Syntactic Patterns in 2023 Local Government Executive Orders: A Philippine English Perspective

This study examines the syntactic structures in selected Local Government Unit (LGU) Executive Orders issued in 2023 and explores how these structures reflect Philippine English in local government documents. Anchored in Koopman’s framework of syntactic analysis, the study uses a qualitative descriptive approach to examine five digitally archived LGU Executive Orders. The analysis focuses on the syntactic structures present in the documents, particularly declarative clauses, modal verbs, passive constructions, extended determiner phrases, and other constituent structures. The findings show that the selected Executive Orders commonly use declarative structures, modal verbs such as 'shall' and 'must,' passive constructions, and extended noun phrases. These structures contribute to the documents' formal and authoritative nature by articulating administrative requirements, obligations, and actions. The analysis also shows that some of the observed syntactic patterns are consistent with previously documented features of Philippine English, particularly in the use of formal and structurally conservative forms. However, the findings are limited to the five selected Executive Orders and therefore do not represent Philippine English as a whole. Instead, the study provides a descriptive account of the syntactic patterns found in the selected local government documents and shows how these structures function within formal bureaucratic discourse. Overall, the study highlights the role of syntax in constructing authority and obligation in LGU Executive Orders while providing an initial examination of Philippine English in local government documents.