is part of the answer. It is by no means the whole answer. But it is certainly integral to the national transformation we seek.

Implementing the Code

While many of you and other sectors of our society have fears and reservations about the implementation of the Local Government Code, I submit that these feelings are more imagined than real. They arise more from the fear of having to do something in a new untested way, rather than in the old familiar way.

As with all journeys that we undertake, most are naturally disposed to take the old, beaten path—no matter if it takes longer or forever to reach our destination. Along that route, we already know the dangers and pitfalls, and we imagine we know how to cope with them.

Striking out on a new path is something else. Along this route are many unknown dangers, and we cannot really know how to cope with them until we face them.

There is much to be said about tradition, but only if it really works. In contrast, there is everything to be said about innovation and change, because nearly all of the advances made in human history have been precisely the result of following new routes and adopting new techniques.

The possibilities of innovation

Think for a moment about this. Where would the world be had explorers like Ferdinand Magellan not taken a different route to the East and not circumnavigated the world? Where would humanity be had science and technology not opened our minds to the new possibilities of doing things?

It is much the way with the science and art of government. Societies cannot progress unless governments ceaselessly evolve and innovate in their systems of administration. The old ways must give way to the new.

This, I say, is what decentralization and devolution mean for government here in our country.

To be sure, I do not underestimate the enormous problems and labors in decentralizing Government administration and in devolving responsibilities from national to local level. The problems are financial, technical and administrative. Besides resource constraints, there are also problems of skills.

You ask: How ready are our Local Governments for so colossal a change in setup? I will answer: We will never be ready unless we try. And we will never reap the fruits of local autonomy unless we apply ourselves to the challenge.

In saying this, I do not underestimate by any means the financial, administrative and technical constraints faced by you who man the ramparts of Local Government in our country. The national oversight committee is fully aware of all of these.

What I mean to emphasize is that the process of change can be hurdled successfully and with minimum loss of time, as long as we do not delude ourselves that the changes will come in an instant, let alone painlessly. Careful adjustments must be made. Changes must be patiently nurtured, not forced down the throat the way dictatorial programs are usually applied.

In short, we must carefully program the whole process. We should break it down into stages and measurable targets. This must be done both at national and local levels. And we must recognize that our Local Governments are in different stages of readiness for this reform program. Some are ready, others need more time.

These are the concerns that this assembly must continually address. These are the areas where my Presidency, through the Department of Interior and Local Government, will focus the greatest attention.

A pragmatic and opportunistic approach

In this process of adjustment and change, I would emphasize two key points to guide us.

One is that our approach to this process must be pragmatic. We must move beyond the rhetoric to the practical aspects of devolution. Precisely because this major reform cannot be implemented overnight, our activities and instruments must always be guided by what is workable and feasible.

To cite one area of attention, let us not imagine that because a part of taxing power will now devolve to Local Governments, they can thereby become self-reliant communities overnight. This is just not so. We have to measure our progress every step of the way.

I assure you that my Government will not leave our Local Governments out on a limb on this matter of finances. We will spearhead the change in a manner that will enable you to cope with the challenge effectively.

Another matter for priority attention is the need for instruction and training in the devolution process. This cannot just be a case of Congress decreeing the change, and of Local Governments accepting the responsibility. Indeed, the Code stresses the need for motivation and education. Local Governments must be helped in learning the tools for handling their larger responsibilities.

No washing of hands

I assure you that we in the National Government will stand with you department by department, activity by activity, in implementing this reform program. Do not fear then that you will wake up tomorrow faced with the challenge of providing basic services while we in the National Government wash our hands of them.

Equally, I want to stress is the need for our approach to be opportunistic. The word has an unpleasant connotation for most of us. But it has also a progressive meaning, and that is the idea of taking advantage of opportunity to enhance good government and public welfare when it presents itself. Advances made by men and institutions arise precisely in this way.

I believe that as our Local Governments start to look at their jurisdictions from this new framework of increased powers and responsibilities, you will all begin to see enormous opportunities and possibilities. You will begin to see your resources—natural and human—in a way that you probably never did before. You will begin to realize what you can do in order to transform your communities into more attractive havens for investment and economic effort.

Start with your garbage, the cleanliness of your streets and the greening of your environment. Start with your peace and order condition. Start with a clear program of your local administration. Those unwilling to compete to achieve efficiency and credibility inevitably are left behind.

By this, I do not suggest that the National Government will throw you all into the market to fend for yourselves. Or that we will convert our economy into a dog-eat-dog affair. No.

Rather, the Local Government Code envisions a regime in which our local communities will increasingly become more autonomous and self-reliant, while the National Government guides the entire process of national modernization and makes it more equitable. Where communities need assistance, we must and will assist. Where communities require help to maximize availment of their opportunities, we must and will provide assistance. Where we must build the infrastructure for development, we will build them.

But at bottom line, you must all face the fact that your communities will progress only in accordance with the intensity and effectiveness of your own labors and achievements. You must pull yourselves up by your own talents and exertions.

The need for joint action

It is in this light that leadership and community involvement become so important in attaining the noble objectives of the Local Government Code. Without strong political leadership, the high goals will only wither away. Without strong community support—from NGOs, from people’s organizations, from business, from every sector—no local community can hope to flourish.

Our national deliverance will come from the sum of what we all do separately and together in our local communities. With empowerment of our people and our Local Governments, each can contribute more to national life. With greater coordination of all these activities happening in our local communities, the whole country can then rise as one.

This is the essence of my vision and my program for our country. That in empowering individuals and communities, and in abandoning the trickle-down and centralized policies of the past, we can do much more for our country and for each other.

The overriding principle is that only by joint action—at national, local and people’s levels—can we ever hope to achieve our national goals and aspirations. The success of national administration rests on dynamic interaction with local leaders and the people.

While many of our problems are national in scope, they exist in neighborhoods and local communities. Hence, the solutions must be tailored to local needs. While our problems require a broad national strategy and the political will to attack them, our response must be infused by local perspectives and expertise.

A symbiotic partnership

No program, no matter how adequately funded, can hope to uproot problems if it is anchored solely in Manila. It must find for its pillars the life and experience of our local communities. Our task then as leaders and citizens alike is to construct this symbiotic partnership—between National and Local Governments, between the metropolitan capital and the countryside, between the Presidency and the people.

To win the future for our country, we must win it first in every community, every province and every island in our archipelago.

This is the alpha and omega of progress. We are all the building blocks, and heaven help this nation if we do not measure up to the challenge and the opportunity before us.

Source: Presidential Museum and Library

Ramos, F. V. (1993). To win the future : people empowerment for national development. [Manila] : Friends of Steady Eddie.