Governance crisis in water services in the Philippines: a need for rethinking and reframing development policies in the country

Issue Date

2019

Abstract

Toward the end of 2019, headlines in the Philippines featured controversies surrounding private in- vestments in public utilities, which spurred renewed debates over privatization and state-control. In the 1990s, at the height of globalization-driven economic growth in East Asia, the Philippines target- ed to become an industrialized country by 2000. Confronted with environmental crisis and poor public utility services, the country ventured into privatization of public goods, such as water services, to aid in rapid industrialization. However, experiences from neighboring newly industrialized countries (NICs) in East Asia (or the Asian Miracles) proved that protection should come prior to liberalization. This essay aims to contribute to the evolving field of political sociology, specifically in the discourses on state-economy relations, reflecting on the current socio-political situation in the Philippines. Re- cent literature maintains that water service privatization failed to deliver on its promises due to market (capitalism), state (vested interest), and governance failures. This essay calls for the reframing of socio-political structures and institutions through policy reforms, alternative and pluralistic models of public goods management, and a new breed of statesmen and community, political, and industrial leaders.

Source or Periodical Title

Journal of Human Ecology

ISSN

2244-0607

Volume

8

Issue

1

Page

39-49

Document Type

Article

College

College of Human Ecology (CHE)

Frequency

annually

Physical Description

tables ; references

Language

English

Subject

Economic development and politics

Digital Copy

Digital Copy Available

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