Wilfredo G. Villanueva
Cha Coronel Datu
Juana Pilipinas
Karl Garcia
giancarloangulo
Irineo B. R. Salazar
JPilipinas
karlgarcia
JoeAmPerformative Governance in the Philippines: Thoroughness, Rationalization, and the Illusion of Reform
By Karl Garcia Philippine governance is marked by a persistent paradox: the state promises streamlining, rationalization, and efficiency while expanding procedures, agencies, and compliance rituals. This paradox is not accidental. It reflects a deeper pattern of performative governance—or thoroughness theatrics—where the appearance of rigor substitutes for real institutional effectiveness. Even reforms explicitly designed to reduce … Continue reading
The Architecture of Disorder
How the Philippines Confuses Signals for Systems—and Pays the Price By Karl Garcia The Philippines does not lack laws, plans, or coercive institutions. What it lacks is coherence. Across decades, administrations, and crises, the same pattern repeats: the state prioritizes signals of control over systems of authority, the appearance of order over the maintenance of … Continue reading
Freedom of Information in the Philippines: Promise, Reality, and the Case for Legislation
By Karl Garcia Transparency is not optional in a functioning democracy. Yet in the Philippines, the promise of freedom of information (FOI) has existed for years in theory but remains uneven in practice. Executive Order No. 2, issued in 2016, formally introduced FOI into the country, giving the public the right to request information from … Continue reading
From Visibility to Verifiable Outcomes:
Government Computerization, Institutional Performance, and the Persistence of Inefficiency in the Philippines By Karl Garcia Introduction: Modernization Without Transformation For more than five decades, the Philippine government has pursued computerization as a pathway to efficiency, transparency, and improved public service delivery. From centralized mainframes in the 1970s to today’s digital platforms and super apps, successive … Continue reading
40 Years After EDSA: People Power Without a System
By Karl Garcia In a few days, the Philippines will mark a profound milestone: forty years since the 1986 People Power Revolution. Four decades since ordinary Filipinos converged on EDSA and, without guns or generals, toppled a dictatorship. It was a moment when fear lost its grip, when collective courage bent the course of history, … Continue reading
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The Society of Honor by Joe America 