"Sec. 2219½. Barrio Council.— In each barrio there shall be organized the barrio council which shall be composed of a barrio lieutenant who shall be its chairman, and such number of vice barrio lieutenants as there are sitios within the barrio who shall assist the barrio lieutenant in the discharge of his duties, a councilman for livelihood, a councilman for education, and a councilman for health who in addition to their other duties, will look after the enforcement of laws, ordinances and resolutions pertaining to matters comprised within their respective offices and the promotion of the welfare of the barrio. In barrios where there are no sitios, there shall be one vice barrio lieutenant for every two hundred inhabitants.1awp++i1 The barrio lieutenant and vice barrio lieutenants shall be elected at a meeting which shall be attended by at least one-third of all the residents of the barrio who are qualified voters. The election shall take place annually on the third Tuesday of January. The councilor of the barrio shall convoke and preside over the meeting. He shall appoint a board of inspectors and canvassers to conduct the election. Voting may be done either by open or secret ballot as one-half of the voters attending the election meeting may decide. Those who obtain the highest number of votes for the position for which they are candidates shall be declared elected and shall assume office immediately: Provided, However, That no person shall be elected vice barrio lieutenant unless he is a resident of the sitio."
"Every head of family who is a resident of the barrio and is twenty-one years of age or over is eligible to vote in the election, provided he has been a resident of the barrio for at least six months prior to the election.
"Any head of family who is a resident of the barrio and is not less than twenty-one years of age and possesses the necessary training, experience and fitness for the position may be a candidate for the barrio council.
"The members of the barrio council shall hold office for one year or until their successors are duly elected and qualified. But in no case can he be re-elected for more than four consecutive terms unless two years have elapsed from the expiration of his last term, in which case he shall again be eligible for election to any barrio office. They shall not receive any compensation or emolument of any kind.
"The barrio council shall have power to promulgate rules not inconsistent with law or ordinances of the municipal council, and subject to the approval of the latter, which shall be operative within the barrio. The council shall be responsible for the planning, budgeting and spending of funds belonging to the barrio treasury and shall have the following duties and powers:
"(a) To represent the barrio or portion of barrio where it is located, in cases in which such representation is not incompatible with the personality of the municipal council;
"(b) to hold a regular session once a month;
"(c) to make their own rules of procedure which shall be approved by the councilor concerned before they take effect;
"(d) to submit to the municipal council, through said councilor, such suggestions or recommendations as they may see fit for improvements in their place or for the welfare of the inhabitants thereof;
"(e) to provide for the publication by town crier or such other means as they see fit, of new laws and municipal ordinances;
"(f) to organize at least three times a year civil lectures tending to generalize information concerning the duties and rights of citizenship; and
"(g) to cooperate with the government for the success of measures of general interest in their respective barrios.
"The barrio councilmen may hold their sessions in the public school building of the barrio during hours when there are no classes, or in any house or lot in the barrio the provisional or permanent use of which may be granted to them for said purpose free of charge; and shall elect from among their number a secretary who shall prepare short minutes of the proceedings of the council and draft the recommendations or suggestions to be submitted by the same to the municipal council, in either any of the official languages of the country or in the local dialect. The barrio council shall also elect from among their number a treasurer who shall collect all fees and contributions due the barrio treasury for which he shall issue the proper receipts. He shall be the custodian of the barrio funds and shall deposit all collections with the municipal treasurer within a period of one week after receipt of such fees and contributions. He shall disburse the same in accordance with resolutions of the council, upon vouchers signed by the payee and approved by the barrio lieutenant with the approval of the municipal council and subject to availability of funds in the barrio treasury. The barrio council may provide for necessary traveling expenses for the barrio lieutenant or any member of the council."
Approved: September 9, 1955.
