Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is local legislation?

Local legislation can be understood in two ways: as power and as a process.
Local Legislation as power - Local legislation refers to the power of a local
legislative body to make rules in the form of ordinances and resolutions of
local application that have the force and efect of law.
Local Legislation as a process - Local legislation is the interaction of the local
legislative body with the executive branch, civil society including
constituents, nongovernmental organizations and the private sector resulting
in ordinances and resolutions that promote the development of a local
government unit L!"#. $he products or outputs of this interaction are
ordinances and resolutions.
2. Why is local legislation important?
Local legislation is important because it is a powerful, vital tool for:
addressing the problems of the citizens of the L!"
promoting the general welfare and development of the L!" and its
citizens
attaining the vision of the L!" for its citizens
3. Who makes local legislation?
Local legislation is a participatory process. %t ac&uires legitimacy and social
acceptability though the involvement of stakeholders in the L!". %n this
context, stakeholders are groups, organizations and individuals who have a
'stake( in or whose interests will be afected by the process of making laws or
policies. Local legislation is made by key stakeholders in the L!":
the sanggunian or local legislative body
the local chief executive, including local government executives
the constituents
the civil society organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and
people(s organizations
the private sector and other interest groups
Legislative authority at the local level is vested in the sanggunian or the local
legislative body. $he sanggunian is a collegial body, composed of a group of
individuals elected to represent the people(s interests. %t has the power to
enact ordinances, approve resolutions, and appropriate funds for the welfare
of the L!" and its inhabitants.
$he )**) Local !overnment!overnment +ode vests legislative power to the
sanggunian at diferent levels of local government:
,angguniang -anlawigan for provinces
,angguniang .ayan for municipalities
,angguniang -anlungsod for cities
,angguniang .arangay for barangays
%n the autonomous regions of the country, legislation is made by the regional
legislative assemblies, e.g. /egional Legislative 0ssembly of the 0utonomous
/egion in 1uslim 1indanao.
4. What is efectie local legislation?
2fective local legislation is a collective and participatory process. %t refers to
the interaction o! the sanggunian or local legislatie "ody #ith the
e$ecutie "ranch and ciil society resulting in legislatie actions
that promote the deelopment o"%ecties o! the &'(.
+ivil society includes the private sector, nongovernmental organizations
3!4s#, people(s organizations -4s#, civil society organizations +,4s#, and
constituents. $he participation of these individuals and groups is essential to
ensure the legitimacy and social acceptability of ordinances and resolutions
enacted.
$o be efective, local legislation re&uires three elements:
0. %nstitutional e5ciency
$he sanggunian is a public institution. Like any other organization, it must
have e5cient structures and systems. %t must have people who can do their
6obs well because they know their roles and functions. 0n e5cient legislative
organization must have the following:
organizational structure
rules of procedure
legislative leadership
legislative committees
legislative support system, and
mechanism for legislative-executive coordination
$he presence of ade&uate and functioning structures and systems make the
legislation process or cycle e5cient and open to participation from
stakeholders outside the legislative organization. 7or instance, ordinances
cannot be enacted without rules of procedure8 or thesubstance of draft
ordinances cannot be enhanced by 3!4s without sanggunian committees to
get their views and perspectives.
0s an institution tasked to carry out a public mandate, the sanggunian must
have a clear understanding of the vision and mission of the L!" unit to which
it belongs. 0s well, its work must be guided by a clear process that de9nes
the role of diferent stakeholders in each stage or phase.
.. Local legislation cycle or process
Legislative 0genda 7ormulation
+rafting of 4rdinances and /esolutions
2nactment of 4rdinances and +odes of 4rdinances
2valuation of the %mplementation of 4rdinances
0t each phase, various stakeholders in the L!" interact with the sanggunian
to ensure that measures produced address the development ob6ectives of
the L!".
+. :evelopment
:evelopment is a goal and an end of local legislation. :evelopment is the
sustained capacity to achieve a better life. 7or a nation or community, having
a better life means that citizens have a higher life expectancy and en6oy a
higher &uality of life regardless of age, sex, gender, religion or ethnicity.
;uality of life involves: a# the capacity to do, and b# the capacity to be.
"nderlying these capacities is the freedom of choice. <ence, development is
also about expanding the range of choices of people.
Local legislation is considered an efective tool for good governance and
results in ordinances and resolutions that enable citizens to achieve a better
life or development. Local legislation is efective if it contributes to the
attainment of the community(s shared vision and results in poverty
reduction, gender e&uality, environmental protection, peace and unity,
accountability and transparency of local o5cials, and active participation of
citizens in social, economic and political transformation.
). What is a legislator?
0 local legislator or sanggunian member is generally understood to be:
a lawmaker or a person who makes laws, and
a member of a local legislative body with the power to make laws.
<owever, the local legislator is more than a lawmaker. <e or she =wears
many hats> or in other words is expected to perform a variety of roles in the
community ? as a leader, overseer, facilitator and institution builder, among
others.
*. What does it really mean to make la#s?
$he power to make laws or legislative power means three things: political
power, police power and taxing power.
+olitical po#er is the power to enact laws providing for the
establishment, organization and operation of the local government.
+olice po#er is the essence of what government does8 it is the power
to enact laws to promote peace, health, safety and welfare.
,a$ing po#er is the duty to levy and collect taxes to raise revenue to
pay for government operations, including salaries of local government
o5cials and personnel.
-. What are .nternal /ules o! +rocedure?
4rder is essential to the successful conduct of business of deliberative
bodies. 7or the sanggunian, order can be achieved by implementing a set of
rules agreed upon by all members, known as the %nternal /ules of -rocedure.
$hese rules allow for the orderly conduct of deliberations as well as
formulation and approval of decisions. $hese rules enable sanggunian
members to articulate their thoughts, reconcile con@icts and diferences,
determine the will of the ma6ority, and take action.
.nternal /ules o! +rocedures 0./+1
0 document containing a set of procedural rules that governs the
orderly transaction of business and de9ning the duties and
responsibilities of the o5cers during the conduct of meetings.
1ust be adopted by the sanggunian in the 9rst regular session
following the election of the members of the sanggunian and within *A
days thereafter.
$here are 9ve principles to consider in the implementation of the %/-. $hese
are:
). courtesy and 6ustice to all
B. consider one topic at a time
C. the ma6ority rules
D. the minority has a right to be heard
E. fairness to all and partiality to no one
0n important element of the %/- is parliamentary procedure or the manner of
conducting business in a deliberative body. %t ensures orderly discussion and
decision-making in the sanggunian through the use of motion.
0 motion refers to a proposal of a member of the sanggunian for
consideration of the body. $o understand the types of motions and how to
use them, the sanggunian may use as reference /everendo :ihan(s
<andbook on Local Legislation )**F#.
2. What is a &egislatie Agenda?
0 key indicator of efective local legislation is the capacity of local legislators
to analyze the problems and concerns of the community, aggregate these,
and focus eforts to address them in the context of available resources of the
community towards local development. $his is essentially what formulating a
legislative agenda is about.
0 legislatie agenda 0&A1:
is a package of priority legislative measures designed to support local
development priorities, particularly those de9ned in the executive-
legislative agenda 2L0#.
serves as the road map to guide the sanggunian in identifying,
analyzing and formulating solutions to problems and issues re&uiring
public policy action.
is a list of prioritized ordinances and resolutions for enactment during a
speci9ed period, usually three years, contributing to the attainment of
the L!" vision and mission.
$he L0 is a tool for ful9lling the sanggunian members( mandate as elected
representatives of the people and is useful for:
organizing and prioritizing the work of the sanggunian
ensuring convergence of the L0 and 2L0
setting clear performance targets of the sanggunian
educating the people on the work of the sanggunian
assessing the performance of the sanggunian
3. What is the diference "et#een an ordinance and a resolution?
0n ordinance is a local law that prescribes rules of conduct of a general,
permanent character. %t continues to be in force until repealed or superseded
by a subse&uent enactment of the local legislative body.
0 resolution is a mere expression of the opinion or sentiment of the local
legislative body on matters relating to proprietary function and to private
concerns. %t is temporary in character.
14. What are 5ommittees?
$o get work done in an e5cient and timely manner, the sanggunian must
organize itself into work groups or committees.
&egislatie 5ommittee is a group tasked by the body or assembly to
consider, or investigate, or take action in regard to, certain matters or
sub6ects of public interest.
6tanding or +ermanent 5ommittees are tasked or assigned a
continuing function and usually remain 'standing( or existing co-
terminus with the life of the body that created them. $hese
committees are created for the purpose of:
). ordinance or resolution sponsorship
B. undertaking public hearings on proposed measures in aid of
legislation
C. legislative review and referrals
6pecial or Ad7hoc 5ommittees are created to perform an ad-hoc or
speci9c task that does not fall within the 6urisdiction of a standing
committee. $hey cease to exist upon completion of its assigned task.
11. What is 5odi8cation?
+odi9cation is the process of collecting, classifying and supplementing the
ordinances of a local government unit. %t is a complete and systematic
process in the sense that the end product is a new enactment ? a code.
$his code when 9nally adopted by the sanggunian embodies all the
ordinances, past and present, and future of the local government unit and is
therefore the repository of the body of rules and regulations which lay down
policies and institute guidelines for proper enforcement of these rules.
12. What are the steps in codi8cation?
5ompilation - $he gathering and collating of all existing ordinances of
a province cityGmunicipality. $he 9les in the secretary(s and
governor(sGmayor(s o5ces should be the best source of these
ordinances. 4ther possible sources of ordinances which are kept on 9le
are in the o5ces of the treasurer, the 9scal, health o5ce, and the
provincial sanggunian in the case of cities or municipalities.
&isting - 0 listing of ordinances follows the compilation. $his listing will
inform the codi9er and his staf what ordinances are )# missing B#
amended C# repealed or D# obsolete. %t is important that all
ordinances of the province, municipality or city should be accounted
for in the process of the listing.
5lassi!ying - +lassi9cation is the process by which the ordinances are
categorized according to the sub6ects treated in the ordinance. $his is
the 9rst step toward grouping ordinances under the same or similar
sub6ects for eventual assignment to speci9c chapters in the code.
/eision ? $he provision of the ordinance should be reviewed for
de9ciencies, languages and applicability with the end in view of
making the language of the provisions to be included in the proposed
code to be as simple, clear and accurate as possible. /evision is the re-
examination of the provisions of an ordinance and to restate the
provisions in a correct and improved form. %t includes the weeding out
of obsolete or inactive provisions in the existing ordinance.
6upplementation ? ,upplementation takes place after the code has
been 9nally drafted and enacted by the sanggunian. ,upplementation
of the code is made through ordinances of the sanggunian intended to
supply a de9ciency in an existing provision, or add, amend or modify
such provision.
13. Why do #e need to codi!y?
$here are many compelling reasons to codify, some of which are:
Ful8ll a community o"ligation. %t is the duty of every province, city,
municipality or even barangay to maintain its laws in a comprehensive,
up-to-date and understandable form in a location that the average
citizen can 9nd and use.
Aoid con!usion and ensure accurate interpretation..y
compiling our basic ordinances and all amendments into one up-to-
date document, we eliminate the need to refer to many separate
documents. $he most current information will be easily accessible.
9liminate hours o! !rustrating research. 0 +ode is a single reliable
resource for our elected and appointed o5cials, enabling them to
respond accurately to &uestions and provide certi9ed copies &uickly
and e5ciently.
6upport en!orcement. 0 +ode is a practical and e5cient tool for our
courts, police authorities and other enforcement o5cials, enabling
them to enforce our laws with con9dence and consistency.
+lan !or the !uture. 0 +ode provides a clear view of existing
situations and makes it easier to determine the impact of proposed
changes and amendments.
14. What are some e$amples o! a codi8cation?
$he 9rst civilization to codify its laws was ancient .abylon. $he 9rst real set
of codi9ed laws, the +ode of <ammurabi, was compiled circa )HIA .+ by the
.abylonian king <ammurabi, and is the earliest known civil code.
.esides religious laws such as the $orah, important codi9cations were
developed in the ancient /oman 2mpire, with the compilations of the Lex
:uodecim $abularum and much later the +orpus %uris +ivilis. $hese codi9ed
laws were the exceptions rather than the rule, however, as during much of
the ancient /oman laws were left mostly uncodi9ed.
$he 9rst permanent system of codi9ed laws could be found in +hina, with the
compilation of the $ang +ode in +2 IBD. $his formed the basis of the +hinese
criminal code, which was then replaced by the !reat ;ing Legal +ode, which
was in turn abolished in )*)B following the Jinhai /evolution and the
establishment of the /epublic of +hina. $he new laws of the /epublic of
+hina were inspired by the !erman codi9ed work, the .Krgerliches
!esetzbuch.L)M 0 very in@uential example in 2urope was the 7rench
3apoleonic code of )FAD.
0nother early system of laws is <indu law framed by 1anu and called as
1anu ,mriti. $he use of civil codes in %slamic ,haria law began with the
4ttoman 2mpire.
)
%n our modern times, almost all existing governments have their own
codi9cations or set of laws codi9ed such as: +ivil +ode, Labor +ode,
0dministrative +ode, /evenue, 2nvironmental +ode, etc.
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Reference:
a# Local Legislators( $oolkit prepared by the -hilippines-+anada Local
!overnment ,upport -rogram L!,-#
b# !uide on Local Legislation, published by the Local !overnment
:evelopment 7oundation, )**F
7or a deeper and broader understanding about local legislation, click the link
below:
Local LegislatorsO Pit