ARCHDIOCESE OF LIPA

Council of the Laity

CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS

of the
Lipa Archdiocesan Council of the Laity

PREAMBLE

The Catholic Laity of the Archdiocese of Lipa, imploring the aid of Divine Providence and
inspired by its adherence to the apostolic mission of the Roman Catholic Church under the
principled teachings of Vatican Council II, the 1983 Code of Canon Law, and the Plenary
Council of the Philippines II, and pursuing the importance of its collaborative role in the pastoral
and spiritual initiatives envisioned by the leaders of the Local Church of Batangas, do hereby
adapt this constitution and by-laws.

ARTICLE I – NAME
This organization shall be known as the Lipa Archdiocesan Council of the Laity. The official
seal is indicated herein

ARTICLE II – PLACE
Archbishop’s Residence, Calle Arzobispado, Mataas na Kahoy, Lipa City.

ARTICLE III – MEMBERSHIP

Section I – Parish Pastoral Council President

Since the president of the Parish Pastoral Council is the Parish Priest, (cf.cic 536 par.1),
this amended constitution shall refrain from using the term ‘president’ in referring to the
Parish Pastoral Coordinators. Instead they will be simply referred to as such.

Section II

The members shall be the Parish Pastoral Coordinators of the different Parish Pastoral
Councils of the Archdiocese, the lay chairpersons of the different archdiocesan religious
associations, organizations and movements.

ARTICLE IV – ORGANIZATION

Section I – General Archdiocesan Assembly

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 1.1 There shall be a general archdiocesan assembly which shall be the policy-making
body of this council. Its policies, however, are always subject to the approval of
the Archbishop.

1.2 This general assembly shall be convened every two (2) years. The Archbishop,
however, may, in his prudent judgment, convene the general assembly as he
deems necessary.

Section II – Executive Board

2.1 There shall be an executive board which shall be comprised of President, Vice-
President for Parish Pastoral Councils, Vice President for Religious
Organizations, Associations and Movements, Secretary, and Treasurer of the
general assembly of the laity.
2.2 Among the functions of this board shall be to determine the activities of the
council. It shall also be incumbent upon this board to initiate pertinent activities
and constructively evaluate them.

2.3 The executive board shall meet quarterly or whenever deemed necessary by the
Priest Spiritual director or the Archbishop.

ARTICLE V – OBJECTIVES
Section I

The Council is primarily a group of lay consultors of the Archbishop; his collaborators in matters
pertaining to the Catholic education, formation and pastoral ministry of the laity for the growth
and well-being of the Church in the Archdiocese of Lipa.

Section II

This Council shall remain faithful to the church’s teachings as enunciated by Vatican II,
particularly though not exclusively in The Decrees of The Lay Apostolate (Apostolicam
Actuositatem), The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium), and The Pastoral
Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et Spes).

Said Council shall also be guided by the Post Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, Christifidelis Laici.

Section III

In order to actualize the above-mentioned objective this council will work to align all
efforts of the laity towards achieving integrated activities intended to unify the Christian
faithful in their journey towards genuine renewal and commitment to Christian life.

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Section IV

This Council shall foster faithful observance of the Divine Law as articulated by and
reflected in the Universal ecclesiastical laws which are at times made more adaptable by
local legislation.

Section V – Ministries in the Archdiocese

What used to be referred to as committees in the previous constitution will now be known
as Ministries. These Ministries serve the same purpose of assisting the Archbishop in
shepherding the local church entrusted to his care. These ministries are the following:

a. Ministry on Prayer and Popular Spirituality

b. Ministry on Faith Formation and Mission
c. Ministry on Liturgy
d. Ministry on Social Services
e. Ministry on Stewardship
f. Ministry for Family and Life
g. Ministry for the Youth
h. Ministry for Clergy, Religious and Seminarians

It is incumbent to the Archbishop or his appointed delegate to determine the composition

of each ministry. The same authority will also define and articulate the functions and
responsibilities pertinent to these ministries.

ARTICLE VI – OFFICERS AND TENURE OF OFFICE

Section I – The major offices of the Council shall be the following:

a. President
b. Vice Presidents
a. For Parish Pastoral Councils
b. For Archdiocesan Religious Organization, Association and Movements
c. Secretary
d. Treasurer
e. Pastoral Information Officer (PIO)

Section II. – Qualifications

Potential candidates for any major office shall:

a. Be of sound faith and morals;

b. Demonstrate the gifts of wisdom and prudence;
c. Be willing to commit their time, talent and wisdom in a consultative and collaborative
manner;
d. Be free from any liabilities in any civil and ecclesiastical form, and
e. Manifest the ability to study, understand and respect the viewpoint of others

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Section III – Ways of acquiring the Major Offices

3.1 The Major Offices of the council may be acquired in two ways namely, by
election or by appointment.

3.2 The Archbishop reserves the right to confirm those who are elected or appointed.
Such right may be exercised or foregone as deemed necessary by the same
authority.

3.3 The Archbishop may also freely appoint a member to a major office after
carefully examining the suitability of the candidate.

3.4 The Archbishop may opt to appoint a member of his clergy to be the
Archdiocesan Lay Council Spiritual Director. The director’s functions and tenure
shall be determined and expressed by the appointing authority.

Section IV – Minor Offices

The Minor Offices refer to the Ministries under the Ministries in Article V section V.

4.1 Each ministry has 5 members composed of a chairperson, a secretary and 3

members.

4.2 These minor offices may be acquired through election.

4.3 Membership in the minor offices depends on the pastoral enthusiasm of the
candidate or the member. It must be noted that only those interested or with
pastoral background related to the ministry shall be nominated.

4.4 The qualifications of candidates to these offices will be the same as stated in
Article VI of section II.

4.5 Nothing hinders the Archbishop from adding other qualifications as deemed
necessary.

Section V – Election of Officers

5.1 The officers mentioned in Sec. I (with the exception of the secretary who shall be
appointed by the president) shall be elected through secret balloting during a
legitimately convened Archdiocesan General Assembly (Plenum).

5.2 The electors of the major officers are the members of the Plenum unless the
Archbishop decides otherwise.

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 5.3 Prior to the election proper, those who make the nominations shall state the
reason/s why the nominee qualifies for the position. In case there is more than one
nominee, voting shall take place through secret balloting. The candidate who
gains the highest number of votes shall be declared the winner.

5.4 In case of ties in any of the major offices, another secret balloting shall be held in
the same assembly.

5.5 Failure to resolve ties after two secret balloting gives rise to the prerogative of the
Archbishop to appoint any of those candidates after a prudent deliberation on the
matter.

Section VI – Tenure of Office

6.1 All officers of the council and the ministries shall serve for two (2) consecutive
years upon assumption of office. Those occupying elective posts shall be eligible
for reelection only once in the same office. He/she may, however, be reelected
more than once provided such reelection pertains to a different post.

6.2 An interval of at least one full term of office makes a member eligible to be
reelected in any elective post.

6.3 Recall of Elected Council Officers

a. In the event that the Archbishop has reservations on, or at any time reasonably
loses confidence on any elected officer of the Council based on moral, ethical
or other reasonable grounds including, but not limited to, lack of interest and
excessive unexcused absences on meetings, he may oblige the said officer to
tender his resignation or declare him resigned. The Archbishop then shall
summon the Council to conduct an immediate election to replace the said
officer. The elected replacement shall serve for the remainder of the term of
the replaced officer.

b. In case the council fails to conduct an election, the Archbishop reserves the
right to appoint the replacement instead, and such appointment shall be
effective and not subject to appeal.

c. In the event that the majority of the total membership of the Council at any
time reasonably lose confidence on any officer based on the above-mentioned
grounds (ref. to Sec. 6.3.a), they may submit a petition to the Archbishop who
shall, after careful deliberations, decide on the matter with finality.

Section VII – Vacancy of Office

7.1 This constitution acknowledges the right of the Archbishop to address the issue of
vacancy in any post whether elective or appointive.

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 7.2 The Archbishop may either call for an election or freely appoint a member to fill
in the vacancy.

ARTICLE VII – DUTIES AND RESPONSILBILITIES OF OFFICERS

The officers of the Council shall have the following duties & responsibilities:

A. President

1. To call and preside at all meetings of the Council or of the officers of the
ministries;

2. To call for a special or emergency meetings even of other functional and program
committees whenever necessary and with the expressed permission of the
Archbishop;

3. To act as the chief executive officer who shall see to it that all council policies,
decisions and resolutions, its constitution and by-laws are properly implemented
and strictly complied with;

4. Whenever necessary, to create an ad hoc committees, define their functions,

appoint their heads and members, in consultation with the officers and other
resource persons.

5. To sign or countersign vouchers and checks, minutes of meetings, official

correspondences;

6. To represent the Council in Archdiocesan meetings and in other similar

assemblies wherever asked by the Archbishop, and

7. To conscientiously perform all other duties that the Archbishop may assign or
delegate.

B. Vice President for Parish Pastoral Councils

1. To assist the President in view of coordinating with the different Parish Pastoral
Council Coordinators;

2. To preside in the meeting when the President is not available, and

3.To perform all other duties that the President may assign or delegate.

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C. Vice President for Archdiocesan Religious Association Organizations and
Movements

1. To assist the President in view of coordinating with the different Archdiocesan

Religious Associations, Organizations and Movements;

2. To preside in the meeting when the President and the Vice President for Parish
Pastoral Councils are not available, and

3. To perform all other duties that the President may assign or delegate.

D. Secretary

1. To keep a record of the proceedings of all meetings of the Council and the
ministries and to prepare and preserve the minutes thereof;

2. To transmit to all members of the Council and the ministries notices of meetings,
copies of the minutes of the meetings and other official communications;

3. To maintain an accurate and updated directory of officers and members of the

Council, the ministries, the functional program and other ad hoc committees of
the Council, and

4. To faithfully perform all other duties that the Archbishop or the President may
assign from time to time.

E. Treasurer

1. To receive and make all payments in behalf of the Council and to keep a complete
and accurate record thereof. He/she shall make payments upon approval by the
Council with the expressed permission of the Archbishop and in accordance with
prescribed procedures;

2. To ensure safekeeping and accounting of funds which are under the stewardship
of the Council;

3. To prepare and present a monthly financial report to the Council;

4. To open the Council’s books of accounts and records for examination at any
reasonable time to the archdiocesan auditor or any duly authorized person
delegated by the Archbishop;

5. To assist in any duly authorized fund campaign conducted by the Council and to
keep a complete and accurate record thereof;

6. To act as custodian of all properties belonging to the Council, and

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 7. To faithfully perform all other duties that may be assigned by the Archbishop or
the President.

F. Pastoral Information Officer (PIO)

1. To maintain updated information resources;

2. To deal with inquiries by phone, email, social media and drop-ins;

3. To deliver talks, conduct seminars and information campaign whenever

necessary;

4. To design and write the monthly email, newsletter for the Council;

5. To develop, maintain and oversee efficient Council systems on mailings, updating

of membership database, date recording, etc.;

6. To ensure the accuracy of any pertinent communication he/she is tasked to

deliver, and

7. To faithfully perform all other duties that may be assigned by the Archbishop or
the President.

ARTICLE VIII – SPECIAL PROVISION

Nothing in these constitution and By-Laws shall operate or be construed to operate in

contravention or detraction from any and all the powers, rights and prerogatives that the
ecclesiastical law provides with regard to the authority or direction and supervision of the
hierarchy over Catholic Laity Councils.

ARTICLE IX – BUDGET AND FINANCE

Section I

The Executive board shall have the power, control and supervision over funds of the
Council. It shall prepare and approve an annual operating budget for each year within two
(2) months after the assuming office.

Section II

Each parish shall contribute to the Council’s support based on their capacity to pay. The
specific amount of contribution shall be determined by the Council and with subsequent
approval of the Archbishop.

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Section III

The executive board may hold special fund raising projects upon the approval of the
Spiritual Director and the Archbishop.

Section IV

All monies received by the Council shall be spent specifically for the regular
administrative functions of the Council and other noble purposes intended by the donor.

ARTICLE X – AMENDMENTS

These by-laws may be amended by two-thirds (2/3) of all the members at a lawfully assembled
General meeting expressly called for the purpose at least one (1) month in advance.

ARTICLE XI – EFFECTIVITY

The period of effectivity of this Constitution and by-laws shall be solely determined by the
Roman Catholic Archbishop of Lipa; any contrary practice being reprobated.

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The above Constitution and By laws has been duly approved by the members of the Lipa
Archdiocesan Council of the Laity, at St. Padre Pio National Shrine, Sto. Tomas Batangas, on
January 7, 2019.

FORWARDED AND ENDORSED FOR APPROVAL

Ms. MARIA ELIZABETH I. QUINTO Fr. ANGEL MARCELO M. PASTOR

President Spiritual Director
Lipa Archdiocesan Council of the Laity Lipa Archdiocesan Council of the Laity

APPROVED FOR IMPLEMENTATION ON JANUARY 1, 2020

Most Rev. GILBERT A. GARCERA, DD

Archbishop of Lipa

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