Public policy is sine qua non so as to regulate the actions of members of diverse

social, religious and ethnic groups within the confines of society, in addition,
public policy promotes the effective and efficient distribution of desirable
public services to the inhabitants within the jurisdiction of the government.
Public policy can be defined as the overall agenda within which government
actions are undertaken to realize public goals (Cochran & Malone, 2014).

Leoveanu (2013) stated that in decision-making process, public administrators

must first determine the objectives of public policy, and those objectives must
be identified in operational terms in order to be observed and measured.
Objectives of public policies must be laid down in detail and ought to be backed
by science-based insights in order to be pre-evaluated. Determining the
purposeful and optimal objectives is the utmost crucial criterion since it
evidently detects the trivial aspects and undesirable disparity so as to mold the
science-based insights into an effective, economic and efficient public policy.

Furthermore, endeavor must be made so as to forward the government’s

attention to issues that are not presently high profile in order to demonstrate
their significance and the hazards of not responding to them (Reimer et al.,
2009). For effective, economic and efficient public policy to be created,
foreseeing the possible socio-economic and environmental issues ought to be
done since state of readiness is needed so as to execute a swift response, thus
anticipation of the inhabitants’ implied needs must take precedence so as to
formulate and implement policies that provide desirable programs, which are
panaceas for the foreseen possible issues.

Thus, the main purpose the objectives, emanating from science-based insights,
in the policymaking sphere is to create an effective, efficient and economic
public policies that are needed to be supported by political actors so as to be
legitimized and universally applied to all inhabitants within the jurisdiction of
the government.
Horizontal and vertical coordination of policies are a component of policy-
responses to an accelerating pace of change and heightened levels of complexity
in economic, and environmental issues to be addressed (Gløersen &
Michelet, 2014). Motsi (2009) states that present-day, horizontal policymaking
and implementation is essential since gradually multifaceted difficulties are
traversing between the boundaries of government sector and other sectors of
society, yet, it is difficult to do satisfactorily due to robust vertical lines of
accountability, and more importantly, it requires a great deal of resources and
political commitment. Horizontal policymaking is a more democratic process
with regard to formulation since several parties can be involved, however,
numerous parties control the key so as to realize their goals. Thus, vertical
policymaking is the traditional method since decisions are made at head office.

Public policies ought to be validated by the government body concerned so as

to be applied in the society. Public sector in decision making is typically more
open, transparent and structured (Dillon et al., 2010). Thus, public sector
institutions are essential to the public policy making process (Gumede, 2008).

The Philippine government so as to prevent the concentration of power, as

provided in Articles VI, VII and VIII of the Philippine Constitution, divides
itself into three branches: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. These three
branches have their own particular functions and powers. Institutional
relationships between branches of government contribute to the context of
public policy.

With regard to public policy, vertical policymaking outshines horizontal

policymaking since the former is the traditional method because of the resources
and political accountability it can provide, in addition, decisions are made at
head office, which is more convenient in terms of decision making. However,
for policy to shape into a public policy it ought to be legitimized by the
government body concerned so as to be universally applied, thus it will be fully
scrutinized prior to implementation.
Interest groups are labelled as any association of organizations and individuals
that on the foundation of one or more common concerns, challenge to influence
public policy in its favor typically by lobbying members of the government
(Martini, 2012). However, With the purpose of gauging the influence level in
policy process, to define interest groups in conjunction with the diverse group
types and nature of their interests is crucial. According to Beyers et al. (2008)
three features must be specified: First, organization, which relates to the nature
of the group and excludes unorganized broad movements and waves of public
opinion. Second, political interest, which refers to the attempts of these
organizations to influence policy outcomes. And third, informality, which
relates to the fact that interest groups do usually not pursue public office or
contest in elections but persistently follow their goals through frequent informal
interactions with politicians.

Direct communication with government officials, participation in public

hearings, drafting reports to member of the government on specific policy
issues, as well as through media comment are attempts to influence policy-
making (Chari, Hogan; Murphy, 2010). Thus, unofficial actors such as private
organizations and individuals, with common concerns, have the ability to
influence policymaking in accordance to their common interests.

Dur (2008) stated that interest groups can influence some stages of
policymaking process such as agenda setting by virtue of attempting to
influence decision-makers, their final decisions, and even the implemented
decisions. However, the attempts exerted by interest groups with regard to
influencing policymaking is not a corrupt or illicit action per se, but a key
component of the decision-making process (Zinnbauer, 2009). The attempts of
interest groups in policymaking demonstrate private sector participation, which
is needed so as to highlight the importance of balance between their function as
a private entity and public policy.
In policymaking arena, the private sector, specifically the association of
organizations and individuals with common goals, influence the process in
policymaking, and their attempts signify that they are demonstrating private
sector participation. In addition, public sector is undeniably susceptible to the
attempts due to the private sectors mechanisms, strategies and political power.

A great deal of policy analyses, which are beneficial to the society, must be
forwarded by interest groups in policymaking process so as to generate a sound
and effective policy. However, interest groups may adopt a manipulated
analysis that will only favor their interest, disregarding the inhabitants in the
society.

Moreover, public and private sectors unquestionably play a vital role in our
society since they are the key players in the process, however, interest groups
greatly influence the decisions in policymaking, as a result, the implemented
polices are advantageous to their common goals. Thus, it implies that the
unofficial actors are more powerful than the public sector with respect to the
formulation and implementation of policies. However, the bargaining power
between public and private sectors translates a vital part in policymaking
process since it will highlight the interest, influence and power struggle that will
determine the outcome of the policy so as to be keenly monitored throughout
the process.

It is impossible to expunge the practices executed by the private sector from the
policymaking process since influencing is not an illegal action, thus, all actors,
specifically the private and public entities, with respect to policymaking ought
to have a valid and credible policy analysis so as to ensure the effectiveness and
efficiency of the policy will be carried out in assisting the community.
Conclusion:

For effective, economic and efficient public policy to be created, foreseeing the
possible socio-economic and environmental issues ought to be done since state
of readiness is needed so as to execute a swift response, thus anticipation of the
inhabitants’ implied needs must take precedence so as to formulate and
implement policies that provide desirable programs, which are panaceas for the
foreseen possible issues. In addition, for policy to shape into a public policy it
ought to be legitimized by the government body concerned so as to be
universally applied, thus it will be fully scrutinized prior to implementation. In
policymaking arena, the private sector, specifically the association of
organizations and individuals with common goals, influence the process in
policymaking, and their attempts signify that they are demonstrating private
sector participation. Thus, public and private sectors unquestionably play a vital
role in our society since they are the key players in the process since it is
impossible to expunge the practices executed by the private sector from the
policymaking process.
References:

Andy Constantin LEOVEANU (2013). "RATIONALIST MODEL IN PUBLIC DECISION

MAKING."

Beyers et al. (2008). "Researching Interest Group Politics in Europe and Elsewhere."

Chari et al. (2010). "Regulating Lobbying: A Global Comparison."

Cochran and Malone (2014). "Public Policy: Perspectives and Choices FIFTH EDITION
".

D. Zinnbauer (2009). "The role of investors in strengthening corporate integrity and

responsibility in Global Corruption Report: Corruption and the Private Sector."

Dillon et al. (2010). "Comparing Public and Private Sector Decision Making: Problem
Structuring and Information Quality Issues."

Gløersen and Michelet (2014). "Experiences and concepts on vertical and horizontal
coordination for regional development policy."

Gumede. V (2008). " Public policy making in a post-apartheid South Africa: A

preliminary perspective." International Journal of Humanities and Social Science.

M. Martini (2012). "Influence of interest groups on policy-making."

Motsi, G. (2009). "Two Key Questions For Horizontal Policy Making &
Implementation."