Not a single day goes by that I do not think of quitting Public Administration.
I could lie and say that I have always wanted to be on this track—to join the ranks of civil personnel, work in frontline service provision, and institutionalize reforms. It is a noble ambition after all. However, I could only perceive the governing system in contempt for perpetuating structural problems in society.
It is only in understanding power structures and tracing the history of resistance within the system that I found reasons to carry on with this pursuit. That is, despite the fact that the structure of the governing system centralizes power to elected officials, civil personnel are the core of the governmental system, undertaking day-to-day operations. Administrators perform important duties such as assisting in budget preparation, expenditure, and revenue generation, as well as providing technical advice and recommendations on major plans and policies.
Today, our civil personnel stand at a critical juncture in politics and administration. President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr., son of dictator Ferdinand Marcos, and Vice President-elect Sara Duterte, daughter of President Rodrigo Duterte, are bound to continue their fathers’ bloody legacy. This brings me overwhelming fear. In striving for positive change, how can I serve under such an atrocious regime?
In theory, public administration is disjoint from politics. While civil personnel embody neutrality and are barred from partisan activities, politicians are recognized as people’s representatives with apparent interests. In practice, however, public administration cannot exist in a separate sphere from politics; it resides in a complex political environment and larger governmental system. Regardless of who is in power, civil servants have to carry on with their duties yet they cannot turn a blind eye to the political state either, because political considerations shape their actions.
Aside from uncertainty in the assumption of Marcos to power, civil personnel vastly suffer from contractualization, low wages, unfair labor conditions, and receive the brunt of the top management's failures and shortcomings. Many of these problems trace their lineage back to Marcos Sr.’s policies.
Upon the declaration of Martial Law, his first agenda was to reorganize the government. His plan allowed layoffs between 1973 and 1975, while appointing more people based on loyalty. Marcos also introduced labor contractualization and other austerity measures to cut expenditures, as the national budget deficit ballooned to sustain his plunder. This resulted in precarious work in civil service, wherein non-regular workers under contracts of service, job orders, and third-party agencies take on responsibilities of regular, permanent jobs without security of tenure and social protection.
To prevent uprisings, Marcos weaponized Martial Law to ban workers' strikes. He repressed unions, arrested and killed union leaders. Still, labor unions were among the first to resist Marcos’ tyranny and protest against worsening economic exploitation and political repression.
When Filipinos finally overthrew Marcos, the government was overhauled. The 1987 Constitution enshrined activism and unionism. Yet, the same working conditions that hounded workers back then continue to this day, and labor unions still endure the same tactics of repression—from red-tagging to illegal arrests and killings.
Under Duterte’s term, the legitimate exercise of political rights, including protesting for fairer labor conditions and decent wages, is suppressed by linking dissidents to communist groups. Juan Alexander Reyes, Oliver Rosales, Rowena Rosales, and Antonieta Dizon were civil personnel and government union organizers arrested under Duterte’s regime based on trumped-up charges and accused of being armed rebel leaders.
Duterte appointed retired army and police officials in key institutions, effectively centralizing power to the military. This approach is proven detrimental during a health crisis. Instead of appointing health and medical experts, Duterte designated retired Army Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr. to head the national response against COVID-19. He is also in charge of the procurement of vaccines, which has been delayed multiple times.
Under the newly elected Marcos-Duterte tandem, we can only expect overwhelming failures from the top management, and the worst forms of violence in dealing with dissent and addressing legitimate concerns of workers. The regime’s new administration has patronage politics written all over it: Sara Duterte as education secretary, Rep. Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla as justice secretary, and Erwin Tulfo as the social welfare and development secretary. To secure political survival, Marcos has to appoint loyalists, even those without credibility.
Despite the urge to quit Public Administration, the call to serve rings louder. It is definitely scary, but we have to stand and hold the line. As “lingkod-bayan,” our duty must be oriented to the people. Thus, we have to live on the legacy of resistance and uncompromising struggle toward an ideal world where we can truly serve the national interest, with career officials receiving just compensation and decent labor conditions. ●
