BAGUIO
CITY – City councilors agreed to amend the local legislative body’s internal
rules of procedure to allow teleconferencing among them in their future
meetings to deliberate on important matters.
The resolution authored by all members of
the city legislative body sought to amend Resolution No. 177, series of 2019,
which provides the codified and revised internal rules of procedures for the
City Council as amended.
The resolution noted there are declared
state of emergencies or calamities that make it impossible for the city’s legislative
body to convene and transact business but must act on legislations that need
emergency or immediate actions in times of the foresaid situations, such as
this ongoing implementation of the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine
where there has been a virtual stoppage of operations of both public and
private sectors.
Under the 11th edition of the Robert’s Rules
of Order, meetings may be held by telephone conference if the by-laws
authorizes the group to do so.
Further, the Cambridge dictionary defined
video conferencing as a system that allows two or more people to see and
communicate with each other even if they are in various locations while
Investopedia defined the same as technology that allows participants to a meeting
to see each other face-to-face even if they are in different places.
The resolution pointed out that modern
technology allows various modes of meetings such as teleconferencing or
videoconferencing through the use of mobile phones, tablets or laptops for the
smooth conduct of transactions and the disposition of the appropriate
businesses.
According to the resolutions, all the
members of the City Council were issued by the city government with laptop
computers and mobile phones that could be equipped with proper software
applications to allow online conferences and meetings for the speedy
disposition of urgent matters during emergencies and calamities even if the
legislators are located in different place.
Based on the amended internal rules of
procedures of the city’s legislative body, the Sangguniang Panlungsod shall
conduct regular sessions or special sessions through video conference or
teleconference to tackle matters in the exigency of service in times of
emergency situations where the city legislative body cannot physically convene.
Moreover, a city councilor who is on
official travel during a regular or special session may participate in such
similar meetings through teleconferencing or video conferencing.
However, the same shall not apply when a
city legislator is absent for medical reasons and that a notice of attendance
by video conferencing or teleconferencing must be provided to the Secretary to
the Sanggunian not less than 24 hours before the start of the meeting.
At any meeting where a city legislator is
attending by video conferencing, teleconferencing or other electronic means,
there shall be a devise that allows the voice or video of a member to be heard
by everyone, present in the meeting and allows the city councilor to identify
himself or herself before speaking. -- Dexter A. See
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