QuestionsQuestions (Republic Act No. 2370)
A barrio is a unit of a municipality or municipal district. It is a quasi-municipal corporation endowed with specified powers to perform particular government functions, exercised through its barrio government in conformity with law. It may sue and be sued, contract, and acquire and hold property for purposes provided by the Act.
Upon petition of a majority of the voters in the affected area, the provincial board may create a new barrio or change an existing barrio name, upon recommendation of the municipal council(s). The recommendation must be embodied in a resolution approved by at least two-thirds of the entire membership of the municipal council.
No new barrio may be created if its population is less than five hundred (500) persons.
No. Barrios cannot be created, their boundaries altered, nor their names changed except under the provisions of RA 2370 or by Act of Congress.
Boundary disputes within the same municipality are heard and decided by the municipal council, subject to appeal within thirty (30) days from notice of the decision to the provincial board, whose decision is final.
They are treated as boundary disputes between municipalities under existing provisions of law.
All property rights of the barrios whose boundaries are altered vest in the barrio in which the property is situated after the alteration is made.
All persons who are qualified electors, duly registered in the list of barrio assembly members kept by the barrio assembly secretary, and who have been residents of the barrio for at least six months.
It must meet at least once a year to hear the annual report of the barrio council. It must also meet when barrio council members are to be elected, and/or at the call of the barrio council, or upon written petition of at least one-fifth of the barrio assembly members.
Quorum requires at least one-third of the members of the barrio assembly. For actions involving raising of taxes, payment of compensation, and solicitation of voluntary contributions, a two-thirds vote of those present at the meeting with quorum is required. Other actions require a majority vote of those present at quorum.
No meeting may take place unless notice is given one week prior, except in matters involving public safety or security where notice within a reasonable time is sufficient.
The barrio council consists of the barrio lieutenant, barrio treasurer, four council members, and vice barrio lieutenants. The number of vice barrio lieutenants depends on the number of sitios: if there are sitios, there is one vice barrio lieutenant per sitio; if there are no sitios, there is one vice barrio lieutenant for every two hundred inhabitants.
No person may be elected vice barrio lieutenant unless he is a resident of the sitio he shall represent.
Elections are held on the second Sunday of January of even-numbered years. Voting is by secret ballot; open voting may be allowed only if two-thirds of qualified voters present decide so. No votes may be cast by proxy.
Disputes over barrio elections are brought before the justice of the peace court of the municipality concerned, following as closely as possible the procedure for inferior courts in Rule 4. The justice of the peace court decision is appealable under the Rules of Court to the court of first instance, whose decision is final on questions of fact.
Candidates must be qualified electors and residents of the barrio for at least six months prior to the election, and must not have been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude or of a crime carrying a penalty of at least one year's imprisonment.
The municipal mayor exercises supervision over barrio officials. He receives and investigates complaints made under oath. For minor delinquency he may reprimand; for more severe cases he submits written charges to the municipal council, with a copy furnished to the respondent. The mayor may suspend pending action, not exceeding thirty (30) days, if the charges affect integrity, and the council follows the specified procedure. The council decision is appealable within ten (10) days to the provincial board, whose decision is final.
The barrio council may promulgate barrio ordinances not inconsistent with law or municipal ordinances. Within fifteen (15) days after approval, it must submit them to the municipal council. The ordinances take effect thirty (30) days after approval unless the municipal council finds them not in accordance with law and returns them for adjustment, amendment, or repeal. If there is disagreement, the dispute is referred to the provincial fiscal for final action.