PHDA 313 · Public Leadership and Ethical Governance

Module 1:
Public Leadership, Value & Office

Lessons 1–5 — from the practice of leadership to the public office that carries it

A group presentation — 7 presenters across 5 lessons
[Presentation Date]
Module Roadmap

Why This Module Matters

“Public Office is a Public Trust.” — 1987 Philippine Constitution

Five lessons, one continuous argument — from the practice of leadership to the legal office that carries it.

01Public Leadership
02Characteristics
03Public Value
04Public Office
05Powers & Rights
01

Public Leadership

Defining leadership in service of the general welfare and the common good.

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SHAMARRI JOY R. MANG-OSAN
Presenter
Foundational Definition

Defining Public Leadership

A collective form of leadership in which public bodies and agencies collaborate toward a shared vision — delivering improved public value. — Brookes & Grint, 2010
Holds Public Office
Serves for General Welfare
Common Good
Five Lenses

What Public Leadership Is About

Voice

Taking responsibility & speaking up

Action

Shaping decisions that matter

Service

Servant leadership, formal role or not

Unity

Working together for transformation

Accountability

Acting under a higher trust

Core Essence

The Essentials of Public Leadership

People-oriented and service-oriented — change happens when people choose what benefits them.

The primary duty of government is to serve and protect the people, not personal interest.

A public leader exercises authority in truth, honesty, accountability & transparency — guided by law, not opinion.

Lesson 02

Characteristics of
a Public Leader

Five behaviors that turn a position into genuine leadership.

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IRISH U. ROVERO
Presenter
In Sequence

Five Marks of a Public Leader

1

Serve

with compassion
2

Listen

to real needs
3

Learn

with humility
4

Speak

with authority
5

Act

with responsibility
For Reflection

From Character to Practice

Each behavior compounds the next — a leader who serves and listens earns the standing to speak.

Which of the five — Serve, Listen, Learn, Speak, or Act — is hardest for you to practice consistently in your own office?
Hold that thought — we revisit this tension in Lesson 3 as “leaving egos at the door.”
Lesson 03 · Public Value
“How do we know if government has truly succeeded? By the number of completed projects — or by the value those projects create in people's lives?”

That question sits at the heart of what scholars call Public Value — and it is where Lesson 3 begins.

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ANN FRANCE G. BURGONIO
Presenter
Foundational Concept

What is Public Value?

The overall outcome of public leadership is the creation of Public Value. — Mark Moore, 1995

Public value is not merely delivering services.

It is creating outcomes that genuinely improve society while maintaining public trust and legitimacy.

Leadership
Public Service
Trust
Public Value
Clarifying the Concepts

Public Interest vs Public Value

Public Interest

“The benefit or advantage of the community as a whole; the public good.”

  • Focuses on the common good

Public Value

A wider framework for the outcomes of leading in the public interest.

  • Meaningful benefits for society
  • Built through leadership & capability
  • Sustained by trust & legitimacy
The Framework

The Three Pillars of Public Value

Social

Improving lives & society

Economic

Maximizing resources

Political

Trust & legitimacy

These work together, not in competition — a single feeding program can create all three at once.

My Perspective
“Communities place greater value on leaders who listen, communicate honestly, and involve people in decisions that affect them — more than on schedules met.”
Values & Behavior

Self-Interest vs Public Interest

Personal and organizational values shape how leaders behave — and why others choose to follow.

Self-Interest

Ego-driven leadership that prioritizes personal or organizational standing.

Public Interest

Selfless leadership that places the welfare of citizens first.

To lead in the public interest means “leaving egos at the door.”
Leadership in Balance

Balancing the Head, Heart, and Hand

Head

Thinking wisely

Heart

Acting ethically

Hand

Delivering effective action

“Are we doing the right things for the right reasons?”

Aristotle's phronesis — practical wisdom applied in action, not just theory.

A Necessary Balance

Leadership vs Management

Management Leadership
Efficiency, SystemsVision, People
Processes, ControlTrust, Values
StabilityChange

Public Value is built through Social, Economic & Political value, sustained by Trust, guided by Ethical Leadership.

04

Nature of Public Office

The legal architecture behind every act of public leadership.

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ALTA ABIGAYLE LLENA
Presenter
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ELENA R. BUGUASEN
Presenter
Legal Definition

What Is a Public Office?

A right, authority and duty created by law, vesting an individual with sovereign functions of government for the benefit of the public. — Fernandez v. Sto. Tomas, 234 SCRA 546

Created by law or ordinance

Possesses sovereign functions

Duties defined by law

Permanent, not temporary

Nature & Types

Characteristics & Classification of Public Officers

A Public Trust Not Property Not Subject to Contract

Public officers are classified as:

Executive / Legislative / Judicial Discretionary / Ministerial Civil / Military De Jure / De Facto National / Provincial / Municipal
Title to Office

De Jure vs De Facto vs Intruder

De Jure Officer

Full lawful title. Cannot be removed except by direct proceeding.

De Facto Officer

Color of right, acts in good faith. Valid to the public until ousted.

Intruder

No lawful title, no color of right. Acts are void.

Commencement of Office

Appointment, Designation & Types

Appointment: selecting who performs the office's functions. Designation: adding duties to one already in office.

Permanent
Security of tenure
Temporary
Acting, no fixed tenure
Provisional
Pending eligibility
Regular
CA-confirmed
Ad-interim
During Congress recess
Continuity of Office

Vacancy in Public Office

Original

Newly created office, never yet filled.

Constructive

Incumbent has lost legal right to continue.

Accidental

Death, resignation, or removal of the incumbent.

Absolute

Term expired, no qualified successor yet in place.

05

Powers, Liabilities & Rights

Every power a public office carries comes bound to accountability.

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ANTONIO NAVARRO
Presenter
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CHRISTIAN
Presenter
Duty & Discretion

Powers & Liability of Public Officers

Ministerial

Imperative discharge, no discretion — mandamus will lie.

Discretionary

Officer decides how & when — mandamus will not lie.

Threefold Liability Rule: a single wrongful act may trigger civil, criminal, and administrative liability at once.

Ministerial Officer Liability

Nonfeasance · Misfeasance · Malfeasance

Nonfeasance

Neglect or refusal to perform a legal duty.

Misfeasance

Improper performance — lacking care, skill, or diligence.

Malfeasance

Doing an act one had no legal right to perform.

Command Responsibility: a superior is liable for a subordinate's act only if he actually authorized it.

In Return for Service

Rights of Public Officers

Right to Office
Right to Salary
Preference in Promotion
Leave with Pay
Pension & Retirement
Reimbursement of Expenses
Indemnity for Bona Fide Acts
Longevity Pay
Self-Organization
Modes of Termination

How Official Relationships End

Expiration of Term Resignation Removal Abandonment Death Impeachment Conviction of a Crime Age Limit Recall — Loss of Confidence

Recall brings us full circle to Lesson 3: an office is only as secure as the public trust and value behind it.

Synthesis

Bringing It All Together

01

Leadership is service before status.

02

Character — serve, listen, learn, speak, act — determines legitimacy.

03

Public Value, not project completion, is the true measure of success.

04

The Office is a public trust — never property.

05

Every power granted is bound to accountability.

Closing Reflection
“Public leadership is ultimately not measured by authority or position, but by the value we create in the lives of the people we serve. Our responsibility is to build trust, strengthen institutions, and leave communities better than we found them.”
Questions & Discussion