Ministerial Discontinuity amidst a Political Crisis: The Changes in the Secretaryship of the Department of Education during the Arroyo administration and its Effect on how the Department Addresses the Classroom Shortage

Abstract

During the Arroyo administration, the changes in the secretaryship of the Department of Education had been too frequent. These changes, however, were more as a result of the dissatisfaction of the secretaries rather than an attempt to consolidate power amidst the questions of legitimacy hounding the president. Notably, two of the six changes may be directly linked to the issue of the legitimacy of the president: first, the resignation of former Secretary Florencio Abad to join the Hyatt 10 in calling for the resignation of the President, and two, the apparent loyalty-competence trade off shown in the appointment of Secretary Jesli Lapus over Former Acting Secretary Fe Hidalgo. The frequent changes in the secretaryship of the Department of Education have affected the way the Department of Education works. Ministerial discontinuity has caused a frequent stop of the department with every change in secretary, followed by an adjustment period and a change in priorities. Programs may essentially stay the same, but the repackaging or changing of the names leads to confusion in the part of the department middle managers that implement, monitor and evaluate the programs. Ministerial discontinuity also affects the capacity of the secretaries to introduce meaningful programs in the Department. With the exception of the effect of ministerial discontinuity in the secretary's capacity in introducing new programs, ministerial discontinuity has affected the way the Department of Education works because of the prevailing culture and level of professionalism in the Department. There is an existing culture to stop and wait for new instructions with every change in the secretaryship of DepED. This culture prevails in a department wherein the professionalism of middle managers varies from high to low. These effects of the frequency of changes in the secretaryship of the Department of Education, however, had little effect in the programs addressing the classroom shortage and the output of these programs. Classroom shortage is primarily addressed only through classroom construction, and existing legislature has even laid down how the budget for classroom construction shall be spent. As such, little room is given for the secretaries to initiate change in addressing the classroom shortage. Also, the outputs of the programs are constrained by the fixed budget on classroom construction since 2001. Priorities-wise, however, the implementation of the program Brigada Eskwela, which aims at prolonging the lifespan of classrooms and classroom furniture, has weakened because its proponents are no longer in the Department of Education.