NON-BINDING OPINION: Iloilo City councilors do not have to sideline Baronda, DILG says

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

ILOILO CITY – The Iloilo City Council may choose not to adopt a Department of the Interior and Local Government legal opinion limiting the vice mayor’s participation in the legislative proceedings of the Sangguniang Panlungsod, the agency’s Western Visayas office said.

DILG-6 legal officer Atty. Junine Wednesday Java clarified that DILG Legal Opinion No. 95, Series of 2025, is advisory and does not have the force of law.

Java’s remarks stem from the move of the Iloilo City Council to adopt the DILG opinion as part of its Internal Rules of Procedure (IRP).

The council is dominated by councilors allied with the Treñas administration.

Its action comes as Vice Mayor Julie Grace “Love-Love” Baronda raised concerns about the apparent delays in her proposed measures that already passed first reading.

“The opinion is not binding … I think it’s very important to emphasize that the opinions rendered by the DILG are advisory. They serve as guidance and interpretation of the Local Government Code (LGC), considering it is the department which is authorized to give guidance on the LGC,” she said in an interview on Tuesday, Sept. 8.

She said DILG opinions may be superseded by subsequent court rulings or new opinions from the agency’s Central Office.

“If there are subsequent pronouncements by the courts saying that the opinion should be overturned, or if there are subsequent opinions rendered by our Central Office, that would be the position of the department,” Java said.

The August 2025 DILG opinion said that the vice mayor, as presiding officer of the Sangguniang Panlungsod, is considered a composite member of the sanggunian for purposes of determining a quorum.

Citing Section 49 of the Local Government Code, or Republic Act No. 7160, the DILG said the vice mayor’s voting authority is limited to breaking a tie. The 1991 law governs the powers of the presiding officer of a local legislative body.

The opinion also distinguished the vice mayor from regular sanggunian members, who are entitled to vote on measures brought before the legislative body.

The opinion further stated that the vice mayor cannot chair, co-chair, or serve as a member of a regular legislative committee.

Any provision in a council’s internal rules allowing the vice mayor to serve on regular committees would be invalid if it conflicts with the Local Government Code, the DILG said.

Sanggunians may retain current practices

Java said the DILG would respect local sanggunians that choose to amend their internal rules based on the legal opinion, as well as those that decide to retain their existing practices.

“We would welcome if there are sanggunians in the region who would from now on, upon discovering this opinion to change their internal rules and procedures who would want to make changes in how they go about their transactions in the sanggunian, but if they would want to maintain certain practices, we also respect that,” she said.

“It is just that this is what should supposedly prevail under the LGC and the jurisprudence that touched upon this matter,” Java added.

Java said the Iloilo City Council does not need to seek a separate DILG opinion specifically for Iloilo City if it simply intends to adopt the existing DILG legal opinion.

However, she said the council may submit its own position if it disagrees with the interpretation and ask the DILG to elevate the matter to the Central Office.

Java explained that DILG field offices generally follow an existing Central Office opinion on an issue.

A matter is usually elevated to the Central Office when it involves a novel issue or when there is no existing guidance on how a particular provision of the Local Government Code should be interpreted.

Existing measures remain valid

Java said resolutions and ordinances filed by Baronda that have already passed first reading would remain “presumed regular and valid” unless their validity is challenged before a court.

For proposed measures that have yet to be approved, Java said the councilors may decide how to proceed based on the body’s existing rules and procedures.

“If there are proposed measures that are still up for votation or have not yet passed as an ordinance or law, they should follow the proper procedure in their IRP,” she said.

Java said the council may decide not to advance a proposed measure if the members determine that it should not be passed, provided they follow the procedures under their existing rules.

She said it would ultimately be up to the councilors to determine whether Baronda’s measures would proceed despite the DILG opinion.

“They can deliberate further on what is the better approach for the proposed measure,” Java said.