GAWA secretary general Wennie Sancho, has declared that as far as the labor sector is concerned, RA 7160 or the Local Government Code of 1991 providing for Local Sectoral Representation in Sec. 41(c), has become a “dead letter law.”
Local sectoral representation is one of the most magnificent democratic provisions in the 1987 Constitution, as well as in the Local Government Code. Unfortunately, however, after almost 33 years since its enactment into law, Congress has yet to pass an “enabling law” that will pave the way for the conduct of elections for local sectoral representatives in the Sanggunians, he said in a press statement.
A dead letter law is a law that has not been repealed but is ineffectual or defunct in practice. Simply put, it is something that has lost its force or authority without being formally abolished. Having the law signed is one thing, having it implemented is another, he noted.
Sancho said Sec. 41(c) of the Local Government Code states that “In addition thereto, there shall be one representative from the women, one representative from the workers and one from any of the following sectors: the urban poor, indigenous cultural communities, disabled persons and elderly or any other sector as maybe determined by the Sanggunian concerned, within 90 days prior to the holding of the next local elections, maybe provided by law.”
Moreover, Art. X Sec. 9 of the 1987 Constitution mandates that legislative bodies of local government shall have sectoral representatives as may be provided by law. It seeks to enhance greater participation and representation by the people in the policy-making on the local government level. However, this constitutional and statutory provision has not been implemented until now. This is an injustice to the civil societies and peoples organizations who are representing the interests of the poor, the needy and the oppressed, his press release said.
Was the delay for more than three decades, in passing an enabling law, a deliberate act of our legislators? Or was it a downright refusal on their part to prevent the participation of the progressive groups, representing the marginalized sectors, in the local sanggunians? If so, this constitutes an abridgement of our political rights. Most of our representatives in Congress, who are supposed to be the servants of the people, are looking the other way while our rights for local sectoral representation are being trampled upon and the voice of the people are suppressed. They are guilty of dereliction of duty, Sancho added.
The time has come to move from words to actions so that the legislation in force ceases to be a dead letter law. But if no one does anything about it, the law becomes a dead letter law. If we leave it to our legislators in Congress, it might be gathering dust in the archives or it will be dumped together with all dead letter laws, into the dustbin of antiquity. Is there any legislator who would take the challenge to lead the crusade to pass an enabling law? He asked in his statement.*
