Iloilo prov’l board will not adopt DILG opinion on vice governor

ILOILO CITY — While the Iloilo City Council majority voted to limit Vice Mayor Julie Grace “Love-Love” Baronda’s powers over policy and legislation, the Iloilo Provincial Board will not do the same, its majority floor leader said.

Board Member Rolex Suplico of Iloilo’s 5th District, who also chairs the board’s Rules Committee, said on Thursday that the vice governor, as presiding officer, should have the same rights and privileges as a fellow board member.

Suplico, who returned to the provincial government in 2025, cited his previous experience as a board member from 1995 to 1998 and as vice governor from 2007 to 2010.

He said the Department of the Interior and Local Government’s Opinion No. 95, series of 2025, was merely a “permissive opinion,” which the board may include in its standing rules at its discretion.

“It is my opinion that the vice governor should be given the same power as an ordinary board member,” Suplico told Bombo Radyo Iloilo.

“Despite this opinion, which I think is only a permissive opinion, the power that the vice governor, as presiding officer, is there. The vice governor is elected by the entire province. We [board members] are elected by districts, so their scope is larger,” he added.

DILG Opinion No. 95, citing Section 49 of Republic Act 7160, the Local Government Code of 1991, and the Supreme Court cases Zamora v. Caballero and Cadiao v. Javier, states that vice governors and vice mayors are limited to voting only in case of a tie, among other things.

Iloilo City Councilor Romel Duron, an ally of Mayor Raisa Treñas-Chu’s administration, led the call to adopt the opinion, which the full council did on Wednesday.

Thirteen councilors voted in favor in a voice vote, while Councilor Sheen Marie Mabilog, Baronda’s lone ally, dissented.

The Cebu City Council adopted similar house rules earlier this year, citing the same opinion, the Philippine Star reported.

DILG-Western Visayas legal officer Junine Wednesday Java said during a Sept. 10 committee hearing that Opinion No. 95 was “non-binding,” meaning the council had the option not to adopt it.

Suplico noted that the opinion uses the word “may,” not “shall,” which makes it permissive.

“This [DILG Opinion No. 95] is only ‘may,’ and not ‘shall,’ so it is not mandatory on us to adopt the opinion of the DILG,” he said.

“Vice Governor Lee Ann Debuque chairs two committees, introduces measures and ordinances, and participates in debates and renders committee reports. So, our view of her is as a member of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan,” he added.

Suplico said the board would follow the opinion only if a court ordered it to.

“In any disagreement, the court would weigh in and state what is correct. Here, there is no decision. We don’t really want to disturb the proper functioning of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Iloilo,” he said.