Republic of the Philippines DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT DILG-NAPOLCOM Center, EDSA comer Quezon Avenue, West Triangle, Quezon City http: www diig.com.ph 17 OCT 2019 OILG OPINION NO. 32, 20! HON. RAMIR A. BARRAMEDA Vice-Mayor Municipality of Basud Province of Camarines Norte Dear Vice-Mayor Barrameda: This has reference to the letter dated 19 February 2019 of former Vice- Mayor Silverio G. Quifiones IIT, requesting the Department’s enlightenment on the following issues, to i, Whether the written observations from our Municipal Mayor against the ordinance which was made as basis of returning the same to the Sangguniang Bayan could be considered an objection and an exercise of veto power of the LCE? ii, Whether it is proper for the Sangguniang Bayan to submit the ordinance to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan due to the non-action of the Municipal Mayor per his letter dated 7, 2019 without the required vote of the members of the sanggunian? Per letter of Mr. Quiffones III, on February 4, 2019, the Sangguniang Bayan of Basud, Camarines Norte submitted Municipal Ordinance No. 181-2019, entitled “ESTABLISHING A UNIFIED IDENTIFICATION (ID) CARD PROGRAM IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF BASUD, CAMARINES NORTE” to the Office of the Municipal Mayor for his signature. However, on February 7, 2019, the Office of the Sanggunian received a letter from the Office of the Municipal Mayor indicating his observations on the subject ordinance, and the last portion of the letter clearly stated that the ordinance is being returned to the Sangguniang Bayan without action. The following are the observations of the Municipal Mayor: i. Said ordinance is already a duplication of Republic Act No. 11055 or “An ‘Act Establishing Philippine Identification System’. li, DILG Memorandum Circular No. 69, s.2005 is only intended for the maintenance and updating of records of all inhabitants of the barangays. The said Memorandum Circular encourages the Sangguniang Panlungsod/Bayan to support the undertaking by enacting an appropriate ordinance to pursue the intent and spirit of the law. The Commission on Elections has already suspended the processing and printing of Voters Identification Card in view of the passage of RepublicAct No. 11055, otherwise known as the "Philippine Identification System Act”, which primarily mandates the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) as the primary implementing agency to carry out the provisions of the PhilSys Act. Hence, your predicament. At the outset, may we invite your attention to Sections 54 and 55 of the Local Government Code (LGC), which provides: "SECTION 54. Approval of Ordinances. - (a) Every ordinance enacted by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, Sangguniang Panlungsod, or Sangguniang bayan shall be presented to the provincial governor or city or municipal mayor, as the case may be. If the local chief executive concerned approves the same, he shail affix his signature on each and every page thereof; otherwise, he shall veto it and return the same with his objections to the Sanggunian, which may proceed to reconsider the same. The Sanggunian concerned may override the veto of the local chief executive by two-thirds (2/3) vote of all its members, thereby making the ordinance or resolution effective for all legal intents and purposes. (6) The veto shall be communicated by the local chief executive concerned to the Sanggunian within fifteen (15) days in the case of a province, and ten (10) days in the case of a city or a municipality; otherwise, the ordinance shall be deemed approved as if he had signed it.xxx SECTION 55. Veto Power of the Local Chief Executive. - (a) The local chief executive may veto any ordinance of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, Sangguniang Panlungsod, or Sangguniang bayan on the ground that it is ultra vires or prejudicial to the public welfare, stating his reasons therefor in writing. xx (c) The local chief executive may veto an ordinance or resolution only once. The Sanggunian may override the veto of the local chief executive concerned by two-thirds (2/3) vote of all its members, thereby making the ordinance effective even without the approval of the local chief executive concerned,” A veto is defined as the refusal of assent by the executive officer whose assent is necessary to perfect a law which has been passed by the legislative bodyand the message which is usually sent to such body by the executive, stating such refusal and the reasons therefor (Black's Law Dictionary, 5 Ed., 1983)>. The grant of the veto power to a Mayor pursuant to Section 54 of the LGC confers upon him the authority beyond the simple mechanical act of signing an ordinance, as a requisite to its approval. Such power accords the Mayor the discretion to approve an ordinance in the first instance or to veto it and return it with his objections to the Sanggunian, which may proceed to reconsider the same. If the Mayor approves the ordinance, he shall affix his signature in each and every page thereof, otherwise he shall veto it and return the same with his objections to the Sanggunian. Corollary, Section 55(a) of the LGC requires that the veto shall be in writing, stating the reasons of his non-assent to the proposed ordinance on the ground that it is ultra vires or prejudicial to public welfare. The word “veto” need not be written in the original copy of the proposed ordinance itself. The veto power of the Mayor is complete and duly exercised when he communicated his written veto message to the Sanggunian coupled with the act of returning the proposed ordinance unsigned. Such acts of the Mayor would guide the Sanggunian in proceeding whether to override the veto or not. Thus, notwithstanding the word “without action” in the message of the Mayor, this Department is of the considered view that the Mayor has vetoed the proposed ordinance. In view of the foregoing, the second query should no longer be addressed. Since you are now the incumbent Vice-Mayor of Basud, Camarines Norte, we deemed it appropriate to address this concern to you, and for you to inform Mr. Quifiones IIT of this legal opinion. We hope to have addressed the concern accordingly. Very truly yours, By Authority of the Secreta} MARIVEL C./SACENDONCILLO, CESO III |Undersecretary CC: Atty. Anthony C. Nuyda Regional Director DILG-Region V 15/90 DILG Opinion No. 40.s.2008, dated 4 June 2008