Why this matters

A vacancy in the Sangguniang Bayan (SB)—the municipal legislative body—can shift voting dynamics, affect quorum, delay ordinances, and disrupt representation. Philippine law answers two big questions:

Is it really a “vacancy” that needs filling (and by whom)?
If it is, is it filled by succession, appointment, or the next vote-getter?

The controlling framework is primarily the Local Government Code of 1991 (Republic Act No. 7160), especially on permanent vacancies and succession, plus election-law principles for situations where the “vacancy” is only apparent.

Start with the seat type: not all “SB seats” are filled the same way

A. Regular elective SB members

These are the councilors elected at large (or by district, if applicable) for the municipality.

General rule (true vacancy after assumption): filled by appointment, not by special election.

B. The Presiding Officer: the Vice-Mayor

The Vice-Mayor is the presiding officer of the SB and is separately elected.

General rule: vacancy is filled by succession (not appointment) by the highest-ranking SB member, and then that succession creates a separate councilor vacancy that is filled by appointment.

C. Ex officio SB members

Common ex officio members include:

Liga ng mga Barangay (LNB) Municipal Federation President
SK / Katipunan ng Kabataan Municipal Federation President (depending on current governing framework)

General rule: their SB seat is filled by whoever becomes the federation president under the organization’s rules/election—not by the Mayor.

D. Other special/mandatory representations (where applicable)

Some LGUs have additional representation created by special laws and implementing rules (for example, Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representative (IPMR) where applicable). Vacancies there are typically filled under the rules of the implementing agency/guidelines, not the Mayor’s standard SB vacancy power.

What counts as a “vacancy” that can be filled?

Under the Local Government Code concept of permanent vacancy, an elective official’s office becomes vacant when the official finally leaves office due to causes like:

death
resignation (accepted/effective)
removal from office
permanent incapacity
conviction by final judgment of a disqualifying offense
other causes that permanently sever the official’s title to office

This matters because not every “missing councilor” situation is a fillable vacancy.

Situations that look like vacancies but often are not (so appointment may be wrong)

Disqualification/invalid proclamation issues in elections
- In multi-seat SB elections, if one “winner” is later found not entitled to the seat (e.g., disqualified at a stage that affects entitlement), the seat may go to the next qualified candidate by rank of votes rather than being treated as a “vacancy” for appointment.
Temporary absence, leave, or temporary incapacity
- A councilor on leave is generally still the councilor; the seat is not “permanently vacant.”
Preventive suspension
- Suspension typically does not erase title to the office; it restricts exercise of functions for a time.

Practical takeaway: Before anyone “fills” anything, the municipality should confirm whether the situation is an election-entitlement issue (next vote-getter) or a true post-assumption permanent vacancy (appointment/succession).

The core question: Who has authority to fill a permanent vacancy in a regular SB seat?

The appointing authority is the Municipal Mayor

For a permanent vacancy in a regular elective SB member’s seat, the Local Government Code places the appointment power in the local chief executive—for a municipality, that is the Municipal Mayor (RA 7160, on permanent vacancies in the sanggunian).

So, as a rule:

Permanent vacancy in a regular SB councilor seat → filled by appointment by the Municipal Mayor.

The political party rule (often the most litigated part in practice)

If the vacating member belonged to a political party

The replacement must come from the same political party as the member who caused the vacancy, and the appointment is made upon the party’s recommendation (RA 7160 framework on sanggunian vacancies).

What this means in real terms

The Mayor is the appointing authority, but the Mayor’s choice is constrained by the statutory requirement that the replacement be:
1. from the same party, and
2. recommended by that party.

Many LGUs operationalize this by requiring the party to submit nominees/endorsement documents through the party’s proper officers. Disputes often arise over who in the party is authorized to recommend and whether the recommendation is valid.

If the vacating member was an independent

If the outgoing councilor had no political party, the appointment is generally made by the Mayor from among qualified persons, without the same-party constraint.

Vice-Mayor vacancy: who fills it, and who fills the vacancy that follows?

Step 1: The Vice-Mayor vacancy is filled by succession

If the Vice-Mayor position becomes permanently vacant, the successor is the highest-ranking SB member.

“Highest-ranking” is generally determined by the number of votes obtained in the last election among the SB members (the one with the highest votes is typically considered highest-ranking). This is the standard Local Government Code approach to sanggunian succession ranking.

Step 2: Succession creates a new vacancy in the SB

Once the highest-ranking SB member becomes Vice-Mayor, the SB now has a vacant regular councilor seat.

Step 3: That councilor vacancy is filled by Mayor’s appointment

The Municipal Mayor then fills that resulting SB vacancy by appointment, following the same party/independent rules described above.

What if the Mayor is unavailable—does appointment power shift?

Because the authority is attached to the local chief executive’s office, if someone is lawfully acting as Municipal Mayor (e.g., by succession as provided by law), that acting/local chief executive exercises the appointing power.

So if the Mayor is:

permanently succeeded,
temporarily replaced by an acting mayor under the Code’s rules on temporary incapacity/absence,

…the lawful acting Mayor generally performs the appointment function.

Ex officio SB vacancies: who fills them?

Liga ng mga Barangay (LNB) ex officio seat

The SB seat belongs to whoever is the LNB Municipal Federation President. If that person leaves, the organization fills it by selecting/electing its new president under Liga rules and applicable regulations.

SK/Katipunan ng Kabataan ex officio seat

Similarly, the SB seat attaches to whoever is the SK Municipal Federation President (or equivalent under current youth governance rules). Vacancy is filled by the federation’s internal succession/election rules.

Key point: The Mayor generally does not appoint ex officio representatives into the SB, because the SB seat is derivative of leadership in the relevant organization.

Qualifications and disqualifications still apply to appointees

An appointee to a regular SB seat must meet the qualifications for elective local officials and must not fall under statutory disqualifications (Local Government Code provisions on qualifications/disqualifications).

Common baseline requirements include:

Philippine citizenship
registered voter in the municipality
residency in the municipality (as required by law)
ability to read and write Filipino or a local language/dialect
minimum age requirement for the position

Common disqualifications include matters like:

final conviction of certain offenses,
removal from office as provided by law,
and other statutory bars.

A practical decision guide (authority to fill)

1) Is the situation a true “permanent vacancy” after assumption?

Yes → proceed to Step 2
No / it’s an election entitlement dispute → it may be the next qualified candidate by votes, not an appointment

2) What seat is vacant?

Regular SB councilor seat → Municipal Mayor appoints
- If party member → from same party, upon party recommendation
- If independent → Mayor appoints a qualified person
Vice-Mayor seat → Highest-ranking SB member succeeds
- Then Mayor appoints to fill the resulting SB vacancy
Ex officio seat (Liga/SK) → filled by the organization’s leadership selection/election rules

Common pitfalls (and how to avoid them)

Treating an election dispute as an appointable vacancy
- If someone was never lawfully entitled to the seat (or entitlement is under contest), appointment can be challenged.
Ignoring the party recommendation requirement
- Filling a party-linked vacancy with someone not properly recommended can invite administrative and court challenges.
Confusing “temporary absence” with “vacancy”
- Absence/leave/suspension usually doesn’t extinguish title; it often does not authorize a replacement appointment.

Bottom line

In the Philippine municipal context, the Municipal Mayor is the appointing authority to fill a permanent vacancy in a regular Sangguniang Bayan councilor seat, subject to the political party recommendation rule when applicable under the Local Government Code. A Vice-Mayor vacancy is filled first by succession (highest-ranking SB member), and the resulting SB vacancy is then filled by Mayor’s appointment. Ex officio seats are filled by the relevant organization’s internal processes—not by the Mayor.

If you want, I can also format this into a publish-ready law journal style piece (with a tighter thesis, footnote-style statutory references, and a flowchart section) while keeping the same content.