Article VI
The Legislative Department
Section 1. Regional Assembly.—The legislative power of the autonomous government shall be vested in the Regional Assembly except to the extent that it is reserved to the people by provisions on initiative and referendum as provided by law.
Sec. 2. Election of Regional Assembly.—The Regional Assembly shall be composed of Members elected by popular vote, with three (3) members elected from each of the legislative districts.
Sec. 3. Sectoral Representatives.—There shall be sectoral representatives in the Regional Assembly whose number shall not exceed fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of elected members of the Regional Assembly coming from the agricultural, labor, urban poor, disabled, indigenous cultural communities, youth, and women sectors. The Regional Assembly may enact legislation to provide for the representation of other sectors. The youth representative shall not be less than eighteen (18) years of age nor more than twenty-one (21) years of age at the time of his or her assumption to office.
The sectoral representatives shall be entitled to the same salary and allowances and rights and privileges enjoyed by the regularly elected members of the Regional Assembly. They shall be elected on the same date as that fixed for the election of the members of the Regional Assembly.
Sec. 4. Term of Office.—The members of the Regional Assembly, including the sectoral representatives, shall have a term of three (3) years which shall begin, at noon on the 30th day of September next following the day of the election and shall end at noon of the same date three (3) years thereafter.
No member of the Regional Assembly shall serve more than three (3) consecutive terms. Voluntary renunciation of or removal from office for any length of time shall not be considered as an interruption in the continuity of his service for the full term for which he was elected.
Sec. 5. Filing of Vacancy.—In case of vacancy in the Regional Assembly occurring at least one (1) year before the expiration of the term of office, a special election shall be called to fill the vacancy in the manner prescribed by regional law. The member elected shall serve only for the unexpired term.
Sec. 6. Qualifications of Members of Regional Assembly.—No person shall be a member of the Regional Assembly unless he or she is:
(1) A natural-born citizen of the Philippines;
(2) At least twenty-one (21) years of age on the day of the election;
(3) Able to read and write;
(4) A registered voter of the district in which he or she shall be elected on the day he or she files his or her certificate of candidacy; and
(5) A resident thereof for a period of not less than five (5) years immediately preceding the day of the election.
Sec. 7. Oath of Office.—Every member of the Regional Assembly shall take an oath or affirmation of allegiance to the Republic, renounce the use of violence, and commit himself or herself to democratic means in the pursuit of the ideals and aspirations of the people of the autonomous region before taking his or her seat.
Sec. 8. Salaries.—Unless otherwise provided by the Regional Assembly, a member of the Regional Assembly shall receive an annual salary of One hundred eighty thousand pesos (₱180,000.00) except the Speaker of the Regional Assembly who shall receive an annual salary of Two hundred thousand pesos (₱200,000.00), subject to the Salary Standardization Law.
The annual compensation of the Speaker and Members of the Regional Assembly may be increased by the Regional Assembly in accordance with existing laws on position classification and compensation of the central government or national government. The increase shall, however, not take effect until after the expiration of the terms of office of the members of the assembly who had approved the increase. The increase shall be funded solely from revenue raised by the Regional Government. No funds or parts thereof provided by the central government or national government for the Regional Government shall be used for salaries, honoraria, per diems or to increase the salaries, honoraria or per diems of the officials or employees of the Regional Government.
They shall not receive during their tenure other emoluments from the Regional Government or from the central government or national government.
Sec. 9. Forfeiture of Seat.—Any member of the Regional Assembly who accepts an appointment and qualifies for any position in the Government, including government-owned-or-controlled corporations or institutions and their subsidiaries, shall automatically forfeit his or her seat in the Regional Assembly.
Sec. 10. Disclosure of Financial or Business Interests.—All members of the Regional Assembly shall, upon their assumption of office, make a full disclosure of their financial and business interests, including those of their spouses and unmarried children under eighteen (18) years of age living in their households. They shall notify the assembly of any potential conflict of interest that may arise from the filing of measures of which they are authors upon the filing thereof.
Any member found guilty of non-disclosure as required under this Section may be expelled by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of all the members of the Regional Assembly, without prejudice to his or her other liabilities under pertinent legislation.
Sec. 11. Prohibited Acts for Members of the Regional Assembly.—No member of the Regional Assembly may personally appear as counsel before courts of justice or quasi-judicial and other administrative bodies. Neither shall the member directly or indirectly, be interested financially in any contract with, or in any franchise or special privilege granted by the central government or national government or by the regional government, or any subdivision, agency or instrumentality thereof, including any government-owned-or-controlled corporation or its subsidiary, during his or her term of office. The member shall not intervene in any manner before any office of the government for his or her pecuniary benefit or where he or she may be called upon to act on account of his or her office.
Sec. 12. Parliamentary Immunity.—Any members of the Regional Assembly who commits offenses within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region punishable by not more than six (6) years imprisonment, shall be privileged from arrest while the Regional Assembly is in session.
No member of the Regional Assembly shall be questioned or be held liable in any other place for any speech or debate in the assembly or in any of its committees.
Sec. 13. Rules of Procedure; Discipline of Members and Civil Service Rules.—The Regional Assembly shall adopt its own rules of procedure by a majority vote of all its members including the selection of members of its standing committees and for the suspension or expulsion of its members.
The Regional Assembly shall elect from among its members a speaker and such other officers as the rules may provide. The Speaker shall appoint the personnel of the Regional Assembly. All qualified applicants shall have equal opportunity for employment with the regional government. Inhabitants of the autonomous region shall, however, have preference for appointment to any position in the regional government without regard to ethnic origin, culture, sex, creed, and religion.
For a period not exceeding six (6) years from the date of the approval of this Organic Act, appointments to the various positions in the Regional Government shall be subject to the Civil Service law rules, and regulations of the central government or national government. Thereafter, the Civil Service law, rules, and regulations adopted by the Regional Government shall apply to all such appointments. If no Civil Service law, rules, or regulations are adopted by the Regional Government, appointments to positions in the Regional Government shall continue to be governed by the Civil Service law, rules, and regulations of the central government or national government.
A majority of all the members of the Regional Assembly shall constitute a quorum to do business, but a smaller number may adjourn from day of and may compel the attendance of absent members in such a manner and under such penalties as the assembly may provide.
The Regional Assembly or any of its committees may conduct inquiries or public consultations in aid of legislation in accordance with its rules. In connection therewith, it shall have the power to issue subpoenae or subpoenae duces tecum to compel the attendance of and the production of papers, documents, or things by witnesses or persons under investigation by the assembly, itself, or by any of its committees. It shall also have the right to cite witnesses or persons under investigation for contempt for refusal to testify before it or before any of its committees or to produce papers, documents or things required by the assembly or any of its committees. The rights of persons appearing in or affected by such inquiries shall be respected.
The Regional Assembly shall keep a journal of its proceedings and a record of its caucuses and meetings. The record and books of accounts of the assembly shall be preserved and open to public scrutiny.
The Commission on Audit of the Regional Government shall publish an annual report of the itemized list of expenditures incurred by the members of the Regional Assembly within sixty (60) days from the end of very regular session.
Sec. 14. Questioning Cabinet Members and Other Officials.—The Regional Assembly may, in aid of legislation and with the express consent of the Regional Governor, require the presence of the regional cabinet members or their deputies as its rules shall provide, for questioning on matters falling within the scope of their powers and functions.
The Regional Assembly may require any regional commission, office, or agency of the central government or national government with offices in the autonomous region to explain matters relating to the exercise of its powers and functions.
Sec. 15. Regular and Special Sessions.—Except as provided by its rules, the Regional Assembly shall meet in open session. Regular sessions shall commence on the 4th Monday of October and shall continue to be in session for such number of days as may be determined by the assembly until thirty (30) days before the opening of its next regular session exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays.
The Regional Assembly may meet in special sessions at the request of one-third (1/3) of all its Members or by call of the Regional Governor. The special session shall have a specific agenda.
Sec. 16. Passage of Bills.—No bill shall become a law of regional application unless it has passed three (3) readings on separate days and printed copies thereof in its final form have been distributed to its members three (3) days before its passage, except when the Regional Governor certifies to the necessary of its immediate enactment to meet a public calamity or emergency.
Sec. 17. Approval of Bills and Overriding of Veto.—Every bill passed by the Regional Assembly, shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the Regional Governor. If the Regional Governor approves the bill, he or she shall sign it; otherwise, he or she shall veto it on the ground that it is ultra-vires or it is against public policy and return it with his or her objections to the Regional Assembly. The Regional Assembly shall, thereafter, enter the objections at large in its journal and may proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, two-thirds (2/3) of all the Members of the Regional Assembly shall agree to pass the bill, it shall become a law. In such cases, the vote shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the members voting for or against shall be entered in the journal. The Regional Governor shall communicate his veto of any bill to the Regional Assembly within thirty (30) days after the date of its receipt; otherwise, it shall become a law as if he had signed it.
Sec. 18. Submittal of Bills to the President and Congress.—The Speaker of the Regional Assembly shall within ten (10) working days from their approval thereof, submit to the President and to both Houses of Congress a certified true copy of all laws and resolutions approved by the Regional Assembly.
Sec. 19. Creation, Division or Abolition of Provinces, Cities, Municipalities, or Barangay.—The Regional Assembly may create, divide, merge, abolish, or substantially alter boundaries of provinces, cities, municipalities, or barangay in accordance with the criteria laid down by Republic Act No. 7160, the Local Government Code of 1991, subject to the approval by a majority of the votes cast in a plebiscite in the political units directly affected. The Regional Assembly may prescribe standards lower than those mandated by Republic Act No. 7160, the Local Government Code of 1991, in the creation, division, merger, abolition, or alteration of the boundaries of provinces, cities, municipalities, or barangay. Provinces, cities, municipalities, or barangay created, divided, merged, or whose boundaries are altered without observing the standards prescribed by Republic Act No. 7160, the Local Government Code of 1991, shall not be entitled to any share of the taxes that are allotted to the local governments units under the provisions of the Code.
The financial requirements of the provinces, cities, municipalities, or barangay so created, divided, or merged shall be provided by the Regional Assembly out of the general funds of the Regional Government.
The holding of a plebiscite to determine the will of the majority of the voters of the areas affected by the creation, division, merger, or whose boundaries are being altered as required by Republic Act No. 7160, the Local Government Code of 1991, shall, however, be observed.
The Regional Assembly may also change the names of local government units, public places and institutions, and declare regional holidays.
Sec. 20. Annual Budget and Infrastructure Funds.—The annual budget of the Regional Government shall be enacted by Regional Assembly. Funds for infrastructure in the autonomous region allocated by the central government or national government shall be appropriated through a Regional Assembly Public Works Act.
Unless approved by the Regional Assembly, no public works funds allocated by the central government or national government for the Regional Government or allocated by the Regional Government from its own revenues may be disbursed, distributed, realigned, or used in any manner.
This work is in the public domain because it is a work of the Philippine government (see Republic Act No. 8293 Sec. 176).
All official Philippine texts of a legislative, administrative, or judicial nature, or any official translation thereof, are ineligible for copyright.
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