
Elected officials are required to answer grievances filed against them within 15 days after receiving the complaints, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said.
In a statement, the DILG specified that Section 62 of Republic Act No. 7160, or the “The Local Government Code of 1991’’, states that the investigation of the case will begin within 10 days after receiving such perfect answer.
“When the accused is an halal official of a province or highly urbanized cities (HUC), such hearing and investigation shall be duly conducted in the area where he/she has served or is working,’’ the DILG noted.
But for other local electoral officials, the DILG clarified that the venue of the hearing is at “Sanggunian’’ where the concerned officer is included.
However, the DILG explained that “no investigation shall be conducted within 90 days prior to any local election and no preventive suspension shall be imposed within the said period.’’
“If preventive suspension is imposed before the 90-day delay before the local election, it should be considered automatically nullified at the start of the mentioned period,’’ the DILG continued.
The DILG also noted that “The Local Government Code of 1991’’ provides that each Sanggunian shall keep a journal and record of its proceedings which may be published upon resolution of the Sanggunian concerned.
The DILG added that the secretary to the Sanggunian must attend meetings of the Sanggunian and keep a journal of its proceedings and “record in a book kept for the purpose, all ordinances and resolutions enacted or adopted by the Sanggunian, with the dates of passage and publication thereof.’’
“The Local Government Code explicitly mandates the Sanggunian to keep a journal of its proceedings. In the same vein, it expressly mandates the secretary to the Sanggunian to keep journals of the Sanggunian proceedings,’’ the DILG stressed.
Accordingly, the DILG emphasized that it is ideal and practical for the Sanggunian or the secretary to the Sanggunian to keep and maintain minutes alongside journals.
“The Sanggunian and the secretary should endeavor to maintain both documents as they serve complementary functions in ensuring efficacy and efficiency of the Sanggunian operations,’’ the DILG said.