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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |, BS TRATION ONT:
Quen city BILLS AND INDEX SERVICE

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 297

Introduced by Representatives
_ Horacio P, Suansing, Jr. and Estrellita B. Suansing

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Barangay leaders are the foundation of governance at the community
level, especially in parts of the country that are remote and hard-to-reach.
According to the Local Government Code of 1991: “As the basic political unit,
the Barangay serves as the primary planning and implementing unit of
government policies, plans, programs, projects and activities in the community,
as a forum wherein the collective views of people may be expressed, crystallized
and considered, and where disputes may be amicably settled.” Officials in the
country’s 42,036 barangays are not only the frontliners in delivering various
government services that attend to the basic needs of our people, they are also
the primary facilitators of citizen empowerment and engagement so that
government is responsive to the true needs of the citizens it serves.

Strengthening barangay governance is thus at the heart of making
government more effective, accountable, and inclusive in its public service. In
recent years, the Administration has spearheaded various innovations to serve
the country’s poorest of the poor and engage them in the business of
governance, notable through the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps)
and the Bottom Up Budgeting (BUB) process. The effective implementation of
these and other government priority programs depend on barangay structures
that work, led by empowered barangay leaders.

‘The thrust of this bill is to undertake a much-needed reform in barangay
governance so that its critical role in providing government service and
facilitating participatory processes can be fully unlocked. In particular, the
reform is anchored in the continuity in the service of barangay elective officials.


Various government agencies spend millions of pesos and countless hours
orienting newly elected barangay officials on the conduct of their
responsibilities and on relevant government processes. The resources that are
devoted for these orientation sessions and the knowledge and skills these build
on each new batch of officials can be better maximized if barangay officials are
able to serve longer terms. In this regard, the bill proposes to amend the term
of barangay officials from three consecutive three-year terms to three
consecutive five-year terms, with the hopes of facilitating continuity in the
service of barangay officials and higher likelihood for improving the reach and
quality of the programs they can offer to their communities.

‘The proposed reform is needed more than ever, especially as we seek to
ensure that the growth the country has experienced in recent years is truly felt,
especially by those at the margins of society. Barangay officials, as the face of
the government for most of our people, require opportunities for continuity
championed by this bill to be effective agents of public service.

This measure has been filed during the 16th Congress as House Bill No.
6442 and considered approved by the Committee on Local Government. Thus,
a study on the matter has been done.

In view of the foregoing, immediate approval of the bill is earnestly
sought.

SUANSING, JR.

HON, noieseio F.
2nd Distfict, Sultan Kudarat



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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 297

Introduced by Representatives
Horacio P. Suansing, Jr. and Estrellita B. Suansing

AN ACT
CHANGING THE TERM OF OFFICE OF ELECTIVE BARANGAY OFFICIALS
AND MEMBERS OF THE SANGGUNIANG KABATAAN FROM THREE (3)
YEARS TO FIVE (5) YEARS, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE SECTION 43
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7160, AS AMENDED, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE
LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE OF 1991

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the
Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Term of Office. - Section 43 of Republic Act No. 7160, as
amended, otherwise known as the Local Government Code of 1991, is hereby
further amended to read as follows:

“SECTION 43. Term of Office. - (a) The term of all elective officials after
the effectivity of this Code shall be three (3) years, starting from noon of
June 30, 1992 or such date as may be provided for by law, except that
of elective barangay officials and members of the sangguniang kabataan:
Provided, That all local officials first elected during the local elections
immediately following the ratification of the 1987 Constitution shall
serve until noon of June 30, 1992.

(b) No local elective official shall serve for more than three (3)
consecutive terms in the same position, Voluntary renunciation of the
office for any length of time shall not be considered as an interruption in
the continuity of service for the full term for which the elective official
concerned was elected.


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(c) The term of office of barangay officials and members of the
sangguniang kabataan shall be for FIVE (5) [three (3)] years, which shall
begin after the SYNCHRONIZED regular election of barangay AND
SANGGUNIANG KABATAAN officials on the LAST [second] Monday of
OCTOBER 2018. [May 1997; Provided, That the sangguniang kabataan
members who were elected in the May 1996 elections shall serve until
the next regular election of barangay officials.

(D) NO BARANGAY ELECTIVE OFFICIAL SHALL SERVE FOR
MORE THAN THREE (3) CONSECUTIVE TERMS IN THE SAME
POSITION: PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT THE TERM OF OFFICE SHALL
BE RECKONED FROM THE SYCHRONIZED BARANGAY AND
SANGGUNIANG KABATAAN ELECTIONS HELD ON THE LAST MONDAY
OF OCTOBER 2007. VOLUNTARY RENUNCIATION OF OFFICE FOR
ANY LENGTH OF TIME SHALL NOT BE CONSIDERED AS AN
INTERRUPTION IN THE CONTINUITY OF SERVICE FOR THE FULL TER,
FOR WHICH THE BARANGAY ELECTIVE OFFICIAL WAS ELECTED.

SEC. 2. Resetting of Synchronized Barangay and Sangguniang
Kabataan Elections. - The synchronized barangay and sangguniang
kabataan elections scheduled to be held on the last Monday of October 2016
shall be rest to the last Monday of October 2018. Subsequent synchronized
barangay and sangguniang kabataan elections shall be held every five (5) years
thereafter.

SEC. 3. Holdover, ~ All incumbent barangay and sangguniang kabataan
officials shall remain in office unless sooner removed or suspended for cause
until their successors shall have been elected and qualified. The provisions of
the Omnibus Election Code relative to the failure of elections and special
elections are hereby reiterated in this Act.

SEC. 4, Repealing Clause. - Republic Act No. 9164, as amended by
Republic Act No. 9340, Republic Act No. 10742 and all laws, rules and
regulations, which are inconsistent with this Act, are hereby repealed,
amended or modified accordingly.

SEC. 5. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,