Question & AnswerQ&A (BATAS PAMBANSA BLG. 51)
Each province shall have a governor, a vice-governor, elective members of the sangguniang panlalawigan elected by qualified voters, and appointive members representing barangays and the kabataang barangay appointed by the President.
Provinces with a population of less than 100,000 inhabitants shall have four elective sangguniang panlalawigan members.
The sangguniang panlalawigan is composed of the governor as chairman and presiding officer, the vice-governor as presiding officer pro tempore, elective members, and appointive members including the president of the provincial association of barangay councils and the president of the provincial federation of the kabataang barangay.
The city mayor, city vice-mayor, and elective members of the sangguniang panglungsod are elected by qualified voters in the city, while some members such as the presidents of city barangay councils and kabataang barangay federations and representatives from labor sectors are appointed by the President when warranted.
A city with an annual regular income of not less than Forty Million Pesos (P40,000,000.00) and existing as of the approval of this Act is classified as highly urbanized. The City of Baguio is also classified as highly urbanized regardless of income.
No, voters registered in a highly urbanized city shall not participate nor vote in the election of the officials of the province where the city is geographically located.
Each municipality and municipal district shall have a municipal mayor, a municipal vice-mayor, and elective members of the sangguniang bayan, who are all elected by qualified voters.
The President (Prime Minister) appoints these representatives when the sanggunian determines that these sectors have sufficient numbers to warrant representation and after consultation with concerned associations.
All local elective officials hold office for a term of six years, commencing on the first Monday of March 1980, unless sooner removed for cause.
They may assume the office in case of permanent vacancy due to refusal to assume office, failure to qualify, death, conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude, resignation, permanent incapacity, or absence without authorization for more than three consecutive months.
The elected sanggunian member who obtained the highest number of votes will succeed within forty-eight hours from the time the vacancy occurs.
The Joint Commission on Local Government Personnel Administration, as provided for in Presidential Decree No. 1136, determines their salaries, allowances, and other emoluments.
The officer-in-charge exercises all powers, duties, and functions of the incumbent except to preside over sanggunian meetings, appoint, suspend, dismiss employees, or enter into contracts beyond a period corresponding to the absence or illness or not more than three months.
The designation is made by the Minister of Local Government and Community Development for the governor or city mayor, and by the governor for a municipal mayor.