RECEIVED

oare-OCT_0 1 2019

Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

i
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. pols

INTRODUCED BY: HONORABLE HENRY S. OAMINAL

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Republic Act No. 7160, as amended, otherwise known as the Local
Government Code of 1991 bestowed upon barangays, gargantuan powers and
responsibilities. 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, and as a forum wherein the collective
views of the people may be expressed, crystallized and considered, and where
disputes may be amicably settled”. It is the only type of local government unit
where the Executive, Legislative and Judicial powers rolled into one are vested.

Considering the important role that barangays perform, the government
must grant barangay officials with corresponding compensation, benefits and
other privileges in order to further motivate them to effectively and efficiently
perform their vital role in the delivery of frontline basic services to the
community.

‘This bill therefore seeks to provide the Magna Carta for Barangays, an
important piece of legislation which covers wide-range of benefits and privileges
for barangays and barangay officials. These include making the punong
barangay, sangguniang barangay members, kabataang barangay chairperson,
the barangay secretary and barangay treasurer as regular employees. As such,
they are entitled to fixed salaries, allowances, insurance, medical and dental
coverage, retirement benefits and such other fringe benefits to which a regular
government employee may be entitled to receive.


Moreover, this bill proposes to promote the welfare of the barangays by
providing them with appropriate basic services and facilities such as regular
supply of clean and potable water, public transportation, schools, health centers
and barangay halls and other needs of the community. It also contains
provisions pertaining to the automatic release of internal revenue allotment
Shares, shares in the proceeds derived from the utilization of national wealth,
scholarship grants and other matters greatly beneficial to the residents of the
barangays.

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



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 5004

INTRODUCED BY: HONORABLE HENRY S. OAMINAL

AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR THE MAGNA CARTA FOR BARANGAYS

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

SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the "Magna Carta
‘for Barangays.”

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is hereby declared the policy of the
State to develop and improve the general welfare of residents of barangays, uplift
the standard of living of barangay officials, grant every barangay the basic
facilities for decent, healthy and comfortable living therein, and provide new
measures that will ensure its enjoyment of local autonomy and the effective
performance of its role as the primary planning and implementing unit of
government programs, projects and activities, and as a forum in which the
collective views of the people in the community may be crystallized and
considered. Toward this end, every barangay shall be granted authority to solve
its problems on its level, and the spirit of volunteerism shall be the guiding
principle in pursuing its growth and development.

SEC. 3. Barangay Officials as Regular Employees. - The punong
barangay, sangguniang barangay members, kabataang barangay chairperson,
the barangay secretary and barangay treasurer in all barangays are hereby
declared regular employees. As such, they are entitled to fixed salaries,
allowances, insurance, medical and dental coverage, retirement benefits and
such other fringe benefits to which a regular government employee may be
entitled to receive.


SEC. 4. Salaries. - All barangay officials mentioned in Section 3 of this
Act are entitled to fixed salaries not exceeding the rate equivalent to the first step
of the salary grades prescribed under Republic Act No. 6758, as amended,
otherwise known as the Compensation and Position Classification Act, in the city
or municipality where the barangay belongs:

Salary Grade 18 - For the punong barangay;

Salary Grade 15 - For the sangguniang barangay members, barangay
secretary and barangay treasurer;

SEC. 5. Drinking Water. - Every barangay shall have a regular supply of
clean and potable water. For this purpose, every city or municipality, shall
construct or maintain at least one deep well with pumping device for drawing
drinking water to supply the needs of every one thousand residents for each
barangay within its jurisdiction.

SEC. 6. Transportation. - Every barangay shall have a_ public
transportation available at least once a day. For this purpose, every municipality
or city, shall make such necessary representations before the appropriate
government agencies to require public utility companies operating within its
jurisdiction to provide the minimum means of transportation in every barangay.

SEC. 7. Barangay Halls, Schools and Health Centers. - Every
barangay shall have one (1) barangay hall, one (1) health center, at least one (1)
public elementary school, and one (1) public high school.

SEC. 8. Automatic Release of Share in National Taxes. ~The share of
the barangays in the national taxes shall be automatically remitted to the
barangays at the end of the calendar year.

SEC. 9. Transfer of Funds for the Maintenance of Roads and Bridges.
All public funds appropriated from the national treasury for the maintenance of
barangay roads and bridges and other similar constructions shall be transferred
or remitted directly to the general fund of every barangay for proper disposition
by the barangay officials.

SEC. 10. Mandatory Share in All Taxes, Fees or Other Charges.—
‘Twenty-five percent (25%) of all taxes collected on real property located within
the barangay shall be considered barangay funds and shall be allocated in
accordance with existing laws. In addition thereto, each barangay is entitled to
ten percent (10%) in all other forms of taxes, fees, penalties, compromises or
other charges collected from persons residing in the barangay or entities whose
office or manufacturing plant is located within the barangay.

4


SEC. 11. Share in the Proceeds of Natural Wealth. - Every barangay
is entitled to an equitable share in the proceeds from the exploitation, utilization
and development of natural resources within its territory. The amount of the
barangay share shall be determined by the city or municipality concerned after
consultations with the concessionaires, the municipal or city officials and
barangay officials, taking into account the extent of the exposure of the barangay
residents to pollution, flood and ecological imbalance. This equitable sharing rate
for each barangay shall be resolved by all parties concerned not later than six (6)
months from the approval of this Act. Revenues derived from this source shall
also form part of the general fund of the barangay.

SEC. 12. Scholarship Grant. - Every barangay shall offer at least one (1)
bachelor’s degree scholarship grant annually to a bona fide resident of the
barangay who must top the competitive examinations given by the barangay
scholarship committee. The scholarship committee shall be created composed of
five (5) members appointed by the sangguniang barangay, with the approval of
the punong barangay.

‘The scholarship grant includes tuition fees and all other school fees,
reasonable allowances for schoolbooks, supplies and transportation, and other
expenses as the barangay may deem appropriate.

SEC. 13. Priority in Employment. - Residents in the barangay shall have
the priority in the hiring of workers and laborers for any government
construction or development projects within their respective barangays.

SEC. 14. Cooperative Enterprise. - Every barangay shall encourage and
give full assistance to the establishment and organization of cooperative
enterprises and to take every possible effort to make cooperative undertakings @
way of life in the barangay.

SEC. 15. Implementing Rules and Regulations. ~The Secretary of the
Interior and Local Government shall, in consultation with the Department of
Budget and Management (DBM) promulgate the necessary rules and regulations
for the effective implementation of this Act.

SEC. 16. Appropriations. - The amount necessary to implement this Act
shall be charged against the national internal revenue taxes and Internal
Revenue Allotment Shares of local government units in the following manner:

a. Fifty percent (50%) - from the national internal revenue taxes before
deducting the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) shares of local
government units;


b. Fifty percent (50%) — from the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) shares
of local government units, where the barangay belongs, to be deducted
in the following manner:

Thirty percent (30%) — from the barangay
Fifty percent (50%) - from the municipality or city
iii, | Twenty percent (20%) - from the province

SEC. 17. Penalty. - Any person who willfully interferes with, restrains or
coerces barangay officials or residents in the exercise of their rights guaranteed
under this Act, or who in any other manner commits any act to defeat any of the
provisions of this Act shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not less
than Five thousand pesos (P5,000.00) nor more than Ten thousand pesos
(P10,000.00) or by imprisonment of not more than six (6) months, or both,
subject to the discretion of the court. If the offender is a public official, the court
shall order the dismissal of the offender from the government service.

SEC. 18. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, executive orders,
implementing rules and regulations or parts thereof, inconsistent with the
provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.

SEC. 19. Separability Clause. - If any provisions of this Act are declared
invalid, the remainder or any provisions thereof not affected thereby shall remain
in force and effect.

SEC. 20. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,