Good governance

In our government or private institutions, “governance” is now used increasingly. We all want good governance not only in government but also in business because what they do also affects the public at large. When a locality is governed well, we can expect that locality to grow fast economically in a manner that is sustainable and equitable. Not a few of us also regard bad governance as one of the reasons for our widespread poverty.

So what is governance and what is good governance?

The concept of “governance” is not new, according to a UNESCAP paper that I read. “It is as old as human civilization.” It is defined as “the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented or not implemented.”

Accordingly, since governance is the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented, the key to the kind of governance that we get also depends on the kind of people that make the decisions and implement them, hence the importance of electing the right people to lead us in government. But make no mistake about this: the kind of people that we are also determines the kind of leaders that we elect. If our leaders are bad, we have only ourselves to fault.

The paper says that for governance to be good it must have at least eight major characteristics. It must be participatory, consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive and follows the rule of law. Good governance assures that corruption is minimized and the views of minorities and weak are taken into account. Most of all, it is also responsive to the present and future needs of society.

The cornerstone of good governance is the participation by both men and women, which could be exercised directly or indirectly through legitimate intermediate institutions or representatives in an informed and organized process, which also mean freedom of association and expression on the one hand and an organized civil society on the other hand.

Without fair legal frameworks that are enforced impartially, governance will fall. It fails when it cannot provide full protection of human rights, particularly of minorities and other vulnerable groups in our society. To enforce laws impartially, we need an independent judiciary, which unfortunately in the country today is very much tainted with corruption and opportunism and disregard of public opinion.

Transparency means that decisions are made and enforced following certain rules and regulations and not simply by the whims and caprices of those in power. It also means full disclosure of information in understandable forms that are freely available and directly accessible to everyone interested in the affairs of government and those affected by such decisions and their enforcement.

Fortunately, in the case of the Department of Interior and Local Government, it has this Full Disclosure Policy that requires all LGUs to provide and make accessible to the public information on 12 matters, which includes its Annual Budget, Quarterly Statement of Cash Flows, Statement of Receipts and Expenditures, Trust fund ((PDAF) Utilization, Quarterly Report of SEF Utilization and Annual SEF income and Expenditures Estimate and  the 20 Percent Component of the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) Utilization among others. But this is not enough; we also need the freedom of information law.

To be responsive, good governance requires that institutions and processes try to serve all stakeholders within a reasonable timeframe.

Good governance requires reaching a broad consensus in society on what is in the best interest of all and how this can be achieved, such as with respect to the issue we had with the construction of flyovers in Cebu. It also requires a broad and long-term perspective on what is needed for sustainable development and how to achieve. Without a new plan that we so badly need to guide our development in Cebu, for example, I wonder what our future will be.

A society is good if all its members feel that they have a stake in it and do not feel excluded from sharing the benefit or opportunities offered by society for them to meet their needs or realize their potentials, especially the poor.

Good governance means that our leaders meet the need of the people by using in the best manner possible the resources at their disposal with due consideration of their sustainability or continued availability of these resources for future use of the generations to come.

Accountability is also key requirement of good governance. Not only governmental institutions but also the private sector and civil society organizations must be accountable to the public and to their institutional stakeholders for everything that they do. In general, an organization or an institution, whether public or private, must be accountable to those who will be affected by its decisions or actions. Unfortunately, accountability cannot be enforced without transparency and the rule of law.

The Philippines, including Cebu, is still far from achieving good governance in its entirely but this also shows not just the failings of our leaders but also our own failure as a people to elect the right people to lead us.