Manila City Council

The Manila City Council (Filipino: Sangguniang Panlungsod ng Maynila) is the legislature of Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. It is composed of 38 councilors, with 36 councilors elected from Manila's six councilor districts (coextensive with the Legislative districts of Manila) and two councilors elected from the ranks of barangay (neighborhood) chairmen and the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK; youth councils). The presiding officer of the council is the Vice Mayor, who is elected citywide.
The council is responsible for creating laws and ordinances under Manila's jurisdiction. The mayor can veto proposed bills, but the council can override it with a two-thirds supermajority.
After the Spanish incorporated Manila as a city in 1571, membership to the council was originally restricted to them. On June 24, 1571 (which would later be declared as Manila Day), the municipal government, or the Cabildo was established, consisting of two mayors, twelve councilors, and a secretary. The mayor was chosen by lottery, with councilors nominating four candidates, with two candidates being drawn to serve as mayors.
In 1689, the council ordered the expulsion on non-Christian Chinese in the city, leading to a decline in Chinese population by 1700.
This would be the setup until 1901, after the Americans took control of the islands. Under the provisions of the Manila City Charter enacted that same year, the Manila Municipal Board was established, consisting of three members appointed by the Civil Governor with the approval of the Philippine Commission. These members could be removed through the same process. One of the appointees was designated as the president of the Board and was tasked with presiding over all meetings. In 1903, the Philippine Commission enacted Act No. 936, expanding the Municipal Board’s composition to five members by including the City Engineer and the President of the Advisory Board as ex officio members. During that time, the Municipal Board consisted of two Filipinos and three Americans. An advisory board was included, with all eleven members being Filipinos, representing each of Manila's 11 wards. In 1916, the advisory board was abolished, and the municipal board was increased to ten members, all of them elected by Filipinos, although the mayor was still appointed. However, the municipal board ceased to function until World War II. It reconvened on July 20, 1945, upon the liberation of Manila, consisting of new members appointed by President Sergio Osmeña.
In 1949, the Revised City Charter modified the board's composition: five members from each of the city's four districts, with the vice mayor becoming its presiding officer. All members were elected in 1951. In 1975, three years fter the declaration of martial law in 1972 by President Ferdinand Marcos, the board was abolished as legislative powers for the entire Metro Manila was exercised by the Metropolitan Manila Commission.
After the People Power Revolution, the municipal board was revived, which gradually evolved into the present-day city council. The 1987 Constitution finalized today's setup when it divided the city into six districts, with each district electing six councilors, plus two more councilors from the barangay captains and SK president. The first post-People Power era election to the new city council was held in 1988.
The Danilo B. Lacuna Sr. Hall inside the Manila City Hall is the session hall of the city council. It is named after Danilo Lacuna, the longest-serving vice mayor of Manila. Since 2012, it is powered via solar panels, which were made in Taiwan. In its inauguration, Vice Mayor Isko Moreno remarked that "The City of Manila will be the first to use this kind of technology here in the Philippines."
The Spanish-era cabildo met at the Ayuntamiento de Manila, also known as the Casas Consistoriales, in Intramuros.
Each of Manila's six councilor districts elects six councilors to the council. In plurality-at-large voting, a voter may vote up to six candidates, with the candidates having the six highest number of votes being elected. In addition, the barangay chairmen and the SK chairmen throughout the city elect amongst themselves their representatives to the council. Hence, there are 38 councilors.
City council elections are synchronized with other elections in the country. Elections are held every first Monday of May every third year since 1992 for 36 seats, while the ex officio seats are elected irregularly, but always proceeding a barangay election.
As of September 2024: