Republic of the Philippines DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT DILG-NAPOLCOM Center, EDSA comer Quazon Avenue, West Triangle, Quezon City http: war. dlg,com. ph 14 OCT 2019 DILG OPINION NO. 66. §. 2014, VICE-MAYOR DENVER CHRISTOPHER R. CHUA Office of the Vice-Mayor Cavite City, Cavite Dear Vice-Mayor Chua: This has reference to your letter dated 14 June 2019, requesting for the Department's clarification on whether or not you are allowed to exercise discretion and not to affix your signature in the Resolution passed and approved by the majority of the Sanggunian Members, or it is ministerial for you to sign the said Resolution knowing that the requirements have not been submitted, Per your letter, the Chief Operating of DM Wenceslao & Associates, Inc. (DMWAI) requested for the passage of a resolution approving a new scheme of the master development plan for Ciudad Nuevo. In a letter dated 8 May 2019, Atty. Norman Jacinto P. Doral, OIC of the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) stated that the requirements under Section 5, Rule II of the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of Presidential Decree No. 957 on subdivision development plans should be met before its approval. Hence, you are in a quandary whether to affix your signature in the Resolution (Resolution No. 2019-11) approved by the majority of the Sanggunian Members. At the outset, please be informed that the herein query can be paralleled with DILG Legal Opinion No. 092-03, dated 7 August 2003, where, the query Posted was “Whether or not the Vice-Governor and Presiding Officer has the authority not to sign the Resolution or Ordinance”. In response thereto, the Department has opined that the Vice-Governor, in his capacity as the Presiding Officer does not have authority to refuse to attest an grdinance or resolution which has already been duly approved or adopted by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan. In the ‘case herein, the Vice-Mayor is the Presiding Officer of the Sangguniang Panlungsod pursuant to Section 49 of the Local Government Code. The authority of the Presiding Officer to attest due enactment or adoption of an ordinance or resolution proceeds from parliamentary practice. Pursuant to parliamentary practice, each copy of the minutes must be signed by the Secretary and attested to by the Presiding Officer. Minutes of every council comprises,among others, the deliberation and passage of ordinances and resolutions, and the proceedings in general (Orendain, Antonio. Sanggunian Rules of Procedure pp. 96-100). By necessary implication, the Presiding Officer may attest every piece of transaction contained in the minutes (the ordinance or resolution in this case). The power of attestation of the Presiding Officer is constricted only to affirm the fact of the approval by the majority of the sanggunian of what has been submitted by him to the sanggunian. Clearly, the Presiding Officer does not have the authority to determine for himself the propriety of the approval of a particular legislative measure as his function is purely mechanical act of seeing to it that the minutes is approved by the numerical majority of the sanggunian. Otherwise, the majority of the sanggunian can be held captive by the whims of the Presiding Officer which obviously runs counter to the basic tenet that "majority rules". Such that, the Presiding Officer cannot, in the pretext of claiming to be representing in behalf of the sanggunian, substitute his judgment for that of the majority of the sanggunian. Accordingly, if the majority of the Sangguniang Panlungsod has already approved the minutes which reflected therein the approval of the subject ordinance or resolution, it becomes now a ministerial duty of the Vice-Mayor and Presiding Officer to attest the same. The Presiding Officer claiming otherwise would give rise to a factual dispute that necessitates adjudication of which only the competent court has the power to resolve, We hope to have assisted you on the matter. Very truly yours, By Authority ee wasaver see ;ACENDONCILLO, CESO IIT Undersecretary if CC: Dir. Manuel Q. Gotis Regional Director DILG-Region IV-A (CALABARZON) .