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 effect 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 (LGU). The products or outputs of this
Why is local
interaction legislationand
are ordinances important?
resolutions.
Local legislation is important because it is a powerful, vital tool for:
addressing the problems of the citizens of the LGU
promoting the general welfare and development of the LGU and its
citizens
attaining the vision of the LGU for its citizens
 Who makes local legislation?

Local legislation is a participatory process. It acquires legitimacy and social acceptability

though the involvement of stakeholders in the LGU. In this context, stakeholders are groups,
organizations and individuals who have astakein or whose interests will be affected by the
process of making laws or policies. Local legislation is made by key stakeholders in the LGU:
the sanggunian or local legislative body
the local chief executive, including local government executives
the constituents
the civil society organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and peoples organizations
the private sector and other interest groups
Legislative authority at the local level is vested in the sanggunian or the local legislative
body. The sanggunian is a collegial body, composed of a group of individuals elected to
represent the peoples interests. It has the power to enact ordinances, approve resolutions,
and appropriate funds for the welfare of the LGU and its inhabitants.
The 1991 Local GovernmentGovernment Code vests legislative power to the sanggunian at
different levels of local government:
Sangguniang Panlawigan for provinces
Sangguniang Bayan for municipalities
Sangguniang Panlungsod for cities
Sangguniang Barangay for barangays
In the autonomous regions of the country, legislation is made by the regional legislative
assemblies, e.g. Regional Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
 What is effective local legislation?

Effective local legislation is a collective and participatory process. It refers to theinteraction of the sanggunian or local legislative body
with the executive branch and civil society resulting in legislative actions that promote the development objectives of the LGU.
Civil society includes the private sector, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), peoples organizations (POs), civil society organizations
(CSOs), and constituents. The participation of these individuals and groups is essential to ensure the legitimacy and social acceptability of
ordinances and resolutions enacted.
To be effective, local legislation requires three elements:
A. Institutional efficiency
The sanggunian is a public institution. Like any other organization, it must have efficient structures and systems. It must have people who
can do their jobs well because they know their roles and functions. An efficient legislative organization must have the following:
organizational structure
rules of procedure
legislative leadership
legislative committees
legislative support system, and
mechanism for legislative-executive coordination
The presence of adequate and functioning structures and systems make the legislation process or cycle efficient and open to participation
from stakeholders outside the legislative organization. For instance, ordinances cannot be enacted without rules of procedure; or
thesubstance of draft ordinances cannot be enhanced by NGOs without sanggunian committees to get their views and perspectives.
 Local legislation cycle or process

Legislative Agenda Formulation

Crafting of Ordinances and Resolutions
Enactment of Ordinances and Codes of Ordinances
Evaluation of the Implementation of Ordinances
At each phase, various stakeholders in the LGU interact with the sanggunian to
ensure that measures produced address the development objectives of the LGU.
 Development

Development is a goal and an end of local legislation. Development is

the sustained capacity to achieve a better life. For a nation or
community, having a better life means that citizens have a higher life
expectancy and enjoy a higher quality of life regardless of age, sex,
gender, religion or ethnicity. Quality of life involves: a) the capacity to
do, and b) the capacity to be. Underlying these capacities is the
freedom of choice. Hence, development is also about expanding the
range of choices of people.
Local legislation is considered an effective tool for good governance and
results in ordinances and resolutions that enable citizens to achieve a
better life or development. Local legislation is effective if it contributes
to the attainment of the communitys shared vision and results in
poverty reduction, gender equality, environmental protection, peace
and unity, accountability and transparency of local officials, and active
participation of citizens in social, economic and political
transformation.
 What is a legislator?

A 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.
However, the local legislator is more than a lawmaker. He or
shewears many hatsor in other words is expected to perform a
variety of roles in the communityas a leader, overseer, facilitator
and institution builder, among others.
 What does it really mean to make laws?

The power to make laws or legislative power means three things: political
power, police power and taxing power.
Political poweris the power to enact laws providing for the establishment,
organization and operation of the local government.
Police poweris the essence of what government does; it is the power to
enact laws to promote peace, health, safety and welfare.
Taxing poweris the duty to levy and collect taxes to raise revenue to pay for
government operations, including salaries of local government officials and
personnel.
 legislative agenda (LA):

A key indicator of effective local legislation is the capacity of local legislators to analyze the
problems and concerns of the community, aggregate these, and focus efforts to address them
in the context of available resources of the community towards local development. This is
essentially what formulating a legislative agenda is about.

is a package of priority legislative measures designed to support local development priorities, particularly those defined in the
executive-legislative agenda (ELA).
serves as theroad mapto guide the sanggunian in identifying, analyzing and formulating solutions to problems and issues
requiring public policy action.
is a list of prioritized ordinances and resolutions for enactment during a specified period, usually three years, contributing to
the attainment of the LGU vision and mission.
The LA is a tool for fulfilling the sanggunian membersmandate as elected representatives of the people and is useful for:
organizing and prioritizing the work of the sanggunian
ensuring convergence of the LA and ELA
setting clear performance targets of the sanggunian
educating the people on the work of the sanggunian
assessing the performance of the sanggunian
 What is the difference between
an ordinance and a resolution?

Anordinanceis a local law that prescribes rules of conduct of a general,

permanent character. It continues to be in force until repealed or superseded by a
subsequent enactment of the local legislative body.
Aresolutionis a mere expression of the opinion or sentiment of the local
legislative body on matters relating to proprietary function and to private
concerns. It is temporary in character
 What are Committees?

To get work done in an efficient and timely manner, the sanggunian must organize
itself into work groups or committees.
Legislative Committeeis a group tasked by the body or assembly to consider, or
investigate, or take action in regard to, certain matters or subjects of public interest.
Standing or Permanent Committeesare tasked or assigned a continuing function
and usually remainstandingor existing co-terminus with the life of the body that
created them. These committees are created for the purpose of:
1.ordinance or resolution sponsorship
2.undertaking public hearings on proposed measures in aid of legislation
3.legislative review and referrals
Special or Ad-hoc Committeesare created to perform an ad-hoc or specific task that
does not fall within the jurisdiction of a standing committee. They cease to exist
upon completion of its assigned task
 What are the steps in codification?

Compilation- The gathering and collating of all existing ordinances of a province

city/municipality. The files in the secretarys and governors/mayors offices should be the best
source of these ordinances. Other possible sources of ordinances which are kept on file are in the
offices of the treasurer, the fiscal, health office, and the provincial sanggunian in the case of
cities or municipalities.
Listing- A listing of ordinances follows the compilation. This listing will inform the codifier and
his staff what ordinances are (1) missing (2) amended (3) repealed or (4) obsolete. It is important
that all ordinances of the province, municipality or city should be accounted for in the process of
the listing.
Classifying- Classification is the process by which the ordinances are categorized according to
the subjects treated in the ordinance. This is the first step toward grouping ordinances under the
same or similar subjects for eventual assignment to specific chapters in the code.
RevisionThe provision of the ordinance should be reviewed for deficiencies, 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. Revision is the re-examination of
the provisions of an ordinance and to restate the provisions in a correct and improved form. It
includes the weeding out of obsolete or inactive provisions in the existing ordinance.
SupplementationSupplementation takes place after the
code has been finally drafted and enacted by the
sanggunian. Supplementation of the code is made through
ordinances of the sanggunian intended to supply a
deficiency in an existing provision, or add, amend or modify
such provision

Why do we need to codify?

 Why do we need to codify?

There are many compelling reasons to codify, some of which are:

Fulfill a community obligation.It 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 find and use.
Avoid confusion and ensure accurate interpretation.By compiling our basic
ordinances and all amendments into one up-to-date document, we eliminate the
need to refer to many separate documents. The most current information will be
easily accessible.
Eliminate hours of frustrating research.A Code is a single reliable resource for our
elected and appointed officials, enabling them to respond accurately to questions
and provide certified copies quickly and efficiently.
Support enforcement.A Code is a practical and efficient tool for our courts, police
authorities and other enforcement officials, enabling them to enforce our laws with
confidence and consistency.
Plan for the future.A Code provides a clear view of existing situations and makes it
easier to determine the impact of proposed changes and amendments.
 What are some examples of a codification?

The first civilization to codify its laws was ancient Babylon. The first real set of codified laws,
the Code of Hammurabi, was compiled circa 1760 BC by the Babylonian king Hammurabi, and
is the earliest known civil code.
Besides religious laws such as the Torah, important codifications were developed in the
ancient Roman Empire, with the compilations of the Lex Duodecim Tabularum and much later
the Corpus Iuris Civilis. These codified laws were the exceptions rather than the rule,
however, as during much of the ancient Roman laws were left mostly uncodified.

The first permanent system of codified laws could be found in China, with the compilation of
the Tang Code in CE 624. This formed the basis of the Chinese criminal code, which was then
replaced by the Great Qing Legal Code, which was in turn abolished in 1912 following the Xinhai
Revolution and the establishment of the Republic of China. The new laws of the Republic of
China were inspired by the German codified work, the Brgerliches Gesetzbuch.[1] A very
influential example in Europe was the French Napoleonic code of 1804.
Another early system of laws is Hindu law framed by Manu and called as Manu Smriti. The use of
civil codes in Islamic Sharia law began with the Ottoman Empire.1
In our modern times, almost all existing governments have their own codifications or set of laws
codified such as: Civil Code, Labor Code, Administrative Code, Revenue, Environmental Code,
etc.