Governance of the Local Chief Executives in the Province of Cavite

Authors

  • Angelita Baybay

Keywords:

Governance, Local Chief Executives

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Several studies revealed that good governance is a prerequisite of development since governance deals with how the government conducts business in its own sphere and how it interacts with civil society. In relation to this, Cavite can be considered as the subject of this study because it is one of the richest and one of the fastest growing provinces in the country. In this study, the perceived degree of governance of the Local Chief Executives (LCEs) in the province of Cavite was explored. The Local Chief Executives, particularly the city or municipal mayors have great responsibilities to their constituents and to the nation in general. Their roles are very important in providing the basic services in uplifting the living conditions, security and general welfare of the community.

 

METHODS

The descriptive-correlational research design was used. In choosing the participants, a simple random sampling technique was applied since the study primarily aimed to survey the whole province of Cavite. The participants were grouped into two: LCEs and LCEs' constituents. There were 21 LCEs and 113 constituents from the various cities and municipalities in the whole province of Cavite who responded through a survey questionnaire. Technical statistical tools were used to analyze and interpret the data.

 

RESULTS

Both LCEs and their constituents evaluated the degree of governance of LCEs as great in terms of resource support for human priority concerns, effectiveness in services delivery and support systems, and accountability measures installed. The demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the LCD such as age, civil status, educational attainment, and training/ seminars attended affect their perceived degree of governance. While performing their duties and responsibilities, they encountered problems such as public hearing, negative acceptance to change and development, diversity in opinions of local members, political problems, acceptance of the policy, defiance, insufficient/limited budget allocation, discipline, lack of human capital resource, and multitasking.

 

DISCUSSIONS

Results showed that demographic and socio-economic characteristics of LCEs affect their perceived degree of governance. Reviewing these characteristics is very important since these play a vital role in their governance. There is also a need to review the distribution of tasks of the staff of the office of the city/municipal mayor to solve the human capital needs and multi-tasking problems. 

Published

2019-01-18