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Rules of the Committee on Local Government

Pursuant of Section 21 of Article VI of the Constitution of the Philippines and Rules X and XI of the Rules of the Senate as amended, the following Rules are hereby adopted and promulgated:

SECTION 1. Jurisdiction. - The Committee on Local Government shall have jurisdiction over all matters relating to autonomous regions, provinces, cities, special metropolitan political subdivisions, municipalities and barangays.

SEC. 2. Chairman. - The Chairman of the Committee chosen by the Senate shall be the Chief Executive thereof and the presiding Officer of all its meetings and public hearings with all powers and duties inherent in said office.

The Chairman shall designate the Vice-Chairman who shall preside over the Committee meetings or hearings in the absence of the Chairman.

The Chairman or in his absence, any of the Vice-Chairmen shall preside over the Committee meetings/hearings. In their absence and when no Committee Member has been designated the most senior Member of the Committee shall act
as the acting presiding officer.

The Committee shall be composed of nine (9) Members and three (3) Ex-Officio Members.

SEC. 3. Sub-Committees. - The Chairman may create sub-committees for the purpose of performing any or all acts which the Committee as a whole is authorized to perform.

SEC. 4. Meetings. - The Committee shall hold regular and special meetings. Regular meetings shall be held at least once a month on such date, place and time, as may be determined by the Committee; special meetings may be called by the Chairman or at the request of at least (3) Members of
the Committee.

SEC. 5. Notices. - Service of notice shall be effected by personal delivery to the Committee Member or his duly authorized representative.

A notice of a regular meeting/hearing shall be served together with the agenda by the Committee Secretary or each
Committee Member at least one (1) day before the scheduled
meeting/hearing.

SEC. 6. Quorum. - One-third (1/3) of all the regular Committee Members shall constitute a quorum, however, the presence of two (2) members shall be sufficient to do business and/or conduct public hearing/facts gathering of
the Committee, in aid of legislation.

The Chairman shall announce the presence of a quorum before the Committee shall proceed to the business of the day and such proceedings shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting/hearing.

SEC. 7. - Representative. - A representative of any Member of the Committee may attend but is not allowed to participate and to vote on any matter before the Committee.

SEC. 8. Technical Working Group. - A Technical Working Group composed of designated staff of the Members of the Committee may be constituted by the Chairman to assist the Committee in the performance of its duties.

SEC. 9. Principal Author. - In all proceedings over a particular bill, resolution, communication or any other matter, the principal author thereof shall be notified and/or requested to be present at the meeting/hearing.

SEC. 10. Committee Report. - The Committee shall render a report on each bill, resolution, communication, or any other matter referred to it, as far as practicable within thirty (30) session day from the date of referral:

Provided, that this period may be extended by the Senate President upon the request of the Committee or its Chairman.

All Committee Reports shall, before their submission to the Senate, be approved at a meeting of the Committee called for that purpose, or by referendum, and the same shall be signed by the majority members of the Committee. Any dissenting member may signify his dissent in writing.

SEC. 11. Minutes. - Minutes of all regular meetings shall be prepared by the Legislative Committee Secretary. In case of public hearings or investigations, a summary of the proceedings shall be sufficient.

Stenographic notes shall be taken of all Committee proceedings including its executive sessions and the transcript of such stenographic notes shall form an integral part of the minutes or summary.

SEC. 12. - Confidential Documents. - No document of confidential nature shall be copied, withdrawn or taken from the Office of the Legislative Committee Secretary without the persmission of the Chairman.

SEC. 13. Rules on Inquiries. - The Senate Rules of Procedure Governing Inquiries in Aid of Legislation are hereby adopted as part of these Rules.

SEC. 14. Amendments. - These Rules may be amended by a motion filed at least one (1) day before its consideration and approved by the majority of the Members of the Committee.

SEC. 15. Effectivity. - These Rules shall take effect on the date of their adoption and shall remain in force until amended or repealed.

Adopted,