Characteristics of Good Governance

CHARACTERISTICS
OF GOOD
GOVERNANCE
1. PARTICIPATION
- participation by both men and women
- Participation is one of the strengths of
Philippine governance
- The 1987 Philippine Constitution is replete of
provisions dealing with relational and inter-
sectoral governance.
- The Local Government Act of 1989 was borne
out of the need for decentralization in
Philippine governance.
- As such, these and other related legislations may
be considered as normative standards for good
governance.
2. RULE OF LAW
- legal frameworks should be fair and enforced
impartially
- Democracy is essentially the rule of law
- Rule of law demands that the people and the civil
society render habitual obedience to the law.
- It also demands that the government acts within the
limits of the powers and functions prescribed by the
law.
- The Philippines does not fare well in this aspect of good
governance.
- In spite of being one of the oldest democracies in the
region, the Philippines ranked as last among seven
indexed Asian countries according to the World Justice
Project Rule of Law Index.
- Generally, the reasons for ranking last are “lack of
respect for law,” “pervasive and systemic
corruption in the government,” and
“circumvention of the law.”
- Lack of respect for law is generally caused by
distrust on the integrity of law enforcement
agencies.
- Order and security are compromised and
criminal justice is rendered ineffectual.
3. TRANSPARENCY
- Free flow of information

- Transparency, as an indicator of good governance,
means that people are open to information
regarding decision-making process and the
implementation of the same.
- In legal terms, it means that information on matters
of public concern are made available to the citizens
or those who will be directly affected.
- It also means that transactions involving public
interests must be fully disclosed and made
accessible to the people.
- Efforts were made in pursuit of transparency in
Philippine governance.
- As far as the government sector is concerned,

the current administration, consistent with its
drive of curbing corruption, promotes honesty
and integrity in public service.
- It is currently pursuing the passage of the
Freedom of Information Billand other related
legislations, as well as intensifying people’s
engagement in local governance.
- Transparency in budget and disbursements are,
however, still far from being substantially
implemented.
4. RESPONSIVENESS
- serve all stakeholders
- means that institutions and processes serve all
stakeholders in a timely and appropriate manner.
- It also means that actors and structures of
governance easily give genuine expression to the
will or desire of the people.
- Some of the important efforts made to attain
responsive governance in the Philippines are
decentralization, creation of citizen’s charter in all
frontline agencies (as required by ARTA), and gender
sensitivity programs.
- First, through decentralization, local governments, which
are more proximate to their constituents, serve more
promptly the people, who in turn become more involved
in decision-making.
- Second, every government agency now has it
Citizen’s Charter, which provides timeframes for
every step in attaining frontline services.
- Agencies now must also respond to written
queries sent by the stakeholders or interested
parties within a period of ten days, otherwise
there will be delayed service.
- However, this aspect of governance still remains to
be one of the causes for the decline of public’s
confidence in the public sector.
- Although the ARTA has been passed, there is
still so much delay in
public service delivery.
- The failure of the government agencies to explain the
charters to the stakeholders is one of the
main reasons why there is still delay.
5. CONSENSUS ORIENTED
- mediates differing interests
6. EQUITY AND
INCLUSIVENESS
- all have opportunities to improve or
maintain their well-being
7. EFFECTIVENESS AND EFFICIENCY
- produce results that meet needs while
making the best use of resources
- actors meet the needs of the society means that
there is effective governance.
- That the valuable resources are utilized, without
wasting or underutilizing any of them, means
that there is efficient governance.
- enhancement and standardization of the quality of
public service delivery consistent with international
standards, professionalization of bureaucracy.
- Efforts were made to attain effectiveness and
efficiency in Philippine governance.
- The Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007 (ARTA), for instance,
was passed to require the setting up of Citizen’s Charter
for a simplified procedure and to facilitate
governmental transactions.
- Also, many government departments and agencies
pursued a rationalization program to check excessive
and redundant staffing.
8. ACCOUNTABILITY
- accountable to the public

IMPORTANCE OF STUDYING GOVERNANCE
- Governance, the people, most especially the
citizens, will be aware of the need for good
governance.
- Consequently, such awareness should

move them to action
- For their continued empowerment and
sustainable development, they have to know
how to fight for their rights by knowing what
to expect from Philippine governance.
PROCESSES AND ACTORS
IN GOVERNANCE
 DECISION-MAKING AND
IMPLEMENTATION
- Decision-making refers the process by which
a person or group of persons, guided by socio- political
structures, arrive at a decision involving their
individual and communal needs and wants.
- Implementation is the process that logically
follows the decision.
 ACTORS AND STRUCTURES
- An actor is a sector or group or institution that

participates in the process of decision- making
implementation.

-A structure refers to an organization or mechanism that formally or
informally guides the decision making process and sets into motion the different
actors and apparatuses in the implementation process.

 Informal Actors and Bad Governance
- Their influence is felt more clearly in local
governments, such as organized crime
syndicates and powerful families, and in rural
and urban areas.
- Most often than not, these actors are the cause of
corruption, in that legitimate government
objectives are distorted by their illegal and
private interests.
- Worse, they manipulate government officials
and agencies, and cause widespread yet organized
violence in the community.
- In urban and rural areas, for example, the rich and
powerful families control the economy by controlling
the local government officials.
- They bring about a controlled environment so that
decisions must always favor them.

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CHARACTERISTICS

- Free flow of information

- As far as the government sector is concerned,

- accountable to the public

- Consequently, such awareness should

- An actor is a sector or group or institution that

actors and apparatuses in the implementation process.

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