Fulfilling the Promise of Localization Through Active Deliberation: The Philippine Local Government Code (LGC) of 1991 as Critically Probed in Multiple Streams Framework (MSF) Analysis

Abstract

The Philippine government has launched an extensive decentralization policy that aims to devolve the centralized power and provide more autonomy to local government units (LGU)—the Local Government Code (LGC) of 1991. However, decades after its implementation, the adoption of the LGC has been disappointing and uneven (UNDEF, 2016). In explicating this outcome, the study traces the agenda-setting of the policy through secondary data analysis and by employing the Multiple Streams Framework (MSF) to understand the events that led to the crafting of the LGC provisions. Results surmount that among the motivations (in the problem stream) was the isolation of the people from the policymaking process, especially in the archipelagic context of the country, which results in uneven resource distribution and excessive bureaucratic procedures which hinder the immediate response, especially in peripheries. Despite this, there is growing evidence that the country is still far from fulfilling these objectives as the country has still been highly centralized and technocratic, and excessive bureaucracy shrouds the procurement processes, which hampers local developments. These are evidenced particularly in the narratives of the Siquijor agrarian community, which surfaced during the triangulation of narratives of farmers, local government staff, and NGOs out of the conducted KII interviews. Finally, the paper proceeds with the recommendation that the utmost utilization of the LGC is when it is paired with integrative local governance primarily focused on augmenting deliberative capacity.