Performative 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 bureaucracy, such as the Anti-Red Tape Act (ARTA) and the Government Procurement Reform Act (RA 9184), are often absorbed into this performative system, reinforcing shortcuts, excuses, and opportunities for greed rather than eliminating them.
1. Thoroughness as Performance, Not Substance
“Thoroughness theatrics” occurs when government equates process visibility with good governance. The bureaucracy becomes adept at producing:
- Lengthy reports and compliance matrices
- Multiple certifications and clearances
- Inter-agency endorsements and consultations
- Oversight bodies that monitor procedures, not outcomes
For ordinary citizens, this is most visible in the continued reliance on cedula, barangay clearance, police clearance, and NBI clearance—often required simultaneously for employment, business permits, licenses, or government transactions.
These documents are defended as proof of due diligence, yet they frequently duplicate the same information and do little to improve security, integrity, or efficiency. Their real function is symbolic: they signal seriousness, even when they slow down service delivery.
2. ARTA: A Law Against Red Tape That Became a New Layer of Tape
The Anti-Red Tape Act was intended to simplify procedures, shorten processing times, and penalize fixers and delay. On paper, it mandates:
- Citizen charters
- Defined processing timelines
- Simplified steps
- Accountability for delays
In practice, ARTA often becomes another compliance ritual:
- Agencies display citizen charters but quietly add “internal steps”
- Deadlines are reset through technicalities
- Digital portals coexist with manual submissions
- Complaints are redirected across offices until citizens give up
Instead of removing cedula, barangay clearance, or multiple background checks, ARTA compliance is layered on top of them. The result is a paradox: anti-red-tape compliance becomes red tape itself, providing agencies with documentation that they are “reforming” while preserving old practices.
ARTA thus functions less as a scalpel and more as bureaucratic makeup—covering inefficiency without curing it.
3. Procurement Law and the Theater of Clean Governance
The Government Procurement Reform Act (RA 9184) was designed to prevent corruption, ensure transparency, and standardize government purchasing. Its emphasis on bidding, documentation, and procedural safeguards reflects a genuine attempt at reform.
However, within a performative governance culture, RA 9184 often evolves into procedural absolutism:
- Winning bids are technically compliant but strategically rigged
- Specifications are tailored to preferred suppliers
- Disqualifications are justified through minor technical defects
- Delays are blamed on “procurement rules” rather than poor planning
The law becomes a shield: as long as paperwork is flawless, outcomes are rarely questioned. Failed projects, overpriced contracts, or underperforming suppliers are defended with the phrase:
“We followed the procurement process.”
Thus, process compliance replaces value-for-money, and procedural correctness substitutes for accountability.
4. Rationalization That Multiplies Agencies
Alongside procedural inflation is the streamlining–rationalization paradox. Governments announce efficiency reforms while creating:
- New authorities
- Task forces
- Councils
- Coordinating bodies
Each new entity is justified as “rationalization”—centralizing functions or improving coordination—while existing agencies retain their mandates. This produces:
- Overlapping authority
- Diffused responsibility
- Endless coordination meetings
- Zero clear ownership of outcomes
Rationalization, in this context, becomes a semantic maneuver: adding institutions is framed as simplification.
5. Excuses as Institutional Armor
When policies fail or services stall, performative governance supplies ready-made excuses:
- “ARTA compliance caused delays”
- “Procurement rules slowed implementation”
- “Inter-agency coordination is ongoing”
- “Due diligence requirements must be respected”
These excuses are institutionally sanctioned, making failure defensible and reform endlessly postponable.
6. How Greed Thrives in Performative Systems
Performative thoroughness creates fertile ground for both petty and grand corruption:
- Clearances become toll booths
- Procurement becomes a paperwork game
- New agencies create new budgets and appointments
- Complexity favors insiders over citizens
Those who understand how to navigate the theater—connections, fixers, political allies—move quickly. Everyone else waits.
7. Structural and Cultural Roots
This system persists because of:
- Weak enforcement of accountability
- Patronage-driven politics
- Public tolerance for procedural formalism
- A culture that equates paperwork with integrity
The bureaucracy learns that looking clean matters more than being effective.
8. Toward Real Reform: Substance Over Performance
True reform requires breaking the performance loop:
- Eliminate redundant clearances (cedula, barangay, police, NBI) unless clearly justified
- Shift ARTA enforcement toward outcomes, not charters and posters
- Evaluate procurement by results, not just compliance
- Sunset or merge agencies, not just rename them
- Attach consequences to failure, regardless of procedural compliance
Conclusion
In the Philippines, thoroughness, rationalization, and reform laws like ARTA and RA 9184 are often transformed into bureaucratic theater. Streamlining is promised while processes multiply. Anti-red-tape laws generate new tape. Procurement rules ensure clean paperwork, not clean outcomes.
Until governance shifts from performative compliance to substantive results, shortcuts, excuses, and greed will remain rational—because the system quietly rewards them.
The Society of Honor by Joe America 