Cebu City Council


The Cebu City Council is the legislature of Cebu City, Philippines. The legislative body is composed of 18 councilors, with 16 councilors elected from Cebu City's two councilor districts and two elected from the ranks of barangay chairmen and the Sangguniang Kabataan. The council's presiding officer is the vice-mayor. The council is responsible for creating laws and ordinances under the jurisdiction of Cebu City. Although the mayor can veto proposed bills, the council can override the veto with a two-thirds supermajority.

History

In 1937, four municipalities were officially converted into cities. With the largest population and number of registered voters at the time, Cebu City was allocated eight members for its city council. On February 24, 1937, at the promulgation of the Cebu City charter, the eight inaugural members of the council were sworn in: Jose P. Nolasco, Dominador Abella, Diego Cañizares, Leandro Tojong, Manuel Roa, Felipe Pacaña, Regino Mercado and Jose Fortich.
On December 10, 1940, eight members were elected to the council: Leandro A. Tojong, Juan Zamora, Honorato S. Hermosisima, Florencio Urot, Florentino D. Tecson, Ramon U. Abellanosa, Cecilio dela Victoria, and Numeriano Estenzo. Their election was confirmed in Executive Order No. 315, s. 1940, signed on December 28, 1940, by President Manuel Quezon.
The post-war city council was convened on July 1, 1945, and was composed of Honorato S. Hermosisima, Cecilio dela Victoria, Florencio S. Urot, Numeriano G. Estenzo, Eugenio G. Corro, Canuto O. Borromeo, Alfonso S. Frias and Miguel Sanson. On July 5, 1945, Cebu City Ordinance No. 1, "An Ordinance regulating the establishment and maintenance of cockpits in the City of Cebu", was passed; the city's first ordinance, it was also the first cockpit ordinance in the Philippines and was authored by Councilor Cecilio dela Victoria. Another ordinance was Cebu City Ordinance No. 4, "An Ordinance Appropriating Funds for the necessary expenses of the Government of the City of Cebu during the period from July first Nineteen Hundred Forty-Five to September Thirtieth Nineteen Hundred Forty-Five, and for other purposes". In this appropriation ordinance, the total per diems for the eight council members was.

Seat

The council sits at Cebu City Hall, meeting in the Doña Eva Macaraeg-Macapagal Session Hall of the Cebu City Legislative Building. The renovated CCLB was inaugurated on July 24, 2008, by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, assisted by Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña and Vice Mayor Michael Rama. Renovations cost, of which came from the Philippine Tourism Authority.
The session hall was named for Eva Macaraeg-Macapagal, the mother of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, second wife of former President Diosdado Macapagal, and ninth First Lady of the Philippines.
During its September 3, 2019, session, the city council approved an ordinance institutionalizing the conduct of regular and special sessions outside of its current session hall. These sessions would also be aired live on the official Facebook page of the Cebu City's Public Information Office.

Membership and organization

Each of Cebu City's two congressional districts elects eight members of the council. In plurality-at-large voting, a voter may vote for up to eight candidates, and the candidates with the eight highest numbers of votes are elected. Regular elections to the city council are synchronized with other national and elections in the country, which have been held on the second Monday of May every third year since 1992.
Punong Barangays and Sangguniang Kabataan Chairpersons from each of the city's 80 barangays, through the Cebu City chapters of the Liga ng mga Barangay and SK Federation, respectively, each elect an ex officio representative to the council separately from the regular local elections, bringing the council's total membership to 18. The current term of Barangay and SK officials is set to expire on December 1, 2026.
The vice mayor presides over sessions of the city council and can only vote in the event of a tie, with the presiding officer pro tempore substituting when the vice mayor yields the chair to participate in council debates, and the next highest-ranked councilor taking over as acting vice mayor during the vice mayor's absences. The vice mayor also serves as the council's chief administrative officer, appointing and overseeing the council's employees. The majority and minority leaders lead their respective council blocs, with the majority bloc deciding the leadership of council committees.
Each councilor has their own office and staff. The administrative and operational work of the council as a whole is assisted by a secretariat led by the nonvoting Secretary to the Sangguniang Panlungsod, who is appointed by the vice mayor.

Members (2025–2028)

; Notes

Blocs

The council is divided into the majority and minority blocs. Since July 8, 2025, the majority bloc is composed of councilors who won in the 2025 elections under KUSUG and BARUG. The minority bloc is composed of councilors aligned with BOPK–LP.

2017 definition of simple majority

In an omnibus resolution, Majority Floor Leader James Anthony Cuenco and the BARUG Team Rama council members moved to declare all positions in the Council vacant on June 20, 2017. This was in response to the change in affiliation of BARUG Team Rama councilors David Tumulak, Nendell Hanz Abella, and Jerry Guardo to BOPK, making it the council's majority bloc. For several weeks, no committee chairs were elected because of disagreements about what constituted a simple majority. The presiding officer, Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella, met with Councilors Margarita Osmeña and James Anthony Cuenco and they agreed to seek the opinion of the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
July 24, 2017, DILG opinion stated that the City Council presiding officer should not be included in the count determining the council's majority bloc, citing the August 3, 2016 Supreme Court ruling in Tobias Javier vs. Rhodora Cadiao, et al.: "The Vice Governor, as the Presiding Officer, shall be considered a part of the SP for purposes of ascertaining if a quorum exists. In determining the number which constitutes the majority vote, the Vice Governor is excluded. The Vice Governor's right to vote is merely contingent and arises only when there is a tie to break." The vice governor is the presiding officer of a provincial board, and the vice mayor is the presiding officer of a city council.

Powers, duties, and functions

The council, as the city's legislative body, is mandated by the Local Government Code of 1991 to enact ordinances; approve resolutions; appropriate funds for the welfare of the city and its inhabitants, and ensure the proper exercise of the city's corporate powers. It has the following duties and functions:
  • Approving ordinances and passing resolutions necessary for an efficient and effective city government;
  • Generating and maximizing the use of resources and revenue for the city's development plans, program objectives and priorities as provided for under Section 18 of the Local Government Code, with particular attention to agricultural and industrial development and citywide growth and progress;
  • Enacting ordinances granting franchises and authorizing the issuance of permits or licenses, subject to Book II of the Local Government Code;
  • Regulating activities related to land use, buildings, and other structures in the city to promote the general welfare of its inhabitants;
  • Approving ordinances which ensure the efficient delivery of basic services and facilities as provided under Section 17 of the Local Government Code; and
  • Exercising other powers and performing other duties and functions as prescribed by law.

Committees

2025–present

There are currently 27 standing committees as of July 8, 2025:

2020–2022

New officers were elected on July 29, 2020. Ad hoc committees for the Cebu City Medical Center and for the online session were also created.

2019–2020

There were 26 standing committees as of July 14, 2019:

Past councils

2022-2025

; Notes

2019-2022

Majority of the councilors in the 15th council came from BARUG.

2016-2019

Sixty-seven ordinances and over 4,600 resolutions were passed by the 14th council from 2016 to 2019. Eugenio Gabuya, Jr. had the largest number of approved ordinances of the 18 city legislators, and Margarita Osmeña had the largest number of approved resolutions. Sisinio Andales had perfect attendance during the council's 116 regular sessions.

2013-2016

On May 17, 2016, the Department of the Interior and Local Government served a six-month preventive suspension order against Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella and 12 councilors for "grave abuse of authority." They allegedly received a ₱20,000 calamity fund, although they had not suffered in Super Typhoon Yolanda and the magnitude 7.2 earthquake which struck Cebu in 2013. Not included in the suspension order were Councilors Margarita Osmeña, Lea Ouano-Japson, Richard Osmeña, James Anthony Cuenco and Philip Zafra. Osmeña temporarily served as acting mayor and Japson as acting vice-mayor until June 30, 2016.
  • Edgardo Labella
  • Nestor Archival
  • Mary Ann De Los Santos
  • Alvin Arcilla
  • Sisinio Andales
  • Lea Ouano-Japson
  • Alvin Dizon
  • Ma. Nida Cabrera
  • Noel Eleuterio Wenceslao
  • Margarita Osmeña
  • Gerardo Carillo
  • Eugenio Gabuya Jr.
  • David Tumulak
  • Roberto Cabarrubias
  • James Anthony Cuenco
  • Nendell Hanz Abella
  • Richard Osmeña
  • Phillip Zafra
  • John Philip Po II

2010-2013

The 12th council conducted its first regular offsite sessions in Barangays Bonbon, Guba and Luz on October 12 and 26, 2011 and August 15, 2012, respectively. The council went paperless on July 20, 2011, with councilors using their laptops for the regular session; this maintained the city's environmentally-friendly stance and saved money.
Notable ordinances passed by the council included City Ordinances No. 2339, which prohibited discrimination in the city on the basis of disability, age, health status, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity or religion; No. 2343, which phased out single-use plastic products in the city and No. 2326, giving the elderly and people with disabilities free parking in malls, hospitals and other establishments.

2007-2010

The 11th council received two Local Legislative Awards in the Highly Urbanized or Independent Component Cities category for the substance of enacted legislation, efficiency of its records staff, completeness of the Agenda, Journals, and Minutes Division and the availability of facilities and amenities in the session hall.

2004-2007

2001-2004

  • Michael Rama
  • Nestor Archival
  • Christopher Alix
  • Carmelita Piramide
  • Danilo Fernan
  • Sylvan Jakosalem
  • Dana Ruiz Sesante
  • Vicente Kintanar Jr.
  • Manuel Legaspi
  • Jocelyn Pesquera
  • Procopio Fernandez
  • Eugenio Gabuya Jr.
  • Gerardo Carillo
  • Arsenio Pacaña
  • George Rama
  • Gabriel Leyson
  • Jose Navarro
  • Eugenio Faelnar Jr.
  • Glena Bontuyan

1998-2001

City Ordinance No. 1726, establishing the Cebu City Commission for the Welfare and Protection of Children, was passed by this council.
  • Renato Osmeña
  • Franklin Seno
  • Michael Rama
  • Rogelio Osmeña
  • Ronald Cuenco
  • Firmo Dayao
  • Ernesto Elizondo
  • Rodolfo Estella
  • Procopio Fernandez
  • Eugenio Gabuya Jr.
  • Edgardo Labella
  • Manuel Legaspi
  • Laurito Malinao
  • Ananias Ouano
  • Jocelyn Pesquera
  • Felixberto Rosito
  • Fe Mantua-Ruiz
  • Jose Navarro
  • Anthony Jones Luy

1995-1998

City Ordinance No. 1656, revising the city's comprehensive zoning regulations, was passed by this council.
  • Renato Osmeña
  • Rodolfo Cabrera
  • Jessie Aznar
  • Ruben de la Cerna
  • Eleno Abellana
  • Christopher Alix
  • Manuel Concepcion
  • Ronald Cuenco
  • Rico Rey Francis Holganza
  • Gabriel Leyson
  • Laurito Malinao
  • Rogelio Osmeña
  • Arnulfo Ravina
  • Felixberto Rosito
  • Fe Mantua-Ruiz
  • Joy Augustus Young
  • Michael Rama
  • Ananias Ouano
  • Anthony Jones Luy

Timeline

Members from 2004–2025 (national parties)

The name of the President of the Philippines is displayed at the top, followed by the council members.

Members from 2004–2025 (local blocs)

The name of the Mayor of Cebu City is displayed at the top, followed by the council members.
; Notes