Governance and reform dialogues highlighted during 2025 ASPAP Conference

by Alvin Paul C. Patarlas, OfCom Intern | Dec 01 2025

Carrying the theme “BALIK-TAN-AW: Public Administration Education and Practices in the Philippines — Bridging Peace, Development, and People,” the 2025 Association of Schools of Public Administration in the Philippines (ASPAP) General Assembly and International Conference gathered scholars, practitioners, and government leaders from across the country to examine pressing governance issues and reimagine the future of public administration on the second day of this 4-day event, November 26, 2025 at 缅北禁地-IIT.

The morning plenary session opened with Dr. Alex Brillantes Jr., who delivered a talk titled “Decentralization and the State of Philippine Public Administration.” He began by recalling how the Philippines, once a regional frontrunner, has gradually fallen behind its Southeast Asian neighbors. For Dr. Brillantes, the country’s central challenge remains governance, citing corruption, weak law enforcement, and the election of leaders lacking ethical grounding.

He also discussed the concept of a global “polycrisis,” emphasizing that governance issues in the Philippines reflect wider international trends. Drawing lessons from Singapore, Dr. Brillantes highlighted the importance of strong institutions and merit-based leadership. He concluded with a reminder to public administration scholars and educators: “Always remember your North Star—WHO is your public?”

Following this, Dr. Maria Fe Villamejor-Mendoza delivered “Public Administration Education and the Challenges of Development in the 21st Century.” She reiterated that the core mission of public administration education is to advance public service and uplift Filipino communities.

Dr. Villamejor-Mendoza outlined key national and global challenges, including democratic participation, socio-economic inequality, environmental sustainability, and the demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. While she emphasized that public administration alone cannot resolve all societal problems, she stressed the field's responsibility to generate knowledge, strategies, and solutions that meaningfully contribute to development.

The final speaker for the morning session was Iligan City Mayor Frederick Siao, who delivered a recorded video message where he shared, “In Iligan, governance is grounded in transparency.” This was further expounded by Mr. Darwin J. Manubag, who discussed the city’s best governance practices and the reforms that helped make Iligan one of the fastest-growing cities in the country. He also outlined the challenges of their first term, including identifying community needs, addressing the 15 IDG indicators, and establishing a clear development direction. Manubag highlighted Iligan’s recent recognition as one of the fastest-improving cities in the country, a testament to the impact of ongoing reforms.

After lunch, the plenary sessions resumed with Dr. Macapado A. Muslim’s presentation, “Decentralization as the Only Pathway for Good Governance in Deeply Divided Developing Countries.” He walked the audience through various constitutional reform proposals and argued that federalism and parliamentary systems cannot simply be transplanted into the Philippine context.

Dr. Muslim highlighted a striking paradox: the Philippines is rich in natural resources, yet continues to experience widespread poverty. He attributed this to structural governance weaknesses and an overly centralized system. For him, meaningful decentralization offers a more realistic and context-appropriate path for reform.

The final presentation of the day, “Decentralization, Peace, and Development: Advancing Women, Peace, and Security,” was delivered by Dr. Amina T. Rasul-Bernardo. She underscored the vital role of women in governance, noting that greater female participation promotes transparency, peacebuilding, and inclusive development. Dr. Rasul-Bernardo emphasized the importance of empowering women, especially those from marginalized and Indigenous communities, in leadership and decision-making roles, citing promising Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) initiatives in the BARMM.

Photo source:

More enriching discussions continued on the third day of the 2025 ASPAP, with plenary sessions still revolving around matters of resilient and good governance and reform dialogues. The general assembly and election of officers took place in the morning program. In the afternoon, certificates and tokens were awarded to recognize the efforts and contributions of the participants.

Topics :