This study aimed to reveal the public leadership behavior of supervisors and professional commitment of employees: mediating role of work engagement of employees of local government unit. Utilizing the non-experimental quantitative research design employing correlation technique of research and mediation analysis for an in-depth analysis of the study, the researcher utilized adapted questionnaires to three hundred ten employees of local government unit of province of Davao Oriental, Philippines, in the school year 2022-2023. Mean, Pearson r and Path Analysis were the statistical tools used. The results revealed that public leadership behavior of supervisors had a very high extent in all indicators and the professional commitment had high mean level. Whereas, the work engagement had a high mean rating. Furthermore, findings revealed that public leadership behavior and work engagement showed significant relationships, work engagement and professional commitment and public leadership behavior and professional commitment. Utilizing the path analysis, the results of the study revealed partial mediating effect of work engagement on the relationship between public leadership behavior and professional commitment. This implies that the mediating role played by work engagement of government employees partially assisted in clarifying the process that was responsible for the relationship between public leadership behavior and professional commitment.

Keywords : Public administration, work engagement, public leadership behavior and professional commitment., Philippines.