Philippine Public Administration in Crisis: The Need to Refocus the Dialogue

Abstract

The role that the Philippine public administration and public policy infrastructure must play in improving the economic prosperity and social welfare of the country is discussed by comparing and contrasting the performance of the Philippines with that of its neighbors in Southeast Asia, such as Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand. The condition that consigned the Philippines to the position of an outlier in what is otherwise a phenomenal trend in economic growth and social development in several countries throughout Southeast Asia is the lack of capacity and core competencies of public policy and administration infrastructure which directly relates to the country’s inability to participate in achieving levels of economic growth and social prosperity enjoyed by several of its ASEAN neighbors.