The Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) is the local

legislative body A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as p ...

of a city governments in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. The name of the legislative body comes from the Tagalog words "''sanggunian''" ("council") – ultimately from the rootword "''sangguni''" ("to consult") – and "''lungsod''" ("city"); "

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

" is therefore often used as an equivalent term. Members of the city council are referred to as "''kagawad''"; while in Cebuano-speaking cities they are called "''konsehal''" (masc.) and "''konsehala''" (fem.), or "''sehal''". The

Local Government Code of 1991 Codification of laws is a common practice in the Philippines. Many general areas of substantive law, such as criminal law, civil law and labor law are governed by legal codes. Tradition of codification Codification is predominant in countrie ...

governs the composition, powers and functions of the Sangguniang Panlungsod. The members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod, often referred to as

councilor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

s, are either elected or serve in an ''

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...

'' capacity. The city's vice mayor serves as the presiding officer. The Sangguniang Panlungsod is a form of the

mayor–council government The mayor–council government system is a system of local government that has a mayor who is directly elected by the voters serve as chief executive, and a separately elected legislative city council. It is one of the two most common forms of loc ...

, via the "strong mayor" variant.

Powers, duties, and functions

The Sangguniang Panlungsod, as the legislative body of the city, is mandated by the Local Government Code of 1991 to: *Approve ordinances and resolutions *Generate and maximize the use of resources and revenues for the development plans, program objectives and priorities of the city *Enact ordinances granting franchises and authorizing the issuance of permits or licenses, subject to the provisions of Book II of the Local Government Code of 1991, *Regulate activities relative to the use of land, buildings and structures within the city *Approve ordinances which shall ensure the efficient and effective delivery of the basic services and facilities as provided for under Section 17 of the Local Government Code *Exercise such other powers and perform such other duties and functions as may be prescribed by law or ordinance

Composition

Presiding officer

The city vice mayor serves as the presiding officer of the Sangguniang Panlungsod, although he has no voting privilege except in cases to break a deadlock. In the absence of the vice mayor, a temporary presiding officer is assigned by the members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod from among themselves.

Regular members

The number of elected councilors a city's Sangguniang Panlungsod is entitled to is determined by statutes. In some cases, the number of regular SP members and/or the delineation of SP districts is provided in the city's own charter (e.g., Sorsogon City) or in a separate Congressional Act (e.g., Bacoor). In absence of such provisions, the Republic Acts numbered 6636 and 7166 provide that the default size of a city's SP is ten members, elected at large. The exceptions are: * if a

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...

city comprises a lone legislative district, COMELEC divides the city into two SP districts which elect 6 members each, for a total of 12; * if a Metro Manila city is divided into two or more legislative districts, each district elects 6 members, unless explicitly provided for in the city's charter or another statute (e.g.,

Makati Makati ( ), officially the City of Makati ( fil, Lungsod ng Makati), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. Makati is the financial center of the Philippines; it has the highest concentration ...

Marikina Marikina (), officially the City of Marikina ( fil, Lungsod ng Marikina), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 456,159 people. It is loca ...

Muntinlupa Muntinlupa, officially the City of Muntinlupa ( fil, Lungsod ng Muntinlupa), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the ...

Parañaque Parañaque, officially the City of Parañaque ( fil, Lungsod ng Parañaque, ), is a first class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to t ...

and

Taguig Taguig (), officially the City of Taguig ( fil, Lungsod ng Taguig), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in Metro Manila, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 886,722 people. Located in the northwestern shores of ...

); * if a city outside Metro Manila comprises a lone

legislative district An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

, it elects 12 members as one at-large district; * if a city outside Metro Manila is divided into two or more legislative districts, each district elects 8 members. Of all the cities, Manila and Quezon City have the most elected councilors with 36 each, followed by Davao City with 24 and Caloocan City with 18.

Other members

Similar to the

Sangguniang Panlalawigan Sangguniang Panlalawigan (abbreviated as SP; ), commonly known as the Provincial Board, are the legislatures in Philippine provinces. They are the legislative branches of the provinces, and their powers and responsibilities are defined by the Loca ...

in the

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

Sangguniang Bayan The Sangguniang Bayan () is the local legislative branch of the municipal governments in the Philippines. It is responsible for passing ordinances and resolutions for the administration of a municipality. Its powers are defined by the Local Gov ...

in the

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

, the Local Government Code of 1991 also allocates a Sangguniang Panlungsod seat each to the city chairpersons of the

Liga ng mga Barangay The Liga ng mga Barangay sa Pilipinas (League of Barangays in the Philippines) and the Asosasyon ng mga Kapitan ng Barangay (Association of Barangay Captains) or ABC are formal organizations of all the barangays in the Philippines. Presently, al ...

(League of

Barangay A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolitan ...

s), Pederasyon ng mga Sangguniang Kabataan (Federation of Youth Councils), and other sectoral representatives as determined locally relevant, such as an '' IP Representative''.

References