Local Legislators' Toolkit - The Sangguniang Panlalawigan ng ...

A. UNDERSTANDING THE ROLES AND DUTIES OF LOCALLEGISLATORSAnswering three basic questions will get local legislators started in their work in thesanggunian:• What is a legislator?• What are the roles of a local legislator?• What are the powers, duties and responsibilities of the sanggunian?A local legislator or sanggunian member is generally understood to be:• a lawmaker or a person who makes laws, and• a member of a local legislative body with the power to make laws.What does it really mean to make laws? <strong>The</strong> power to make laws or legislative power meansthree things: political power, police power and taxing power.• Political power is the power to enact laws providing for the establishment,organization and operation of the local government.• Police power is the essence of what government does; it is the power to enact lawsto promote peace, health, safety and welfare.• Taxing power is the duty to levy and collect taxes to raise revenue to pay forgovernment operations, including salaries of local government officials andpersonnel.However, the local legislator is more than a lawmaker. He or she “wears many hats” or inother words is expected to perform a variety of roles in the community – as a leader,overseer, facilitator and institution builder, among others.19