DELEGATION OF LEGISLATIVE POWER TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

The Constitution created legislative bodies of local governments and granted each local government unit
"the power to create its own sources of revenues and to levy taxes, fees, and charges subject to such
guidelines and limitations as the Congress may provide, consistent with the basic policy of local autonomy.
Section 48 of the Local Government Code of 1991 provides that "Local legislative power shall be
exercised by the sangguniang panlalawigan for the province; the sangguniang panlungsod for the city;
the sangguniang bayan for the municipality; and the sangguniang barangay for the barangay."

The smallest legislative body is the sangguniang barangay. It may pass an ordinance affecting a barangay
by majority of all its members. A barangay ordinance is subject to review by the sangguniang bayan or
sangguniang panlungsod, as the case may be, to determine whether it is consistent with law or with
municipal or city ordinance. The sangguniang panlungsod or sangguniang bayan shall take action on the
ordinance within thirty days from submission. If it does not take action within said period, the ordinance
will be presumed consistent with law or municipal or city ordinance and shall be deemed aproved. If it
finds that the ordinance is inconsistent with law or city or municipal ordinance, it shall return the same to
the sangguniang barangay concerned for adjustment, amendment, or modification, in which case the
effectivity of the ordinance is suspended.

The power to enact municipal ordinance is lodged with the sangguniang bayan. The affirmative vote of a
majority of the members of the sangguniang bayan present and voting, there being a quorum, shall be
necessary for the passage of any ordinance. The ordinance is then submitted to the municipal mayor who
within ten days from receipt thereof shall return it either with his approval or veto. If he does not return
it within that time, it shall be deemed approved.

The power to pass city ordinance is vested in the sangguniang panlungsod. The affirmative vote of a
majority of the members of the sangguniang panlungsod, present and there being a quorum, shall be
necessary for the passage of any ordinance. The approved ordinance shall be submitted to the city mayor
who, within ten days from receipt thereof, shall return it with his approval or veto. If he does not return
it within that time, it shall be deemed approved. The sangguniang panlungsod may repass a vetoed
ordinance by two-thirds vote of all the members thereof. If the city is a component city, the approved
ordinance is submitted to the sangguniang panlalawigan for review which shall take action therein within
thirty days, otherwise it will be deemed valid.

The sangguniang panlalawigan, as the legislative body of a province, may by a vote of a majority of the
members present, there being a quorum, enact ordinances affecting the province. The ordinance is then
forwarded to the governor who, within fifteen days from receipt thereof, shall return it with his approval
or veto. If he does not return it within that time, it shall be deemed approved. A vetoed ordinance may
be repassed by the sangguniang panlalawigan by a two-thirds vote of all its members.
TESTS TO DETERMINE VALIDITY OF DELEGATION

The legislature may properly delegate to an executive or administrative agency any legislative power other
than the making, altering or repealing of a law, the determination of legislative policies and objectives to
be achieved, and the formulation and promulgation of a defined and binding rule of conduct. It can
delegate the discretion as to how the law shall be enforced, to issue rules to fill in details, to ascertain
facts on which the law will operate, to exercise police power, and to fix rate. To be valid, however, the
delegation has to pass the completeness and sufficiency of standard tests.

There are two accepted tests to determine whether or not there is a valid delegation of legislative
power:

1. the completeness test

2. the sufficient standard test

Under the first test, the law must be complete in all its items and conditions when it leaves the legislature
such that when it reaches the delegate the only thing he will have to do is enforce it.

Under the sufficient standard test, there must be adequate guidelines or limitations in the law to map
out the boundaries of the delegate's authority and prevent the delegation from running riot.

Both tests are intended to prevent a total transference of legislative authority to the delegate, who is not
allowed to step into the shoes of the legislature and exercise a power essentially legislative.

1. COMPLETENESS TEST

- A statute may be complete when the subject, the manner, and the extent of its operation are stated in
it. The test of completeness is whether the provision is sufficiently definite and certain to enable one to
know his rights and obligations; whether it describes what must be done, who must do it, and the scope
of his authority. The operation of a statute complete in itself may be made dependent upon the existence
of some contingency fixed therein or some ascertainable facts.
2. SUFFICIENT STANDARD TEST

- To avoid unlawful delegation of legislative power, the legislature must declare the policy or purpose of
the law and must fix the legal principles which are to control in given cases by setting up standards or
guides to indicate the extent, and prescribe the limits, of the discretion which may be exercised under the
statute by the administrative agency.

- The standard may be express or implied.

- The standard must be reasonably adequate, sufficient, and definite

- Must also be sufficient to enable those affected to know their rights and obligations

- The sufficiency of the standard depends largely upon the nature of the power exercised and the nature
of the right restricted by such power.