In the Name of Public Service: A Qualitative Study on the Crisis Communication Strategies of a Local Government Unit

Abstract

Local Government Units are among the first responders in a crisis, and as an institution, it bridges the gap between the national government and its constituents. Like many organizations, they are not exempted from numerous crises that could harm their reputation. In 2020, the country had to navigate through a global health crisis brought about by the 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19) and many political issues emerged thereafter. This shows that a crisis is often unpredictable and can take numerous forms, such as health crises, natural disasters, and misinformation crises. LGUs respond to these crises by employing integrated mitigation strategies into their policies. This research aims to help government institutions in the country by providing further knowledge on the crisis communication strategies and implementations used in the local context of the Philippine Government. The study answers the main question “How did the local government unit address the crises faced by the municipality?” Utilizing Coombs’ (2019) three-stage approach to crisis management, the study explored the LGU’s policies and guidelines going into the pre-crisis, crisis, and post-crisis stages and determined the key learnings of concerned departments that have since been integrated into future crisis responses. The results of the study revealed that despite the LGU’s lack of a formal crisis communication plan, the employees rely on crisis management trainings in executing a response. Furthermore, It was determined from the interview the following policies that were consistent with the stages of crisis from the LGU’s crisis management response: Monitoring, Coordination, and Information Dissemination. The LGU consistently evaluates their practices through townhall meetings and they continue to develop communication tools to better disseminate information to its constituents.