The Challenges for LSR Rebecca L' Malay Director, Advocacy and Development Cooperation, Philippine R

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The Challenges for LSRRebecca L. MalayDirector,
Advocacy and Development Cooperation,Philippine
Rural Reconstruction MovementSecretary General,
Consortium on Electoral Reform

• Legal bases
• Salient Features
• Issues

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The Legal Bases for LSR

• Section 9, Art. X of the 1987 Constitution states
  that legislative bodies of local governments
  shall have sectoral representation as may be
  prescribed by law.

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Legal Bases for the LSR

• Section 41( c) of R.A. No. 7160 or the LGC, on
  the other hand, states that there shall be one
  (1) sectoral representative from the women, one
  (1) from the workers, and one (1) from any of the
  following sectors the urban poor, indigenous
  cultural communities, disabled persons, or any
  other sector as may be determined by the
  sanggunian concerned within ninety (90) days
  prior to the holding of the next local elections
  as may be provided for by law. It also states
  that COMELEC shall promulgate the rules and
  regulations to effectively provide for the
  election of such sectoral representatives.

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Legal Bases for the LSR

• In 1995, Congress enacted R.A. No. 7887, which
  instituted certain electoral reforms. The last
  par. of Sec. 1 thereof states that the COMELEC
  shall promulgate rules and regulations to
  effectively implement the provisions of law which
  may hereafter be enacted providing for the
  election of sectoral representatives.

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Salient Features of the Bill

• Election of (3) sectoral representatives each in
  the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, Sangguniang Bayan
  and Sangguniang Panlungsod
• One (1) from the women sector
• one (1) from the workers and

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• one (1) from any of the following sectors
  indigenous cultural communities,
  differently-abled persons, senior citizens,
  victims of calamities and disasters, children and
  urban poor, or any other sector as may be
  determined by the sanggunian concerned not later
  than one (1) year prior to the holding of the
  next local elections Provided that, such third
  sector shall likewise belong to the marginalized
  sectors of society

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Salient features of the Bill

• In cases of provinces, cities and municipalities
  with more than one district, sectoral
  representatives shall be elected at large.
• The third sector already determined by the
  sanggunian shall remain in force unless the
  sanggunian concerned determines a new sector. In
  the event that the sanggunian fails to determine
  the third sector in the first sectoral elections,
  the third sector shall be contested by any of the
  other sectors enumerated in this section.

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Salient Features of the Bill

• (b) the first election will be on the second
  Monday of May 2007 and every three years
  thereafter
• (c) requirement of registration of sectoral
  organizations/coalitions to qualify in
  elections
• (d) qualifications of sectoral nominees

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Salient Features of the Bill

• (e) forfeiture of seat by any elected sectoral
  representative who changes his organizational
  affiliation during his term of office and
• (f) conduct of voters education.

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The Challenges against the LSR

• Apparent lack of interest by the Senate
• This bill has been passed by the 12th Congress
  but it continued to be unheard in the Senate.
• There were proponents of this bill in the Senate
  (Pangilinan, Sotto, De Castro, Legarda, Ejercito)
  but even after concerted lobby efforts by CSOs,
  the bill was not scheduled for hearing

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Festering issues in the advocacy for LSR

• The Cost of LSR
• Php 1,643,600,000 for 5,607 positions
• A study done by the Local Governance Policy Forum
  in 2002 showed that based on 2000 data, LGUs are
  still very much dependent on the IRA as a main
  source of their income.
• About 63 of the total income of all LGUs is
  derived from IRA, taxes, 21.8, 14.3 non tax
  revenues and the rest from share in the national
  wealth, 0.7

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Festering issues

• With the current fiscal crisis, government will
  be reluctant to pay for the cost of electing LSR
• As it is, the proposed withholding of the IRA is
  estimated to save the government around Php 40
  billion
• However, the IRA cuts as a deficit relief measure
  should not be an excuse not to have local
  sectoral representatives

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Prospects

• Hopes in the 13th Congress
• The bill has been re-filed by De Guzman, AKBAYAN
• No author has yet been identified in the Senate
  but CSOs will continue to lobby Sens.
  Pangilinan,Ejercito who were the bills authors
  in the last senate

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Who wins?

• Participatory local governance
• More people will find their voices heard
• Adequate representation will result to greater
  benefits to sectors in their own territories
• Government is closer to the people and is made to
  respond immediately to peoples needs
• Promotes broader autonomy
• Development of new local leaders

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Who loses?

• Selfish political interests local traditional,
  patronage-based politics
• Incompetent local leaders