Sangguniang Bayan
The Sangguniang Bayan is the legislature of municipal governments in the Philippines. It passes ordinances and resolutions for the effective administration of the municipality. Its powers are defined by the Local Government Code of 1991.
The
municipal Vice Mayor serves as the presiding officer of the Sagguniang Bayan,
who has no voting privilege except in cases to break a deadlock. In the absence
of the vice mayor, a temporary presiding officer is elected by the Sangguniang
Bayan members or councilors present at the session.
Members
All municipalities in the Philippines,
with the exception of Pateros in Metro Manila, have eight regular members or councilors
elected at-large. In the case of Pateros, its Sangguniang Bayan is composed of
twelve elected councilors, wherein six are elected from each of the two
districts Pateros is divided into.
There are also two ex-officio
councilors — the municipal chapter presidents of the Liga ng mga Barangay and
Pederasyon ng Sangguniang Kabataan.
The Local Government Code provides
for an additional three sectoral representatives representing: women, laborers,
and any of the urban poor, indigenous cultural communities, disabled persons or
another sector that may be identified by the Sangguniang Bayan; however, this
provision still has to be implemented.
Term, Qualification and Election
Elected or regular members of the
Sangguniang Bayan must at least be 18 years old on election day; the
first-past-the-post voting system is used to elect these members. They are
elected for a three-year term and may serve up to three consecutive terms.
Elections are held simultaneously with the general elections held every three
years since 1992. The term begins at noon of June 30 following election day,
and ends at noon of June 30 of the third year.
Similar to other local officials in
the Philippines, recall elections may be initiated by at least 25 percent of
registered voters in the municipality against any regular Sangguniang Bayan
member should they lose confindence with any of them.
Vacancy
A permanent vacancy among the regular
Sagguniang Bayan members is filled-in by an appointment of the governor of the
province the municipality is a part of. However, such authority to appoint is
restricted only to the nominee of the political party to which the member who
caused the vacancy belongs; should the member be politically unaffiliated, the
Sangguniang Bayan then nominates a qualified individual to fill-in the vacant
position. Appointees are also limited to serve only the unexpired term.
In the case of vacancies among
ex-officio members the next ranking official of the Liga ng mga Barangay or
Pederasyon ng Sangguniang Kabataan assumes the vacancy.
Legislation
An ordinance passed by the
Sangguniang Bayan is sent to the municipal mayor for approval. Once approved,
it is transmitted to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of the province to which the
municipality belongs, for compliance review. Since Pateros is not part of any
province, any ordinance or measure it adopts is not subjected to any
Sangguniang Panlalawigan review.
On the other hand, when the mayor
vetoes an ordinance, it is sent back to the Sangguniang Bayan to reconsider the
objections; however the Sangguniang Bayan may override such veto by a
two-thirds vote of all its members which renders the measure's approval. With
regard to ordinances pertaining to appropriations; or resolutions for payments
of money, the adoption of local development plans or public investment
programs, or the creation of liabilities, the mayor may just veto particular
items in it. Any veto action must be communicated with the Sangguniang Bayan
within ten days otherwise the ordinance is considered approved.
The Sangguniang Panlalawigan may
declare an ordinance or portions of it invalid should it be found to be
inconsistent with existing laws, or it goes beyond the authority the
Sangguniang Bayan may actually exercise. But if no action is taken by the
Sangguniang Panlalawigan within 30 days, it is presumed to be compliant and
deemed valid.
