Understanding inter-local government collaboration in the Philippines: The case of the Alyansa ng mga Baybaying Bayan ng Bulacan at Pampanga (ABB-BP)

• Main Author: Hecita, Ian Jayson R.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2021
• Subjects: Local government > Philippines; Alyansa ng mga Baybaying Bayan ng Bulacan at Pampanga (ABB-BP); Political Science
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/5937; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/etd_masteral/article/12933/viewcontent/Hecita_IanJayson_11893699_UnderstandingInterLocalGovernment_Partial.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

One way to address collective action problems is to engage in inter-local government cooperation. Inter-local collaboration allows local governments to voluntarily coalesce and cooperate to address collective action problems withoutsacrificing their political and administrative authority to national agencies. Inter- city or inter- municipality arrangements can provide a way for governments to worktogether and solve policy issues that mutually affect them. As seen in few documented cases of inter-local collaboration, LGUs can jointly plan, implement, and monitor local services. LGUs can enjoy the benefits of economies of scales and resource efficiency by sharing local knowledge and resources to solve common problems.There is scant knowledge on why and how do local government units in the Philippines form coalitions and alliances. Scholarship on the costs, benefits, motivation, and exogenous factors that shape, constrain, and compel the decision of local government units need to be developed. Analyzing the case of the Alyansa ng mga Baybaying Bayan ng Bulacan at Pampanga (ABB-BP) using the institutional collective action (ICA) framework, this research aims to generate knowledge on the context, costs, incentives, and political dynamics that shape the policy preference and decisions of LGUs to enter and sustain inter-local collaboration. Moreover, the research will dwell on the prospects of inter-local government collaboration as a platform for local disaster governance and addressing other collective environmental risks.