The Philippines has the strongest history of democratic decentralization in the region. Several presidential decrees from the autocratic Marcos government laid out an institutional groundwork for decentralization.

After the fall of Marcos, the country’s new 1987 Constitution embraced decentralization and local autonomy. In 1991, the county’s Local Government Code mandated significant devolution to local governments.

Today the country’s decentralization framework is essentially complete, but implementation is still lacking.

News Release: Decentralization in The Philippines

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