SANGGUNIANG

BAYAN OF

NAAWAN,

MISAMIS ORIENTALPat Ray M. Dagapioso

February 19, 2010CASS Accreditation Room

What is this talk all about?

• A. Vision• B. Mission• C. Functions of the SB• D. Observation• E. Problems with the SB• F. Recommendations

Vision

• Naawan is envisioned to become a haven for environmentally friendly agro-based light industries, a leading producer of agricultural products, a manpower development center in the CIC area based on sustainable utilization of resources and attainment of peaceful residential refuge, just and harmonious community.

Mission

• Naawan shall embark on an accelerated development programs that will exhibit political, economic and social stability of the municipality through effective delivery of services; greater community and private sector participation, and equity.

Sangguniang Bayan of Naawan

• What is a Sangguniang Bayan?• Is a collegial body and a local

legislative body. • Its primary function is legislation. • SB legislates ordinances and

resolutions.

Composition

• SB of Naawan is composed of 10 elected officials. One Vice Mayor, eight councilors, one Sangguniang Kabataan Federated Chair, and one President of the Municipal Chapter of the Liga ng mga Barangay.

• The SB Office is headed by the Sangguniang Secretary, which is my boss at the office.

Fig. 1. The Sangguniang Bayan of Naawan in

Session.

Functions of the SB

• The Local Government Code of 1991, RA 7160, listed the dual functions of the SB.

• These are: A. Local Legislative Functions and B. Quasi-Judicial Functions.

Legislative Powers

• The SB is given 68 legislative powers, duties and functions by the Local Government Code.

• The most important of which is: ‘1. The Sangguniang Bayan, … shall enact ordinances, approve resolutions and appropriate funds for the general welfare of the Municipality…’

Other Legislative Powers

• ‘4. Maintain peace and order by enacting measures to prevent and suppress lawlessness…’

• ’22. Prescribe reasonable limits and restraints on the use of property within jurisdiction of the Municipality.’

• ‘5o. Approve ordinances which shall ensure the efficient and effective delivery of the basic services and facilities…’

Other Legislative Powers

’30. Regulate the numbering of residential, commerical and other buildings.’

• ’43. Regulate the disposal of clinical and other wastes from hospitals, clinics and other similar establishments.’

• ’53. Authorize establishment… of marine and seashore or offshore activities intended to accelerate productivity’

Passing An Ordinance

• A.     First Reading:  1.      The secretary shall read only the title of the proposed ordinance introduced and the name of the author/s.– 2.      The presiding officer shall refer the

proposed ordinance to the proper committees/s of the author/s.

•  B.     Second Reading:  1.      On the day of the consideration of the proposed ordinance, the secretary shall read the same in full, together with all the amendments as the committee/s concerned may have proposed.– 2.      The proposed ordinance shall

thereafter be opened for public hearing, if necessary, debate, discussion, amendment and all proper parliamentary motions.

Passing An Ordinance

• C.     Third Reading:  1.      After the termination of the debate or discussion on the proposed ordinance its title shall be read and the Sangguniang Panlungsod shall then proceed to vote finally on it.– 2.      The second and third reading may be

done, if practicable, on the same day or session, at the body’s discretion.

– 3.      An ordinance may be recommitted at anytime previous to its final passage.

Approval of an Ordinance

• a.       Every ordinance and all resolutions directing the payment of money or creating liability enacted or adopted by the Sanggunian shall be signed first by the Presiding Officer before the same shall be presented to the City Mayor for his approval, who shall return the same within ten (10) from receipt thereof with his approval or veto.  If the City Mayor does not return it within the said period, the ordinance or resolution shall be deemed approved as if he had signed it.

Observations

• 1. The Sangguniang Bayan Office houses the ordinances and resolutions passed by the Sanggunian through the years up to the present.

• 2. The researchers job there is to store digital copies of resolutions from 1990s to the present.

Observations

• 3. Part of the researcher’s job is to photocopy original documents submitted by all the departments of the Municipality. This includes letters, entry forms, notices, and department reports.

Observations

• 4. The SB Office has two employees working on it, the SB Secretary and the SB clerk. Practically the SB Secretary holds the records of the SB in session, and he is the one who writes and formulates the wordings of the ordinances and resolutions enacted. The SB clerk, helps in encoding, photocopying and preparing snacks and drinks for every session.

Observations

• 5. Mondays are session days. The office is busy preparing snacks and drinks for the SB Members. The SB members are accommodating and are friendly, but some don’t just come on time.

• 6. The SB office is a truly public office. Every person, relatives of employees try to use the office’s resources to their benefits as much as they could, i.e., photocopying documents that are not really office works (e.g. school projects, TORs). This may in some sense mean abuse of government resources.

Observations

• 7. The SB office work is not as competitive or as challenging as other departments, as opposed to the Audit or the Treasury Department. The work consists of only encoding, sorting of files, and photocopying. The toughest job on the SB may have been the washing of the dishes after every SB luncheons.

Observations

• 8. As some of the members of the SB comes late, the SB secretary and the SB clerk comes on time. Though, in most often cases, the SB secretary leaves work before the time.

• 9. The SB secretary’s salary is higher than most SB members and even higher than the Vice Mayor’s. This can be attributed to his longevity (16 years) in the profession.

Observations

• 10. Many Resolutions are passed, compared to Ordinances. This is so because resolutions are temporary in character and are just merely a declaration of sentiments of the body, while and ordinance is a law, and is rather permanent.

Problems

• The researcher encountered no serious problem in his conduct and in his job in the SB.

• The working relationship with the researcher and the SB staff is most often cordial (see image).

• The problems presented here then are the problems encountered by the SB staff through the years.

Problems

• 1. Political-in-Nature

• SB Secretary Mr. Victorino Baslot (right, white shirt) attributes one of the problems of the SB with the interplay of politics.

• A. First case. Mr. Baslot attributes the stalled ordinances to the political bickering of political opponents.

Problems

• A. If the mayor belongs to an opposite party, and majority of the SB members are of the opposing party, there is a high possibility that a certain ordinance that a mayor endorses or favors may not be enacted by the Sanggunian. This may result into an important ordinance rot in the pages of uncertainty. Mr. Baslot refers this page in Naawan history, when Mayor E. Niere was in office and the SB was headed by the now Mayor D. Roa, of which both belongs to opposing parties.

Problems

• B. Appropriation of the budget. When in the same case, most of the SB members are not in good terms with the mayor, and the SB is about to approve the budget of the municipality, then it will result to no newly approved budget appropriations.

• How will this be remedied? Mr. Baslot answered that the SB will resort to ‘status quo’. This means that the previous years appropriation will be used for the incoming year.

Problems

• C. Ordinances and Resolutions. Is the SB aware of the ordinances’ performance after being enacted? Mr. Baslot offered a yes answer. He adds that some were effective. But he also then interrupted that some were not. In an apologetic sense, Mr. Baslot points out that it is of the Local Chief Executive to implement the laws. Though, the SB has oversight functions, he merely laughs it off.

Problems

• D. Attendance of the SB Members. The researcher found out that some SB members comes late during sessions. And one SB member who is suffering from stroke, doesn’t regularly come to sessions. But Mr. Baslot quickly refuted that attendance of the SB members are not that a big issue. And he also adds that a quorum is always observed during SB sessions.

Problems

• E. Corruption.• Mr. Baslot hesitates to give a

perspective comment about this topic. Though he was kind to say that in theory, the Commission on Audit is there to check how the flow of money and resources is being done. And adds that it is hard to get passed by the intricate procedures within the COA.

Problems

• F. First Time SB Councilors. Mr. Baslot notes that new SB councilors are sometimes present a ‘challenge’ to the working relationship with him and other long term-er councilors. Though the DILG gives a seminar in July after the councilors receive their posts, Mr. Baslot points out that it takes months for these new councilors to adjust to the working conditions in the SB. Mr. Baslot also points out that he being a subordinate of the SB Members (though he owns more cash than they do), he transitions himself to better work harmoniously with the new Sb members, rather than the other way around.

Problems

• G. Education of the SB Members.• As the parliamentary procedures observed are in

English, SB members are required to speak on it too. But Mr. Baslot, points out that there are some SB members who has not even finished high school (no statistics offered), would really have a hard time catching up in the debates in the session. Mr. Baslot jokingly offers an incident, of which one SB member not realizing how the English discussion goes, raised late his hand after realizing that most of his contemporaries raised their hands earlier. This could mean the unproductivity of a an Sb member in the chamber.

Recommendations

• These are some of the recommendations the researcher would like to share to make the agency more productive and competitive.

Recommendations• 1. More qualification requirements for SB

Members.• Though the constitution only assigns, ‘read and write’ as

the basic qualification requirements for public elected officials, it is of a fact that candidates for elections includes who can ‘read and write’ but not that well. Officials who can read and write but not that well, may just become political wallflowers, sitting in the bench, waiting for snacks, copying other Sb members’ actions (whether ruight or wrong), and practically do nothing productive. The researcher recommends, though far fetched, but still is a good idea to include college degree as a barometer for public officials. This assures us that the people who works for our benefits and safety are the people we know has the knowledge and skills to make our lives better.

Recommendations

• 2. Capability Enhancing Seminar.• The DILG holds a seminar weeks after the

SB members are sworn into office. But Mr. Baslot hinted that the skills of SB members, especially the new ones are not par with the veterans in the job. Thus, a continuing, comprehensive, and intensive capability enhancing seminar shall be initiated to further improve the abilities of the SB members in crafting their legislative skills.

Recommendations• 3. Promotion of Transparency.• As the people become enlightened and

are wanting more transparency from the local leaders up to the national leaders, it is of utmost importance that the working in the local legislative body be seen in the public and be open for transparency, as what the constitution mandates it to be. It is then recommended to shift back to the televised SB sessions done in the first 3 years in the last decade. The televised SB sessions would give Naawan-ons a glimpse of how the laws that affects them are crafted and in so doing share their inputs and reactions regarding the things that affects them dearly.

Thank You!

Ajde!

Vamos!

Allez!