DEVOLUTION: LEVEL OF READINESS OF THE LGUs AND HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT OFFICERS OF THE MUNICIPALITIES OF BOHOL

This research intended to assess the readiness of the Municipal Human Resource Management Officers (MHRMOs) and the local government units of Bohol towards the assumption of full devolution as mandated by the Local Government Code of 1991 and the subsequent supporting legislations namely, the Mandanas-Garcia Supreme Court ruling and President Rodrigo Duterte’s Executive Order No. 138. Readiness is measured in terms of the self-assessed level of comprehension of the MHRMOs on various concepts related to devolution and human resource management, the level of completion of the documentary requirements, and the level of exposure to training and workshops. A descriptive method of research was used in the study. A researcher-made questionnaire was used to collect the needed data. The study's respondents were the Municipal Human Resource Management Officers of all the forty-seven (47) municipalities of the Province of Bohol. There was a moderate level of self-assessed comprehension among the respondents on the different human resource management concepts with the lowest rating observed for their understanding of devolution and re-engineering. The compliance with documentary requirements is 75%. The most intense challenges the MHRMOs encounter are the leadership’s lack of political will to prioritize devolution efforts and the lack of budget. Recommendations are made for the Department of Interior and Local Government, the Department of Budget and Management, the Lawmakers, and the Provincial and Local Governments to intervene, prioritize, and support devolution initiatives at the national and local levels.