LOCAL GOVERNMENT | PROVINCIAL

Provinces
A province is composed of a cluster of municipalities, or municipalities and component cities. A province may be created if it has an average annual income of not less than P20,000,000 based on 1991constant prices and a contiguous territory of at least 2,000 square kilometers or a population of not less than 250,000. The territory need not be contiguous if it comprises two or more islands or is separated by a chartered city or cities which do not contribute to the income of the province.

Each province has a governor, a vice governor, members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, a secretary to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, a provincial treasurer, a provincial assessor, a provincial accountant, a provincial engineer, a provincial budget officer, a provincial planning and development coordinator, a provincial legal officer, a provincial administrator, a provincial health officer, a provincial social welfare and development officer, a provincial general services officer, a provincial agriculturist, and a provincial veterinarian.

In addition, the governor may appoint a provincial population officer, a provincial natural resources and environment officer, a provincial cooperative officer, a provincial architect, and a provincial information officer.

The provincial government is a microcosm of the national government. It operationalizes the separate but complementary branches of government: the executive, the legislative, and the judicial components of governance.

The executive branch, headed by the governor, is tasked to implement provincial ordinances and applicable national laws and statutes. The executive has under its jurisdiction all the national government agencies operating in the province.

The legislative branch, which is mandated to enact provincial ordinances, is headed by the vice governor and is composed of the members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.

The judicial branch is charged with the interpretation of laws and the implementation of the judicial system. It is vested in the regional trial court (RTC) which is headed by an RTC judge. If there are two or more RTCs in the province, an executive judge is designated to handle the administrative supervision of all courts within the province.

In addition, independent constitutional bodies (such as the Commission on Audit and the Commission on Elections), which are not under the jurisdiction of any of the three branches of government, also operate in the province.

Who may be elected governor, vice governor, and member of the sangguniang panlalawigan?

• A citizen of the Philippines
• At least 23 years old on election day
• Able to read and write Filipino or any other local language or dialect
• A registered voter and a resident for at least one year immediately preceding the election in the province where he or she is running

What happens if a permanent vacancy occurs in the office of the governor?

• The vice governor becomes the governor.
• If a permanent vacancy occurs in the offices of the governor and vice governor, the highest ranking sanggunian member or, in case of his or her permanent disability, the second highest ranking sanggunian member, will become the governor or vice governor.
• A tie between or among the highest ranking sanggunian members shall be resolved by the drawing of lots.
• Subsequent vacancies shall be filled automatically by other sanggunian members according to their ranking.
• The successor will serve only the unexpired terms of his or her predecessor.

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