E(FFICIENT)-GOVERNANCE: A Content analysis of www.makati.gov.ph and a Case Study on How Makati Portal Affects the Government Management of the City

ABSTRACT

This study examines the effect of Internet-mediated communication in the decision making procedures of Makati City. The city’s portal contains feedback-sending mechanisms that allow two-way communication between citizens and government officials. It helps policy makers gather more feedback from the constituents, thus, the drafting and passing of ordinances and/or resolutions involve greater citizen participation. This results to higher quality outputs and more organized conflict management.

This study uses quantitative and qualitative approach, and adopts DeSanctis and Poole’s Adaptive Structuration Theory. Makati Portal was the first developed local e-government in the Philippines. It was chosen as the focus of this study because of its exemplary application of e-governance, e-service, and e-knowledge.

The researcher conducted a content analysis of the website to look into the operation of Makati Portal’s function and features. The posts of the website users dated July 2009-February 2010 were gathered and analyzed. Focus interviews were also conducted among 22 respondents. Not all government offices are currently utilizing the website for feedback-generation but all of them disseminate information through intranet. The Makati Portal has limitations such as digital divide among constituents and officials. However, the website still has a great potential for becoming an effective channel for a more dynamic communication between citizens and officials.