I. Overview and Importance of Quorum in Committee Work

In municipal legislation, much of the substantive work happens at the committee level: bills are screened, positions are heard, facts are gathered, and compromises are forged before matters reach the plenary (the Sangguniang Bayan in session). Quorum rules determine whether a committee can validly act—i.e., deliberate as a committee, vote, adopt a report, and transmit recommendations to the Sanggunian.

Under the Local Government Code of 1991 (Republic Act No. 7160, “LGC”), quorum is expressly defined for the Sanggunian as a body in session, while committee quorum is largely left to the Sanggunian’s own rules of procedure. Because committees are creatures of the Sanggunian, committee quorum rules must be traced to:

the LGC provisions on Sanggunian organization and rules, and
the municipality’s duly adopted rules of procedure and committee system.

II. Statutory Framework Under the Local Government Code

A. The Sangguniang Bayan as a Collegial Legislative Body

The Sangguniang Bayan (SB) is the municipal legislative body. The LGC provides for:

its composition (regular members plus ex officio members such as the Liga ng mga Barangay and SK Federation presidents, when applicable and duly seated),
the Vice Mayor as presiding officer (generally voting only to break a tie),
and the adoption of internal rules.

B. Express Quorum Rule in the LGC: Quorum for the Sanggunian in Session

The LGC sets a baseline quorum rule for Sanggunian sessions:

Quorum is a majority of all the members of the Sanggunian who are “elected and qualified.”

Key implications:

Majority means more than half of the total membership being counted.
“Elected and qualified” means those who have been duly elected (or have the legal basis to sit, including ex officio members once they meet requirements) and have qualified/assumed office.
Vacant seats are not counted in the denominator if there is no elected/qualified member occupying that seat.

This LGC quorum rule is the controlling rule for plenary sessions (regular or special sessions) where the SB enacts ordinances/resolutions, approves committee reports, and conducts official business as the municipal legislative body.

III. The Committee System Under the LGC and Why Committee Quorum Is Different

A. Committees Are Created by the Sanggunian Through Its Rules

The LGC authorizes the Sanggunian to adopt rules of procedure and to organize itself, including the creation of committees and the definition of their functions. In practice, the SB’s rules of procedure typically specify:

standing committees (e.g., appropriations, environment, ways and means),
special committees,
committee membership and chairmanship,
committee hearing procedures and schedules,
quorum and voting requirements for committee actions.

B. Committees Do Not Legislate; They Recommend

A committee generally cannot enact an ordinance or resolution. What it produces is typically:

a committee report recommending approval, amendment, substitution, consolidation, or disapproval; and/or
findings from hearings or inquiries in aid of legislation.

Final action remains with the SB in session, subject to the LGC quorum rule for plenary meetings and the applicable voting thresholds for enactment.

IV. What the LGC Does—and Does Not—Say About Committee Quorum

A. What the LGC Clearly Provides

Plenary quorum: majority of all elected and qualified members (for sessions).
Authority to adopt rules: the SB must operate under its adopted rules of procedure (including committee systems).
Legislative investigations (in aid of legislation) must be conducted in accordance with duly adopted/published rules of procedure—a due process safeguard.

B. What the LGC Leaves to Local Rules

The LGC does not typically spell out a universal numerical quorum for committee meetings/hearings. As a result, committee quorum is ordinarily determined by:

the SB’s rules of procedure (primary),
the committee provisions in those rules (specific),
and, when silent, recognized parliamentary principles as adopted by the SB or as consistent with local practice (secondary).

Bottom line:

Plenary quorum is statutory.
Committee quorum is generally rule-based (internal rules), not fixed by a single LGC number.

V. The Default Committee Quorum Concept When Local Rules Are Silent

When SB rules of procedure explicitly define committee quorum, that definition governs.

When SB rules are silent, the most defensible default (consistent with general parliamentary practice and the idea that committees are smaller deliberative bodies) is:

A majority of the committee’s membership constitutes a committee quorum.

Example (committee-level):

Committee has 5 members → committee quorum is 3.
Committee has 7 members → committee quorum is 4.

This is a committee quorum—separate and distinct from the plenary quorum of the entire SB.

VI. Distinguishing Types of “Committee Events”: Hearing vs. Meeting vs. Consultation

In local practice, “committee hearing” can mean different things. Quorum consequences differ depending on what the committee is doing.

A. Committee Hearing for Legislative Measures (Ordinances/Resolutions)

A committee hearing is usually a public or stakeholder-facing proceeding where:

proponents and opponents are heard,
agencies submit positions,
technical questions are asked.

Quorum relevance:

If the committee intends to vote (approve a committee report, recommend amendments, substitute bill, consolidate measures), quorum should be present based on committee quorum rules.
If quorum is absent, the committee may still receive information as an informal consultation, but actions like “approving the report” are vulnerable to challenge for lack of quorum (especially if rules require quorum).

B. Committee Meeting for Deliberation and Voting

This is the internal deliberation where members debate text and decide recommendations.

Quorum is critical if:

the committee adopts a report,
the committee votes on amendments,
the committee sets an official committee position.

C. Stakeholder Consultation / Technical Working Group (TWG)

Sometimes committees conduct informal consultations, workshops, or TWG-style meetings.

These may be treated as non-decisional gatherings, where quorum is less legally significant, provided that the committee does not portray the output as an adopted committee act unless quorum and voting requirements were met.

VII. Computing the Denominator: Who Counts for Quorum Purposes?

A. Plenary (SB in Session): “All Elected and Qualified Members”

For plenary quorum, count:

regular SB members who are elected and have qualified,
duly seated ex officio members (e.g., Liga and SK federation presidents),
sectoral representatives only if legally in place and duly seated under the applicable legal framework and local implementation (where applicable).

Do not count:

vacant seats with no elected/qualified occupant,
individuals not yet qualified/assumed,
suspended members, depending on whether the suspension legally bars them from performing functions (practically, they cannot be counted as present; whether they remain in the denominator depends on the legal nature of the suspension and the wording “elected and qualified” as applied to that circumstance—best practice is to follow the SB rules and controlling legal advice in the locality).

B. Committee Membership: Count Those Named or Designated as Committee Members

For committee quorum, the denominator is the number of members assigned to that committee under:

SB rules,
a committee membership resolution/order, or
the organizing resolution at the start of term.

If committee membership changes (reorganization, substitution), use the updated roster.

VIII. Attendance, Participation, and “Presence” in Committee Quorum

A. Physical Presence

Traditional practice counts members physically present at the hearing venue.

B. Remote/Hybrid Presence

Whether remote attendance counts for quorum depends on:

SB rules of procedure (including any amendments allowing remote participation),
applicable national policy guidance during extraordinary circumstances (as locally implemented),
and the municipality’s adopted internal protocols.

Without a clear rule, remote presence for quorum can be contested. Best practice is express authorization in the SB rules.

C. Non-members Present at Hearings

Officials, resource persons, or the public do not count toward quorum. Only committee members count.

IX. Voting Thresholds in Committee vs. Plenary

A. Committee Voting (Typical)

Most committee systems use:

majority of those present, provided quorum exists, to approve a committee report; or
a specified threshold stated in rules (less common).

Committee actions should be reflected in minutes and the committee report.

B. Plenary Voting (SB in Session)

Even if a committee unanimously recommends approval, the SB must still comply with:

plenary quorum requirement, and
the voting requirements for passage (as provided by law/rules, and in harmony with the LGC and related enactment requirements).

Committee approval is not a substitute for SB enactment.

X. Consequences of Lack of Quorum at the Committee Level

A. Internal Validity of Committee Action

If rules require quorum for committee action, and the committee proceeds to:

vote,
adopt a report,
issue an official committee recommendation,

without quorum, the action is vulnerable to being:

challenged internally (point of order in the SB),
rejected by the SB in session,
questioned as procedurally defective, particularly if due process and transparency are implicated.

B. Practical Remedial Options

Common corrective measures include:

re-hearing/re-deliberation with quorum,
re-adoption of the committee report with quorum,
treating prior proceedings as “consultative” and re-formalizing actions.

XI. Committee Hearings as “Investigations in Aid of Legislation”

The LGC recognizes the Sanggunian’s power to conduct investigations in aid of legislation, subject to its duly adopted and published rules. Committee hearings often operate as the functional vehicle for such investigations.

Quorum intersects with due process and legitimacy in investigations because:

compelled attendance or formal investigative acts (if any) must track the SB’s published rules,
committee actions that materially affect rights or reputations are more exposed to challenge if procedures (including quorum) are ignored.

A committee’s fact-finding becomes stronger and more defensible when quorum, notice, documentation, and fair hearing practices are observed.

XII. Role of the Presiding Officer and the Committee Chair

A. Vice Mayor vs. Committee Chair

The Vice Mayor presides over SB sessions; committees are usually presided over by their chairpersons.
The Vice Mayor does not automatically “preside” over all committees unless local rules assign such a role.

B. Chair’s Powers Are Rule-Based

Common chair powers include:

calling hearings,
recognizing speakers,
managing order and time,
directing the drafting of committee reports.

But the chair cannot validly declare a report adopted without the vote required by rules, and cannot manufacture quorum.

XIII. Joint Committees and “Committee of the Whole”

A. Joint Committees

Where two or more committees conduct a joint hearing:

Quorum rules should be clarified by SB rules (e.g., quorum of each committee separately, or quorum of the combined membership).
The legally safer approach, absent a clear rule, is to ensure quorum of each committee if each committee will later adopt its own report; or to have a consolidated joint report adopted by a defined method recognized by the SB rules.

B. Committee of the Whole

If the SB sits as a committee of the whole, quorum issues can blur:

If it is effectively the SB acting in a session-like manner, the plenary quorum standard becomes the safer reference point.
Rules should specify when the SB is acting as committee-of-the-whole and what quorum/voting rules apply.

XIV. Documentation: Minutes, Attendance, and Committee Reports

Robust documentation is essential because quorum disputes are usually resolved by the record.

Best practice documentation includes:

attendance sheet signed by members,
minutes noting time called to order, members present/absent, and whether quorum was declared,
summary of positions presented,
motions made and votes taken,
committee report text with signatures (as required by rules),
proof of notice/publication when required by local rules.

XV. Drafting Local Rules to Avoid Quorum Problems (Core Clauses Typically Included)

Because committee quorum is often rule-driven, SB rules of procedure commonly include clauses such as:

Committee quorum: majority of committee members.
No quorum procedure: hearing may proceed for receiving statements, but no vote/report adoption.
Voting: majority vote of members present, with quorum.
Notice requirements: minimum notice to members; publication/posting for public hearings when applicable.
Remote participation: whether allowed and how counted.
Joint committee quorum: specified standard.
Committee report requirements: form, signatories, attachments (minutes, attendance, positions).

XVI. Practical Illustrations

A. Plenary Quorum Illustration

SB has 10 regular members + 2 ex officio members duly seated = 12 total elected/qualified members. Plenary quorum = 7 members present.

If 1 regular seat is vacant (no elected/qualified occupant) and ex officio seats are filled: total becomes 11. Plenary quorum = 6 members present.

B. Committee Quorum Illustration

Committee on Environment has 5 assigned members. Committee quorum = 3 members present (unless local rules say otherwise).

If only 2 members attend but stakeholders are present:

the committee may receive inputs as consultation,
but should not adopt a report or finalize committee action requiring a vote, if quorum is required.

XVII. Key Takeaways (Philippine LGC-Based)

The LGC expressly fixes quorum for the SB in session: majority of all elected and qualified members.
Committee quorum is generally not fixed by a single LGC number; it is governed by the SB’s adopted rules of procedure and committee system.
When rules are silent, the most defensible default is majority of the committee membership as quorum for committee action.
Committees recommend; the SB enacts—committee reports do not replace plenary quorum and voting requirements.
Without quorum, committees may still gather information, but formal committee actions (votes, adopted reports) are procedurally vulnerable.
Clear local rules and accurate records (attendance, minutes, vote tallies) are the best protection against quorum disputes and procedural challenges.