As of the second quarter of 2013,
President Noynoy Aquino had already vetoed 71 proposed legislative agenda, 11
of which are national bills and the rest are locals. If not the highest number
of vetoes an executive head had done on his term, I would bet that this is more
or less part of the pool.
This only shows the
sheer power of the man who leads the executive branch as the head of government
and also a beacon of representation the Filipino people look up to as the head
of state—positive trust ratings here and there albeit recent PDAF issues
clearly demonstrates this.
We discern that on
this so-called democratic nation that vox populi is
tantamount priority to almost every face a certain reign wants to portray, yet
we know for sure that at the end of the day the concentration of power is still
within those seated.
Therefore, as I was
tasked to give an analysis on the appropriations of any government agency I
fancy, I could not pick any less than the hidden machinery that produce the
manuscript the highest leader our country uses in making all his valuable
decisions—the Presidential Management Staff (PMS).
Boasting a team of
highly-driven professionals, striving for excellence in supporting the
presidency achieve a better quality of life for every Filipino as their vision;
it could not be more appropriate to pick this agency if I want to ponder unto
something relevant and wide-scoped—since we are practically dealing with the
exact and most immediate associate to the president.
Their mission on the
other hand which was “to provide relevant and timely information to the
Presidency” at first glance, was pretty straightforward and concrete for a
paradigm to realize their goals, but as it continues to, “help build and
nurture a bureaucracy marked by good governance and leadership by example,” the
nostalgia on how institutions tend to over romanticize quite simple things
curtained me.
Surprisingly, as I
read their recent Major Final Outputs (MFO’s)— the performance in quantitative
results in exchange of the appropriated budget allotted to it, the agency seems
to achieve a hundred percent compliance rate to everything expected of them;
moreover, they were also the first to comply to said government data on the
entire bureaucracy. Quite frankly, I find it impressive for someone withholding
the responsibility of being a role model agency.
As I gathered data from the
Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on the office’s General
Appropriations Act (GAA) year 2010 to present, I came up with a graphical
presentation that follows:
At point blank, viewing the total
appropriations across the year tells you nothing at all, except the growing
expense which is technically almost inevitable to almost anything these days.
Much of this growth were practically attributed to the programs the agency had
accomplished. In conjecture, this was a reflection of the totality of the
graph’s behavior. As any other manifests
to be initiated, it is of vehement prerequisite to be continuously researching
and analyzing current situations that has significant connections to the
agency’s concerns. We notice here a sudden stagnation that does not necessarily
imply decline on these aspects (programs and research), but more or less I
hypothesized that there is a decline in expense as time flies which is mostly
likely attributed to the shift from developing new and dynamic projects to that
of maintaining the established ones.
Establishing coherent and
centralized feedback mechanisms to government projects is obviously at a
declining rate. Feedback mechanisms should not be renewing but continuous and
sustainable throughout. It is counter-productive for a government system to
develop new and inflexible monitoring unless established method is found
irreconcilable to the appropriate measures as seen through the year 2011 to
2012, in theory—but such insignificant difference is not conclusive.
Obviously, advisory and consulting
services is fluctuating since this is the kind of service that considers the
demand on it. A gallant attempt into exhibiting this is the nature of a
clinical psychologist and how he caters to his clients. Inferentially, clients
come and go as long as their medical needs were attended, and mostly the
longevity of other cases come from recurring clients and their recurring
problems. Such an irrelevant comparison but if you try to think of it, what
kind of situations do government have that is recurring like an illness—except
the cancer of corruption maybe? On second thought, that is not a concrete case
for consultation or advisory. A good example is how it largely increased on
2014 considering with the recent havoc typhoon Yolanda had in its wake.
Clearly, a case to case trend.
Lastly, since most presidential terms
have at least something to say on the civil service, it is expected that the
development of human resource should decline as the years go by. At first,
certain changes should be observed upon the bureaucracy, but since the very
system values stability, it is adequately reasonable to have less to zero
expense as it proceeds.
In connection, I am also tasked to
explain to you the importance of the agency with these presented parameters.
And there is no easier way to do this than to interview someone who works at
the agency itself.
I contacted
XX XX XX of the Economic Policy Office under the Office of the
Assistant Secretary for Policy and Monitoring of the PMS, for an experienced-based
discussion on the subject matter, having been in the office for two years and a
youthful age of 22 for a fresh perspective level-headed to mine. To connect it into
societal concerns, I asked Ms.XX, ‘What societal reasons justify the
existence of the agency and its receipt of budget support? Are the societal
reasons supported by the agency vision, mission and goals?’
Ms.XX answered, “We provide technical assistance and
we are the staff of the President in his various engagements.
Sa dami ba naman na kailangang gawin at atupagin ng Presidente,
hindi narin niya matatandaan at makakaya lahat. And this is where we come in— PMS
from the name itself. We provide technical assistance to the President. We
provide timely and accurate information and policy recommendations to the
President through the briefing kits. We ensure that all his directives are
implemented and monitored. We make sure that other agencies concerned are
compliant with his directives and these directives are inclined with the
Administration’s goals and commitments to the Filipino people. We also provide
him reports on issues or pressing matters. This alone, can justify the budget
support. So yes! If you look at the agency’s vision, mission, and goals, it is
consistent and that because we aim to help the Filipino people by serving and
helping the Presidency. We’re output-based. We ensure that we aren’t just
inputs or throughputs. We make sure that we have impact and people can see
results. What the Presidency needs, we deliver. Iba-ibanamanang style of each
President at iba-iba din ang environment ng entire bureaucracy.
Ayonsakaalamanko, walanamanatasabatasnabawalbaguhinang mission and goals.
Function or mandate, oo,hindi,pwede. So if there’s a need to change the mission
and vision, para maka-adapt sa changes and needs, then let’s change it. Paano?
Siyempremagkakaroonng strategic planning angmancomm or execommng PMS. Carpio, Dinkie (personal interview, Feb 5,
2014)
Then to explore whether the budget
is sustainable, a follow-up question was asked to her, ‘Is the budget that the
agency receives from the national government reasonable or sufficient for it to
be able to achieve its vision, mission and goals?’
Ms.Carpio replied, “Yes. The budget undergoes multiple steps before it
becomes into an estimated or specific amount. Budgeting of the PMS is in consultation
with all of its offices or departments. Each office provides their proposed
budget or list of requirements for the year, so we come up with an estimate.
And then the ManCom and ExeCom of the PMS decide on the budget needs. PMS’s
Financial Management Service of the Management Support group deals with fixing
and coordinating with the DBM, Congress, and other concerned entities. We are
output-based, every proposed requirements or budget, needs justification to be
perfectly in line with our vision, mission, and goals. So at first few steps of
determining our budget needs, we knew at once if it’s sufficient. There are no
proposals that are obviously insufficient. Based from the organizational
structure of PMS, there is a support group and operational group. Support group
is the usual administrative, financial, utility, drivers, and IT matters.
Operational group is the one that performs the major final outputs of the PMS.
Of course, we can’t operate without support (e.g., wages, overtime fees,
transportation, IT matters). Carpio,
Dinkie (personal interview, Feb 5, 2014)
And lastly to inquire about
concrete contributions of the agency, Ms.Carpio was inquired, ‘Does the agency
make relevant and important contribution to the growth and improvement of the
sector where it belongs? How?’
She responded, “YES. PMS is part of the Office of the
President. How do we make relevant and
important contribution to growth and improvement? By providing the President
timely and accurate inputs and policy recommendations for him to have sound
decisions. At itongmgadesisyonnaitoangmagtatakdangtadhanangPinas’. We provide
secretariat support to Presidential bodies. So we ensure that all directives
and priority programs are implemented. Sinisuguro din naminnalahatng agencies
ay tumatahaksatamangdaan. Since we, from the Office of the President, are
expected to be highly-driven professionals...who will serve as role models to
other agencies of the government, as well as with the private sector.
Kritikalangtrabaho, one wrong move ay pwedemonangmaipabagsakangPilipinas. Kunwari
may meeting siya with a big foreign company, isangmalingpigura or bantas or salitasa
‘briefer’ mo para saPresidente ay maaringmagresultasaisangnawalang investor and
driver ng Phil. economy. O ‘di kaya, maymalingisang statement sa briefer
saisangisyusa China, taposiyonna-pickup niya, edipatay. Sobrangmasusisi
P-noysadetalye. At sobranginuunawaniyaangmgaiyon at tinatandaan.
Ilansamgatanongniya ay kung anonilalagaynaminsa briefers, o paano kami
nakakakuhang info para sa briefers. Kadalasangalingitosamga concerned agencies.
We ensure that these are cleared by the concerned agencies’ secretaries. Kaya
pag may mali, damay-damayna.Pagsalungatangsagotngmga agencies, sinusubukan
naming remedyohan, at diyanpapasokang Completed Staff Work, kungsaankilala raw
satawagna PMS. We look at a certain issue at all angles. Hangga’t may di
nareresolba, hinditumitigil. At higitsalahathindinaminitopinapasasaPresidentehangga’t
di kami siguradosamgaimpormasyonnayun’. Carpio,
Dinkie (personal interview, Feb 5, 2014)
It may seem like the answers were
revolving on some self-appraising cycle but I get the gravity of the importance
of the agency. I remember a riddle by Lord Varys on a show called Game of
Thrones goes like this, “In a room sit
three great men, a king, a priest, and a rich man with his gold. Between them
stands a sellsword, a little man of common birth and no great mind. Each of the
great ones bids him slay the other two. ‘Do it,’ says the king, ‘for I am your
lawful ruler.’ ‘Do it,’ says the priest, ‘for I command you in the names of the
gods.’ ‘Do it,’ says the rich man, ‘and all this gold shall be yours.’ Who
lives and who dies?” Later he
revealed that power resides, where men believe it resides. A simple metaphor of
how I see PMS on account of the sellsword being the President— a perspective.
In conclusion, I might have
over-extrapolated the mere fraction of an angle that was given to me; which was
simply appropriations. But as you can see 301.4 million is also a mere fraction
of the Philippines 2.265 trillion budget. P-noy is not only a sellsword tasked
with the lives of three people. He has an entire nation behind his back. Our
country’s problems are like a giant smoke of cigarette the President despises
yet in a way is addicted to. Only an efficient filter like the PMS can handle
the harshness of its combustion. So he better think clearly as he goes.
References:
http://www.dbm.gov.ph/
http://goodriddlesnow.com/posts/view/6
http://www.gov.ph/featured/gaa-2014/
http://www.pms.gov.ph/pdf/MFO%20Targets%20RIM11292013.pdf
http://www.pms.gov.ph/
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