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 Philippine Journal of Public Administration, Vol. LI Nos. 1-4 (January-October 2007)

Exploring Accountability Initiatives

in Philippine Local Governance
WILHELMINA L. CABO*

One of the recent incarnations of good governance is

decentralization and democratic governance. In the Philippines,
this was given strong institutional support when the Congress
passed the Local Government Code (LGC) in 1991. This
development effectively breathed life to democratic
decentralization enshrined in the Constitution. An important
provision of the Code that is making profound changes in the
way local affairs are managed is the introduction of
mechanisms that, on one hand, enable the people to have a role
in the process of governance and, on the other, help ensure the
responsiveness and accountability of local institutions. This
study explores experiences of selected local government units in
democratic decentralization in the context of the LGC. The
cases show that people's participation in governance brings a
new meaning and dimension in public accountability. The
engagement between gouernment and citizens in local
governance suggests that the burden of making accountability
work can be shared between the governor and the governed.

Introduction

Reforms of governments in the last two decades have emphasized

democratic governance and its close ally, democratic decentralization. As
democratic governance has assumed a central role in both the developed
and developing worlds, public accountability ascends once again as a
principal element of good government, or in today's parlance, good
governance. The accountability of public officials to society and the
citizens remains the most compelling principle that underpins democratic
governance.

A renewed attention to public accountability has been noticeable in

recent times and this development has been driven by the citizens'
growing concern about corruption, lack of transparency, lack of
responsiveness to the needs of the people, and demand for value for
money. In response, governments have relied on the usual or "traditional"

*Assistant Professor, National College of Public Administration and Governance,

University of the Philippines Diliman.
34 PHILIPPINE JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

means of enforcing accountability by reforming internal systems and

procedures and strengthening oversight and control mechanisms. If less
successful with preventive measures, they mount investigative
commissions, catch the culprit "after the fact" and hale them to court for
appropriate disposition. Even as governments try to become more
accountable, responsive and transparent, citizens are already taking
actions to engage government to ensure that public policies being made
for and in their behalf by their representatives truly respond to their
needs and problems and are consistent with publicly held values.

The Filipino people ousted in 1986 a dictatorship through "people

power" and the year after, they overwhelmingly approved a Constitution
that laid the ground for democratic governance and democratic
decentralization in the country. The Philippine Constitution left no doubt
as to how democratic governance should proceed and where ultimate
accountability is reposed. The third beginning paragraph prominently
proclaims: "The Philippines is a democratic and republican State.
Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates
from them" (Section 1, Article II). The principles of democratic
decentralization resonate in the constitutional provisions that
simultaneously assure the autonomy of local governments, prompt
Congress to enact a local government code that provides for a more
responsive and accountable local government, and enshrine citizen
participation in governance structures and processes at the local level.

The Local Government Code, passed by Congress in 1991 and

implemented since 1992, breathed life to democratic decentralization
enshrined in the Constitution. As the devolution law vests local
governments with significant powers and resources, it simultaneously
directs them to be efficient and dynamic in their organization and
operations and accountable as they respond to the priority needs and
service requirements of their communities. Local governments are also
expected to strengthen effective mechanisms for ensuring their
accountability to their respective constituents in order to continually
upgrade the quality of local leadership. Undoubtedly, devolution implies
greater responsibility and accountability of local governments in how they
make decisions and provide public services to local constituencies.

An equally important provision of the Code that is making

profound changes in the way local affairs are managed is the introduction
of mechanisms that, on one hand, enable the people to have a role in the
process of governance and, on the other, help ensure the responsiveness
and accountability of local institutions. At this point, it may be instructive
to look at the devolution experience in the country and see what

January-October
ACCOUNTABILITY IN LOCAL GOVERNANCE 35

mechanisms have been at work at the local level that improve

accountability and responsiveness of government.

This article explores community experiences in democratic

decentralization and attempts to show that creative mechanisms of
improving accountability that depart from the "hierarchical" and
"bureaucratic-oriented" accountability are unfurling at the local level. It
further shows that these creative mechanisms involve the interactive
process of opening up government activities to citizen participation and
the citizens taking an active and direct role in governance. This deliberate
coming together of government and citizens for the purpose of achieving
communal objectives and publicly held values would be called in this
study 'shared accountability for governance." The article draws its
discussion and analysis from selected documented experiences of
interactions between local government and citizens' groups and non-
government organizations. The discussion of experiences is focused on
successful pro-accountability initiatives in the belief that they can inspire
and direct similar actions among other local governments and
communities, as well as provide lessons that can inform future steps in
improving accountability in local governance.

Accountability in the Public Sector

If a good measure of responsibility and accountability for public good

were equally present in and consistently observed by those working in
government, then perhaps there would be less need, if at all, for moderp
democracies to install myriad accountability mechanisms that oftentimes
overlap and conflict with one another. But because men are not made of
equal stuff, it behooves governments to institute effective mechanisms for
making public officials accountable for their actions.

Public accountability involves the obligation of public officials to

inform about and explain their actions or inactions and to be held
answerable for the consequences of their actions (Carifio 1991; Salleh and
Iqbal 1995; Haque 1994). It is essential in democratic governance because
power is not normally exercised directly by citizens but through the
representatives whom they elect, and, by extension, the bureaucrats that
these representatives appoint to perform particular tasks of government.
Accountability strongly counts as a positive democratic value for it acts as
a countervailing force to irresponsible and abusive use of political and
bureaucratic power (Diamond and Platter 1996; Kearns 1996).

Pollitt in Hayllar (2000) underscores the paramount importance of

some form of public accountability in a democracy so that "public

2007
 PHILIPPINE JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

authorities recognize an obligation to explain themselves to the citizens."

And if this is not understood and accepted by both government and
citizens, it is extremely doubtful whether the minimum requirements for
democratic governance can be met (Hayllar 2000:3).

Accountability in the public sector generally runs in two directions:

upward accountability of civil servants to their superiors in the
administrative hierarchy and outward accountability of the elective
officials to the citizens who elected them (Ellison, 1998; Zarei 2000; Salleh
and Iqbal 1995). In any case, the mechanisms for ensuring accountability
with these types are well developed and have long been used by most
societies around the world. These mechanisms include the agency internal
systems and procedures, body of laws and legal provisions, legislative
hearings, courts, and independent institutions like ombudsman, audit
commissions and other oversight bodies, public hearings, professional
ethics, opinion polls, and media scrutiny (Haque 2000)

Yet, it is also well known that these traditions of accountability

mechanisms do not necessarily lead to an accountable and responsive
government, or good government for that matter, if one goes by consistent
public clamor for a prompt, effective, and honest government or public
pressures for elected officials to resign from their positions for unpopular
decisions or inaction. There are the usual problems that plague
government such as confused implementation due to multiplicity of laws
and rules; political interference; inadequate funds; insufficient authority,
if not competency, to enforce rule of law; turfing; and the inveterate
question of who will watch the watchdog.

Elections, for example, are generally considered as a superior form of

ensuring accountability in a democracy. They are directly exercised by the
people, albeit as regards the elected officials only. (Generally speaking,
the bureaucrats tend to perceive themselves to be more beholden to the
officials who appoint them than to the public at large.) The real sense of
power to choose who will run the government is wielded by the people.
They can reelect the political leaders who had been faithful in discharging
the public trust and reject those who had not performed well or had used
their positions for personal aggrandizement. Experience nevertheless
suggests that elections, especially in the developing world, do not
automatically reflect the genuine preferences of the people. They are
defined by patronage politics, ambiguous agenda of government,
popularity, and lack of knowledge about paramount issues of governance
and those running for public positions. When electoral processes are
fundamentally flawed, elections become a meaningless instrument of
accountability.

January-October
ACCOUNTABILITY IN LOCAL GOVERNANCE 37

Beyond elections, beyond the traditional and bureaucratic-oriented

mechanisms of public accountability, are there any options available that
can improve public accountability? The answer may be found in democratic
decentralization where more meaningful and sustained interactions
between the government - local governments particularly - and citizens
can take place. This is the kind of interactions that go beyond elections
and what Spoormans refers to as "continuing experience of involvement in
public life, of taking part in the conduct of public affairs" (Spoormans
1993:16) by the citizens, or the continuing process that is rooted to the
principle of accountable stewardship in a participatory and representative
democracy (Prior, Stewart and Walsh 1995). These interactions can
fashion creative accountability mechanisms as the people and public
officials come together to discuss, argue, dialogue, negotiate, agree and
partner with each other on a wide range of issues affecting public life,
from policy-making to program and project administration to delivering
public services, monitoring and evaluation. These interactions between
government and citizens can give rise to "shared accountability for
governance." Democratic decentralization can create entry points in
government that can lead to productive interactions and engagement
between government and citizens that can improve the accountability and
responsiveness of local government.

Accountability Initiatives in Local Governance

The following section presents select examples of how government-

citizen interactions may promote and improve accountability at the local
level. For the purpose of this study, the cases 2 have been abridged and
rewritten to highlight the interactions between citizens and government
as these interactions lead to resolution of the issues at hand.

Fighting Corruption

Corruption results from an obvious lack of public accountability;

citizen participation in governance can be an uphill undertaking when it
involves fighting corruption committed by public officials. Not only does it
engender intense antagonisms and hostilities, particularly on the side of
the public officials concerned, that may even result in loss of lives. It
requires hard and meticulous work on the part of the crusaders because
the burden of proving that corruption had been committed rests on them.
In a country where corruption seems to be embedded in many parts of the
government and the government is unable to effectively prevent much less
prosecute those responsible for it, the fight can be a lonely and protracted
battle.

2007
 PHILIPPINE JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

On the contrary, however, these situations can be the very reason

for people to become involved in combating corruption and improving
governance. After actively participating in helping ensure clean elections
in their province during the February 1986 snap presidential elections, the
local chapter of the National Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL)
volunteers decided to expand their civic activities beyond elections and
become involved in improving the conditions in their province. Abra at
that time was one of the poorest provinces in the country and infested
with insurgency. The writer of this case study described the province thus:
"The armed conflict and the incompetence of the local officials made Abra
one of the poorest provinces in the country throughout the Marcos
years.. .ruled by patronage politics ... budget allotted for social services and
the construction of roads and bridges were pocketed by unscrupulous
government officials." The members appropriately named their group
Concerned Citizens of Abra for Good Government, CCAGG for short,
because of their desire to improve governance in their province. Most
members were professionals, like teachers, doctors, lawyers, engineers
and priests.

The CCAGG's first job was to monitor the implementation in their

province of the nationwide Community Employment and Development
Program (CEDP) of the newly installed government following the ouster of
Marcos in 1986. The program aimed to elevate living conditions and create
local employment through infrastructure projects like feeder roads, school
buildings and communal irrigation system. The group became involved in
the program by entering into a partnership agreement with the
Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the National Economic
and Development Authority (NEDA) which had oversight, finance, and
coordination functions over the program. The construction of the
infrastructure projects was carried out by the Department of Public Works
and Highways (DPWH) and its field offices at the local level. The
agreement gave CCAGG the authority to participate in the identification,
review and evaluation of all the CEDP projects in Abra and actively
monitor their progress and results. NEDA trained the CCAGG on how to
conduct monitoring work.

What may have started as a citizen monitoring project led eventually

to a crusade against corruption by CCAGG in the entire province. The
corruption issue started when the local office of the DPWH published in a
local newspaper their accomplishment report claiming that all CEDP
projects in the province were already completed. This claim was not
consistent with the information that the group had gathered as some
projects were still being implemented or had just begun. The group
verified the field office report by conducting their own site investigation.
Backed up by a well-documented report complete with pictures, CCAGG

January-October
ACCOUNTABILITY IN LOCAL GOVERNANCE 39

filed a complaint with the Department Secretary. The CCAGG asserted

that materials specified in the program of work were substituted with
inferior ones and that not all projects were already completed as claimed
by the field office. The group followed up its complaint until the head
office sent a special audit team to conduct an investigation. The results of
the investigation confirmed the report and complaint submitted by
CCAGG. A year later, the Department Secretary handed down the decision
suspending eleven officials involved in the corruption issue. While the
decision did not sit well with the people in the province because of the
lightness of the penalty (suspension ranged from one to nine months), it
was hailed as a moral victory for having penalized for the first time in the
province government officials for corrupt practices.

The first monitoring work done by CCAGG would signal a succession

of citizens' initiatives against corruption in the province. The combined
efforts of CCAGG and citizenry that has been awakened by CCAGG's
advocacy have led to the filing of letters of complaints and administrative
cases against unscrupulous officials, and the broadcast of anomalies in the
local radio and in church homilies. A mayor was found guilty by the
Ombudsman for violation of the anti-corruption law, a school
superintendent was dismissed for 'selling' positions to prospective
teachers, and several field personnel of the Department of Environment
and Natural Resources were forced to return the 'missing' reforestation
money when they could not explain how it was spent. Not all its efforts,
however, had favorable results, like in a case that they filed against
DPWH field engineers that was dismissed by the Ombudsman, and which
they have appealed in court. Also, they incurred the ire of local officials
who called them "faultfinders" and blamed them for derailing the projects
and development of the province. Local officials also closed ranks when
they began investigating anomalies.

Because of its thorough work and established track record, CCAGG

was tapped by several national agencies that implement local projects in
the province to monitor their respective projects. CCAGG had also been
drafted to undertake other tasks, like information education campaign,
social investigation and community organizing. In 2000, the Commission
on Audit involved the CCAGG in piloting its Participatory Audit Project in
the province. The group has also been deputized since 1994 by a regional
government monitoring agency as the NGO monitor for government
programs and projects in the region. The agency gave CCAGG technical
assistance on the aspect of identifying implementation problems,
recommending actions and solutions, and recognizing outstanding
performance. CCAGG also sits as NGO member in several local bodies,
including the powerful pre-qualification and bids awards committee,
although their participation in these structures is constrained by the fact

2007
 PHILIPPINE JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

that they hardly meet on a regular basis, if at all. CCAGG's advocacy in

anti-corruption has been recognized by local, national and international
groups and institutions. Even some local officials in Abra grudgingly
acknowledged that the mere mention of the group's name serves as a
deterrent to corruption. Parenthetically, it is the rank-and-file personnel
in the local governments who are more willing to assist the CCAGG by
providing them the official documents, albeit surreptitiously, needed for
monitoring.

Private contractors for public works are also more conscientious now
lest they be required to repeat their work like what happened to one
contractor. Through the monitoring work of the CCAGG, a private
contractor was ordered by the DPWH to overhaul the substandard road
they had constructed. The monitoring role of CCAGG has been
institutionalized in infrastructure projects in the province. Payments to
project contractors are made only if the latter submit the CCAGG's
monitoring report. The people in the province have also been more
concerned about graft and corruption in government as a result of
CCAGG's advocacy. They are now watchful of government projects being
implemented in their communities and quickly air their complaints
through radio.

Shaping Pro-PoorPolicies and Programs

Democratic decentralization opens up spaces for people to influence

local decision-making in a way that will respond to their needs and
problems. The importance of this opening up of spaces is highlighted in a
context where there is poverty and the poor have no voice in decision-
making. The new democratic space achieved after the people revolt in
1986 has stimulated citizens and civil society organizations to be more
directly involved in the processes of governance rather than being merely
spectators or objects of the governance process. This is particularly
effective in local settings where face-to-face interactions between the
governor and the governed are possible almost on a daily basis.

In Naga City in the southern part of Luzon Island, the new

democratic space encouraged a small group of urban poor residents to
organize themselves and take up their issues and problems with the city
government, particularly the problem of land tenure security and the lack
of basic infrastructures and services in the community. Out of this group
was born the Naga City Urban Poor Federation (NCUPF). The federation
was a coalition of urban poor people's organizations that shared the same
problems and common vision of improving their lot. The federation can be
said to be a logical outcome of the members' political activism that
brought them together in addressing common issues during the Martial
Law years.
January-October
ACCOUNTABILITY IN LOCAL GOVERNANCE 41

In the first three years of its existence, NCUPF concentrated on

actively participating in discussions and community organizing around
national issues, although some of these directly affected them as a sector.
These issues concerned the plebiscite on the 1987 Constitution, the
proposed Urban Development and Housing Act, and the implementation of
the community mortgage program. When the newly-installed President
Corazon Aquino visited the city, the group presented its demand for the
creation of local and national offices for the urban poor. It was by
engaging themselves in these national policy issues that they realized the
importance of participating in local policymaking.

In 1989, the NCUPF successfully initiated the adoption of the

community mortgage program by the city government and the creation of
the Urban Poor Affairs Office. As of 1997, NCUPF was comprised of 59
local organizations and a member of the regional Bicol Urban Poor
Coordinating Council. It has three representatives in the Urban
Development and Housing Board. It is a member of the People's Council
which sits in the local development council as member.

The NCUPF had used a variety of methods, which to make the local
government listen to them and act on their demands, included holding
regular meetings and consultations among themselves to discuss their
problems and actions, attending government-initiated fora on issues that
directly concerned them, writing petitions to stop evictions, lobbying and
initiating dialogues and negotiations with local authorities. It also used
election forums to pressure candidates to support urban poor programs
and sought the legislative support of council members who were
sympathetic to their cause.

The advocacy and organizing activities of the NCUPF have resulted

in the implementation of pro-poor policies and ordinances in Naga City
and creation of offices that would cater specifically to the urban poor.
Foremost of these policies and programs was the resolution of their land
tenure problem. The city government initiated a land acquisition program
through the national government's community mortgage program,
improved existing urban poor communities, and relocated people as a last
resort. The improvement in the provision of basic and services was jointly
undertaken by the organization and the government, with the latter
providing the infrastructures and materials, and the former contributing
labor and taking charge of the maintenance and improvement of the
installed facilities. The group also successfully influenced the city
government to implement applicable provisions in the Urban Development
and Housing Act, thus, giving them relief from ejection and demolition, as
well as assurance of resettlement sites for displaced families. The NCUPF

2007
42 PHILIPPINE JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

also gained a seat in the local council as sectoral representative. The

council makes the local ordinances and policies that are implemented by
the city government. The NCUPF also collaborated with other local
organizations to form the People's Council. The people's council sits as
member of the city council and participates and votes in its deliberations.
In 1995, the Naga City council approved an ordinance that effectively
institutionalized the participation of citizens' organizations in local
government processes and activities.

The adoption and implementation of these policies and programs was

a product of the partnership between the urban poor communities and the
city government. And the picture will not be complete without saying
something about the significant role of the city government in making and
implementing pro-poor policies and programs.

The officials of the city government who were installed after the
EDSA people revolt had decidedly a pro-development orientation that
encompassed improving government performance and relations with the
people it served. There was an openness to engage the people in
governance and an orientation towards the poor. As the writer of this case
study noted, a major factor that contributed to the passage of pro-poor
policies and programs was the presence of progressive-minded officials
who were willing to assist the urban poor. Even the more conservative
members of the local council supported the policies when they had fully
appreciated the need for making them. The city mayor himself was
already thinking of setting up an office for the urban poor even before
they asked for it.

The reform program that the city mayor Jesse Robredo implemented
to improve the city internal management operations and service delivery
included a public feedback system that systematically elicited the people's
views and reactions on the city government's performance as well as the
display in conspicuous place of the staffs' commitment sheet or
performance pledge in their work station. The pledge contained the
specific frontline service to be rendered, the employee responsible for
providing the service and the minimum time needed to complete the
service.

Mayor Robredo and progressive-minded councilors took concrete

steps to encourage and institutionalize people's participation in the
governance structures and processes. The city government deliberately
established mechanisms and units through which the urban poor could
directly participate in decision-making. The Urban Poor Affairs Office and
Naga City Urban Development and Housing Board were created to cater to
the poor. Multisectoral and village level consultation meetings and

January-October
ACCOUNTABILITY IN LOCAL GOVERNANCE 43

discussions were held to involve the people in governance. The non-

government organizations and people's organizations had seats in the local
development council and local special bodies. All these concerted efforts
and the partnership that developed between the local government and the
NGOs and POS were institutionalized with the passage of the local
ordinance called "An Ordinance Initiating a System for a Partnership in
Local Governance between the City Government and the People of Naga."
By opening up the core activities of the local government to the
participation of its constituents, the city government had come up with
pro-poor policies and programs that were widely supported by the urban
poor.

The statement of the city mayor in the early years of his

administration indicated a positive attitude that would later shape the
quality of interactions between the city government and the urban poor.
As quoted by the case study writer from another study: "We were never
threatened primarily because our interests are basically the same, and we
believe that the government's obligation is to the poor and
underprivileged, while also taking into consideration other factors and
parties involved." (Angeles 1997:103.) This response was in reply to the
question about the mayor's reaction when the urban poor protesters
stormed his office.

Caring for the Environment

The following experience shows that a people's initiative to

formulate a community-based resource management plan that addresses
the basic issues confronting the primary users of the resource can
culminate in its formal adoption into a policy by local authorities.

Prieto Diaz is a small fishing municipality in the province of

Sorsogon at the far end of Luzon island. A local priest had earlier helped
organize a people's organization composed of small fishermen called
SAMAMAMU, the acronym for "Samahan ng Maliliit na Mangingisda sa
Muntopar" which literally means "association of small fishermen of
Muntopar." The priest had invited Tambuyog, a development NGO to
assist the area and continue the organizing work he had started.
("Tambuyog" is a local word and literally means "water buffalo's horn." In
olden times, horns were used by town criers to announce public
meetings. As used by Tambuyog, the horn symbolizes the call for unity.)

In 1994, Tambuyog chose the municipality as a site for its project on

sustainable coastal area development or SCAD. The project was an
integrated approach to building community-based coastal resource
management and used research, training and education, organizational

2007
44 PHILIPPINE JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

development, gender development and advocacy as strategies. Tambuyog

already had experience in capacity building for environmental
management in previous projects. The NGO chose SAMAMAMU as its
main partner in implementing SCAD in the municipality.

A long series of community organizing work - group self-assessment,

teambuilding, meetings, community assemblies and discussions,
information gathering, and situational analysis through participatory
research, training PO leaders, dialogues with stakeholders, transforming
the organization into a cooperative to make it sustainable, lobbying with
local officials- was carried out by the NGO to capacitate and mobilize the
people for coastal resource management. One concrete output of the
collaboration and advocacy work of Tambuyog and SAMAMAMU was the
crafting of a bottom-up community-owned five-year development plan for
SCAD. The advocacy and mobilization done by Tambuyog and SAMAMAMU
included not only lobbying with local officials and dialoguing with key
stakeholders but also campaigning, particularly by SAMAMAMU, during
the 1995 elections for the incumbent mayor and other candidates
sympathetic to the fishermen's cause. Their electoral support for the
winning candidates accorded them some influence in local decision-
making.

While these organizing efforts were taking place, the Department of

Environment and Natural Resources had a national project called Coastal
Environment Project (CEP). The implementation of the project in Prieto
Diaz was contracted out to FDFI (not spelled out in the original case).
FDFI formulated its own version of a coastal management plan for the
municipality which SAMAMAMU objected to because it did not benefit
from the same intensive consultation process that their own plan went
through. There were also provisions in the plan that the fisherfolk
considered not feasible or unacceptable. All these objections were
articulated during the public presentation (in a workshop) of the CEP plan.
The FDFI had to revise its first draft based on the workshop's discussions.

At the municipal level, Tambuyog and SAMAMAMU lobbied with local

authorities for a more comprehensive review and discussion of the local
policy framework on coastal management. The outcome of this advocacy
was the creation of an interagency and multi-sectoral task force that
would be responsible for reviewing and enforcing the municipal fishery
code. The task force was also in charge of formulating and implementing
the municipality's coastal resource management plan. Tambuyog and
SAMAMAMU became members of the group. The members of Tambuyog
and SAMAMAMU in the task force gave them a venue through which they
were able to effectively advocate the inclusion of issues affecting the

January-October
ACCOUNTABILITY IN LOCAL GOVERNANCE 45

fishermen in the task force deliberations. It was also through their

advocacy that the people's SCAD five-year plan was integrated in the final
version of the municipal coastal management plan that subsequently was
adopted as a municipal ordinance by the local government.

Exploring the Contours of Shared

Accountability for Governance

This case study set out to explore pro-accountability mechanisms and

processes that may be emerging at the local level in the context of
democratic decentralization. Given the wider democratic space that the
Local Government Code had created for the engagement of non-state
actors in local governance and the impetus for local authorities to admit
citizen involvement in the governance structures and processes, the study
posits that creative mechanisms for improving accountability that depart
from the "hierarchical" and "bureaucratic-oriented" accountability may be
operating at the local level. It further argues that these creative
mechanisms involve the interactive process of opening up government
activities to citizen participation and the citizens taking an active and
direct role in governance. This is the main idea of shared accountability
for governance. If these interactive processes are sustained and
institutionalized, they can be mutually reinforcing and result in
governance processes and outcomes that are accountable and responsive
to publicly held societal values such as equity, justice, fairness,
transparency, equality, freedom from hunger, rule of law, respect for
human rights, and human progress.

It is not the intention of the study to replace existing instruments

and mechanisms that are being employed elsewhere and which could be
working well in their respective environments.

From the case studies above, making shared accountability for

governance work at the local level entails several factors.

For one, it requires local governments to open up and provide access

points through which citizens can take part in the exercise of public power
and control. The access points can be located in the different processes
and structures of governance. As the examples have shown, citizens can
engage the local government in crafting policies that address their social
and economic problems and perhaps, more importantly, in protecting and
ensuring the inherent right of people to participate in the making of
decisions that affect their life. Apart from policy making, the local people
can assert their involvement in the preparation of plans and programs

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46 PHILIPPINE JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

that reflect their collective interest and that of the larger community.
Monitoring of government performance and projects is also an access
point. When backed up by reliable information and performed by people
with adequate knowledge on how to do it, monitoring can equally be a
powerful mechanism for enforcing accountability, not necessarily at the
end of a performance or project, but as an ongoing process in governance.

To take full advantage of these entry points would require citizens

and civil society groups to determine at which entry points they will be
most effective or which ones will be most beneficial to them. In the case of
the Naga experience, for instance, the urban poor realized that accessing
the local policymaking would enable them to shape policies and programs
that are clearly pro-poor. The case of the organization of small fishermen,
on the other hand, started with developing a community-based coastal
resource management plan. They then worked their way up for its formal
adoption as a policy and program by the local government. In the case of
the CCAGG members, they trained first before they could effectively
perform their role as monitors. Knowing where they can be most effective
and produce concrete results can definitely encourage the citizens to
continue engaging the government.

The willingness of local governments to engage civil society in

governance responds to calls for transparency and accountability and
improves their responsiveness to their constituencies. When reinforced by
genuine commitment and political will, it creates trust and enhances their
standing and legitimacy in the community. This quality of local leadership,.
their readiness to listen, deliberate efforts and commitment to involve
citizens and civil society groups are important mechanisms of
accountability, as Naga and Prieto Diaz have shown. Abra, however,
stands out as an example of accountability being forced out of the public
officials.

Opening up the core activities of government to citizen

participation can be triggered by an active civil society, can happen at the
initiative of the local government itself, or may be the result of the
confluence of these two forces. Whichever direction the initiative comes
from, improving accountability can definitely benefit from an enabling
governance framework that encourages and stimulates citizen
participation. This can be realized, as shown in the examples, in the
involvement and membership of civil society organizations in institutional
structures within the government, be these task forces, boards or
councils. These local bodies allow government and civil society to carry on
their mutual engagement in a sustainable manner. These accountability
mechanisms are therefore important in strengthening and
institutionalizing the relationships and interactions between government

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ACCOUNTABILITY IN LOCAL GOVERNANCE 47

and citizens. It is not to be forgotten, however, that an enabling

framework installed through a national law, such as the Local
Government Code, has a salutary effect on the emergence of creative
accountability mechanisms.

In the cases presented, the presence of an active and activist civil

society group claiming their rights in decision-making proved to be a
significant factor in making accountability work in communities. The
contribution of civil society in making government work for the people
particularly the poor is well-known in practice and the literature. Their
participation links the people to government and ensures that the people's
problems and community concerns are brought into the agenda of local
policymaking and acted upon by the authorities. Again, their role in
making public authorities work for the poor and marginalized is evident in
the cases presented above. An active civil society can originate from
within the community itself, as was true in all three cases. In addition,
the Prieto Diaz experience also showed that the presence of an external
non-government organization could also have a pivotal role in organizing
the local community to participate in governance.

The preparedness of civil society organizations to engage

government is an important element in making local accountability work.
This is critical because it has implications on the quality of the
contribution that they will bring to governance. If they do a lousy job,
chances are government, even if it is participatory-oriented, will be
discouraged and shun them in the future. The citizens themselves may
also lose interest in participating. The preparedness pertains, for example,
to specific competence or know-how that may be required of civil society
organizations as they participate in the governance processes. If it is not
present, by necessity, they have to build the needed capacity to prepare
them for their job. For the CCAGG, it was necessary to undergo training
in monitoring infrastructure projects so they could do their monitoring job
effectively. The competence they developed was later reflected in the
technical reports they prepared which became the basis for the suspension
of erring public officials and the repeat work demanded of the private
contractor. Over time they have created their niche in monitoring and
have gained the respect of government, development agencies, donor
institutions, the academic community, and their colleagues in the civil
society.

Preparing for engagement with government could also take a

different route. In Prieto Diaz and Naga City, the preparations took the
nature of community organization, mobilization and strategizing activities.
The quality of engagement of citizens' groups and non-government
organizations with the government was further enhanced by a continuing

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48 PHILIPPINE JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

process of meetings, discussions, dialogues, role playing, attendance in

seminars and forums relevant to their work and issues, and partnerships
with other organizations.

The cases have also shown that people's participation in

governance brings a new meaning and dimension to public accountability.
The engagement between government and citizens in local governance
suggests that the burden of making accountability work can be shared
between the governor and the governed. Since accountability involves
relationship between the governor and the governed, it also behooves the
governed not just to demand accountability but to be a pro-active partner
in making the accountability relationship work. Between elections, the
accountability processes and mechanisms take the form of a "continuing
experience of involvement in public life, of taking part in the conduct of
public affairs" by both government and citizens.

The cases included in this study are some of the many good
examples, and, definitely not the last, in government-citizen interactions
that are taking place around the country. Certainly, the interactions will
never always be harmonious. They, in fact, could be contentious and
adversarial when government and citizens stand on opposite sides of
issues. This situation is expected in a democracy. The important thing is
to maintain a democratic environment that enables government and
citizens to engage each other as they look for solutions to public problems,
even if at times they find themselves in opposite sides of the fence, or
standing on the same ground on other occasions. Finally, the contours
that I tried to trace in the study are definitely not the last word on the
topic. As local democracy in the country further evolves, the fashioning of
more effective accountability mechanisms and processes looms large in the
horizon.

Endnotes

This is a slightly modified version of the paper presented in the EROPA Seminar
on "Modernising the Civil Service in Alignment with National Development Goals" held
on 13-17 November 2006 in Bander Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam.

I The narrative on Fighting Corruption is based on the case study "Crusade for
Good Government: A Study of the Concerned Citizens of Abra for Good Government
(CCAGG) with the Local Government" written by Glenda Lopez-Wui in Ma. Glenda
Lopez-Wui and Chantana Banpasirichote (eds.),1997, People 's Initiatives: Engaging the
State in Local Communities in the Philippines and Thailand; Shaping Pro-poor Policies
and Program on "The Role of the Naga City Urban Poor Federation in the Passage of
Pro-Poor Ordinances and Policies" written by Jocelyn Vicente Angeles and Caring for

January-October
ACCOUNTABILITY IN LOCAL GOVERNANCE 49

the Environment in "Involvement of Non-State Actors in Coastal Resources

Management: The Case of SAMAMAMU and Tambuyog in Prieto Diaz, Sorsogon" by
Quirino L. Dela Cruz and Rizalito Lopez, both case studies in Marlon A. Wui and Ma.
Glenda S. Lopez (eds) State Civil Society: Relations in Policy-Making.

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