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The Legislative Staff and Secretariat
By BONIFACIO AMADO M. QUIROG, JR.
The implementation of the New Local Government Code fosters democratic practices in
local government units. One concrete manifestation of such democratization is aptly
stated in the Manual for the Local Development Assistance (LDAP) which gives substance
to the principal of checks and balances so essential in a democracy.
The local Development Assistance Program that derives its spirit from the New local
Government Code provides that the Sangguniang Panlalawigan "is a separate entity placed
parallel with that of the Office of the Provincial Governor to signify and independence
of each other's responsibility". The New local Government Code therefore institutes a
new tact in local governance in that it demands more effort on the part of local
legislators to serve the public with equal vigor as traditionally does the executive
branch.
Heretofore, legislators have been known to serve only part-time. They showed up only
during sessions, and sessions were rather short, such that they could not give
legislative work total attention because, on the side, they were also business persons,
teachers, lawyers or other self-employed persons by profession. This of course is no
longer generally true nowadays as many legislators today increasingly devote much time
and effort to their legislative work.
But still, the obvious need and importance for legislators to have a competent and
professionalized support staff to assist them in the effective discharge of their
legislative functions could not overemphasized. With the advent of the process of
devolution and local autonomy, the work of legislative staffers becomes highly necessary
in managing the increasing workload of local legislatures such as the Sangguniang
Panlalawigan of Bohol.
Professionalizing the legislative staff. It is the legislature's task to conceive new
policies and write the laws in the very complicated problem areas that governments face
today. When society was much more simple, it was correspondingly easy to develop
legislation; furthermore, there were no extensive bureaucracies to oversee. As the
external environment of government became more complex, administrative agencies, in
their efforts to cope with the new tasks, hired specialists of many different kinds.
Legislatures are now employing professional staff and making other improvements for the
same reason : to try to adapt to the great societal changes.
Common tasks of the legislative staff. In a nutshell, legislative staff members perform
certain common tasks such as : preparation and drafting of legislative measures,
speeches; legal social, and technical research; clerical, secretarial, and
administrative work; preparation of correspondence and other forms of communication; and
public relations. It is a kind of job which requires highly competent people chosen on
the basis of merit, and demands a continuous training program to upgrade their skills.
Thrust and Vision. There is an implicit vision in the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Bohol
to have a core of permanent professionalized legislative staff equipped with the needed
skills who can ably assist all the Sangguniang Panlalawigan Members who may get elected
into office. Another alternative would be to train each current crop of legislative
staff members to equip them with the needed skills. This we have been doing for the last
few years and results have proven that we are moving in the right direction.
understandably, this vision will take time, resources, and commitment for its
fulfillment. But a highly qualified, efficient, expertly trained legislative staff
constitutes one of the strongest pillars of an effective local legislature and its
emergence is an imperative for the success of the redemocratization process.
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