Legislative Index

Republic of the Philippines
Office of the Sanguniang Bayan
Taytay, Rizal

Ordinance No. 795 series of 2023

AN ORDINANCE INSTITUTIONALIZING PAPERLESS LEGISLATION OF THE SANGGUNIANG BAYAN OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF TAYTAY, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFORE AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

WHEREAS, Republic Act 8792, otherwise known as the “Electronic Commerce Act of 2000”, aims to facilitate domestic and international dealings, transactions, arrangements agreements, contracts and exchanges and storage of information through the utilization of electronic, optical and similar medium, mode, instrumentality and technology to recognize the authenticity and reliability of electronic documents related to such activities and to promote the universal use of electronic transaction in the government and general public, among others;

WHEREAS, the world is going digital and local government units are seeing the value of using technology as a more efficient and environment-friendly option in improving internal and external processes;

WHEREAS, there is a need to implement a paperless legislation as a new mode of modernizing the current legislative work and processes of the Sangguniang Bayan in the context of current technological developments to eliminate the voluminous paper-generating processes, thereby reducing expenses and increasing productivity;

WHEREAS, an effective Legislative Body is one that always adopts to the changing demands of its clients, thus, setting up these systems is an essential innovative strategy of the Sangguniang Bayan to further improve the delivery of its mandates and functions as well as the support of the SB Secretariat.

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED, by the 12th Sangguniang Bayan of Taytay, Rizal, in a session duly assembled, that:

Section 1. Title - This Ordinance shall be known as the “Paperless Session Ordinance of Taytay, Rizal”

Section 2. Declaration of policy - It is hereby declared the policy of the Sangguniang Bayan to promote environmental sustainability and efficiency in the legislative process by adopting paperless technology and digital platforms for document management and communication among its members. This policy aims to reduce paper waste, increase accessibility to information, and streamline decision-making processes.

Section 3. Definition of terms - The following terms used in this Ordinance shall be defined as follows:

a. E-signature (Electronic Signature) - also known as digital signature, is a digital version of a conventional handwritten signature.
b. Electric governance - defined as service delivery within government - as well as between government and the public - using information and communication technologies or ICT.
c. Hard Copy - printed versions of documents.
d. Internal Rules of Procedures (IRP) - a set of guidelines adopted by every Sanggunian that governs the proceedings of official sessions.
e. Legislative Information System - a system developed to ease off the use of manual processing of documents. It is more manageable and trackable. It allows the users to collaborate and use technology to further improve the delivery of its mandates and functions.
f. Online Drive - refers to online storage facilities such as but is not limited to Google Drive, One Drive, Dropbox, Cloud, and the likes.
g. Paperless Session - a legislative session that has minimal paper-based processes and relies on digitized documents instead.
h. Secretariat - in this ordinance, refers to the Sangguniang Bayan Secretariat.
i. Soft Copy/ies - non-printed versions of a document, which may include scanned copies of an existing document.

Section 4. Operating principles - Paperless Sessions shall be guided with the following systems:

4.1 The Paperless Session System:

a. The SB shall conduct its legislative sessions through the paperless session system.

b. All documents and communications for inclusion in the Calendar of Business shall be submitted to the Sangguniang Bayan Secretariat in accordance to the deadline of submission stipulated in the present Sangguniang Bayan’s Internal Rules of Procedure or IRP, with the exception of urgent communications as certified by the Honorable Mayor. However, all urgent and/or communications from the Office of the Mayor must likewise be duly received by the Records Officer or its duly authorized personnel for tracking purposes with one (1) copy each for all SB Members, the Vice Mayor and the SB Secretary.

c. Hard copy documents may be submitted to the Secretariat’s office for scanning or via the official email and/or assigned online drive by the Secretariat if the documents are already on soft copies.

d. All documents to be included in the calendar of business together with its corresponding attachments shall be sent to the SB Members at least twenty-four (24) hours before the scheduled session, or in the event of a special session, at least eight (8) hours prior, through any of the following means:
d.1 Upload to online drive (ie. Google Drive)
d.2 Sent to the SB Members email addresses
d.3 Copied to a storage device (ie. flashdrive)
d.4 Forwarded/ shared through network connections i.e., Bluetooth, Airdrop

e. All documents included in the Order and Calendar of Business shall be projected in the monitor of each Member of the SB and on a wide screen mounted on the wall of the Session Hall for viewing purposes of visitors and guests in the gallery.

f. Minutes of previous sessions shall likewise be submitted to the SB Members via soft copy, through any of the means identified in Section 4.1 (d) of this ordinance.

g. Attachments to referrals and endorsements to Committees shall likewise use the electronic or scanned copies of document.

h. Scanned copies shall be clear enough to visibly read all markings, data and other important remarks on the document.

i. Proofreading of the journals and minutes of the SB Sessions shall use the proofreading and/or review applications of MS Word so as to minimize use of voluminous papers. Only the final draft shall be made in printed form for review and proofreading of the SB Secretary.

j. The SB Secretary shall establish and maintain a strong internet connection at the SP Session Hall and in the office of the SB Members for faster forwarding of communications and access of any related data on the net during sessions.

k. The Secretariat may keep a hard copy of each document and communication for filing purposes.

l. All the members of the Sanggunian and the SB Secretary shall be registered under the Philippine National Public Key Infrastructure Program of the DICT for official e-signatories.

4.2 The Legislative Information System:

a. The Legislative Information System (LIS) shall be the data storage of all electronic files of the SB.

b. It shall be managed and administered by the Legislative Tracking and Monitoring Unit of the SB in proper coordination with the Technical and Digital Unit.

c. It shall have the following features:
c.1 Internal and external tracking and monitoring of legislative processes;
c.2 Easy access and retrieval of legislative documents for printing;
c.3 Notification and alarm systems for updates, prescription periods and the prescribed reporting rule of Committees as per the present IRP;
c.4 Generate history reports of resolutions and ordinances; e.g. Generate legislative reports, tracking and monitoring reports and legislative survey / feedbacks reports; and
c.5 Other important features the officials deem necessary in improving the services of the support staff in aid of legislation.

Section 5. Capacity Enhancement Training of Officials and concerned Personnel of the SB Paperless Session system and the Legislative Information System

Technical personnel of the Legislative Tracking and Monitoring Unit shall implement a capacity enhancement training with the Vice Mayor and SB Members as well as their respective technical staff for the operation of their laptops and other electronic devices for the SB Paperless Session System as well as the entire SB Secretariat.

Concerned personnel who will manage and administer the Legislative Information System (LIS) shall, aside from educational qualifications, trainings, and work experiences, likewise undergo related trainings particularly in managing and/or administering information system and information management office.

Section 6. Specification of Roles of the SB Legislative Tracking and Monitoring Unit

The SB Legislative Tracking and Monitoring Unit as a unit under the Office of the SB Secretary is tasked to administer, maintain, enhance, and safeguard the Legislative Information System (LIS) of the Sangguniang Bayan.

The Unit is tasked to implement internal as well as external tracking. Internal tracking determines the status of proposed legislative measures, ex: draft resolutions and ordinances; status of referrals and endorsements to Committees as well as other concerned and involved departments and offices within the SB. External tracking, on the other hand, handles the tracking of the implementation of enacted and approved ordinances and resolutions keep a safe and orderly, documentation of the data base and make available information related thereto and submit initial recommendations for legislative action.

6.1 Duties and Responsibilities:

a. Overall administration of the Legislative Information System of the Sangguniang Bayan;
b. Oversee the implementation of the Paperless Session of the Sangguniang Bayan;
c. Facilitate e-recording and database management of Legislative files;
d. Work closely with internal and external clients and carryout analysis of the existing system of the Sangguniang Bayan; and
e. Such other duties and responsibilities that may be prescribed by the Sangguniang Bayan.

Section 7. Monitoring and Evaluation - The SB Legislative Tracking and Monitoring Unit shall conduct periodic legislative survey to assess the level of awareness of the people about a certain policy; the level of implementation of major Ordinances and level of responsiveness of a certain policy to the subject issue as a form of feedback mechanism. Results, discussions, and initial recommendations thereof shall be furnished to the Office of the Mayor, Vice Mayor and the SB Members for their information and guidance.

Section 8. Funding - The funding for the Paperless Session shall be sourced from the General Funds of the Local Government Unit and shall be appropriated for the following activities:
1. Acquisition/Installation of computer hardware, software, electronic and cabling system, and other necessary equipment to include the provisions of the Legislative Tracking and Monitoring Unit Office; data base and viewing monitor shall be included in the appropriations; and
2. Acquisition of tablets or laptop/ desktop computers for each of the SB members, the Vice Mayor, and the SB Secretary to be used exclusively in the performance of their legislative functions and duties.
3. Payment for website domains, servers, and security providers shall also be budgeted.
4. Subscription to a steady internet source shall be appropriated as well.
5. Other repairs and purchases related to the implementation of Paperless Session and Legislative Information System.

Section 9. Repealing Clause - Any provision of existing ordinance or executive order contrary to the provisions hereof shall be deemed repealed or amended accordingly.

Section 10. Separability Clause - If for any reason any portion of this Ordinance is declared unconstitutional or invalid, the other portions or provisions hereof which are not affected shall continue to be in full force and effect.

Section 11. Effectivity - This Ordinance shall take effect ten (10) days after posting of this Ordinance in all Official Municipal Transparency Boards.

ENACTED, this 15th day of November, 2023, 3:10 PM at the Sangguniang Bayan Session Hall, Municipality of Taytay, Province of Rizal.

Authored by:
Coun. John Tobit E. Cruz

Co-Authored by:

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