The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has reiterated that vice mayors and vice governors cannot introduce or sponsor legislative measures, chair committees, or participate in debates or deliver privilege speeches. Despite this clear ruling, local officials in Cebu continue these practices, potentially exposing themselves to lawsuits for dereliction of duty and their legislative acts to legal challenges.
DILG Opinion and Legal Basis
DILG Opinion No. 95, series of 2025, issued on August 1, 2025, reaffirms its earlier Opinion No. 150, series of 2022. Both rely on Republic Act 7160, or the Local Government Code, and Supreme Court rulings, particularly Javier vs. Cadiao. The opinion explains that while vice mayors and vice governors are considered members of the Sanggunian for quorum purposes and must vote in case of a tie, they cannot exercise the full rights of regular members, such as debating and voting on all matters. Regular and ex-officio members enjoy full participation rights, including debating and voting. The DILG emphasized that if lawmakers intended vice mayors and vice governors to participate on the floor beyond tie-breaking votes, they would have included it in the law.
Cebu City Council Rules vs. DILG
The Cebu City Council's Rules of Procedure, approved on July 8, 2025, explicitly grant the vice mayor the right to author or co-author ordinances and resolutions (Section 3-c) and to participate in deliberations by temporarily relinquishing the presiding officer's chair to a temporary presiding officer (Section 3-d). This directly contradicts the DILG opinion. In practice, Vice Mayor Tomas Osmeña heads committees, files resolutions and ordinances, and steps down from the rostrum to join debates, all allowed by the City Council's rules but considered violations of the law and Supreme Court jurisprudence according to the DILG.
Cebu Provincial Board Rules
In contrast, the Cebu Provincial Board's Internal Rules of Procedure (IRP), adopted on July 7, 2025, do not include similar provisions. The only related rule is that the vice governor, as board chairman, automatically becomes a non-voting member of all committees (Section 1-k). Notably, the previous IRP (2019) contained a provision that explicitly gagged then Vice Governor Hilario Davide III, preventing him from stepping down as presiding officer to sponsor measures. That provision was deleted, likely to allow Vice Governor Glenn Soco, an ally of the dominant One Cebu Party, to participate more freely, though the IRP remains silent on his rights to author legislation or debate.
Legal Risks and Political Implications
The DILG opinion warns that local officials may be sued for dereliction of duty, and affected legislation may be assailed in court or administrative forums. Some Cebu officials have been suspended or fired for less serious offenses. Despite this, Vice Governor Soco and Vice Mayor Osmeña appear undeterred. The divergence between the Cebu City Council's permissive rules and the DILG's strict interpretation creates a legal gray area that could lead to challenges. The underlying reason for the ban is that vice mayors and vice governors are considered members of the Sanggunian only for specific purposes, unlike regular members who represent districts.
Related: Seares: Vice Guv Soco and VM Osmeña cannot relinquish job of presiding officer to take part as regular member of the Sanggunian, SunStar April 9, 2026. Full text of Internal Rules of Procedure of Cebu City Council and Cebu Provincial Board in CJJ: https://cebujournalism.ph (under category "Dossier: Media-useful Papers").
