MANDATE

The League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) is an organization of 120 cities. It evolved from the League of City Mayors of the Philippines until it was institutionalized as the League of Cities of the Philippines under the Local Government Code of 1991.

The LCP has a national executive board headed by a president. It also has a secretariat jointly supervised by the president and the secretary-general.

Consequently, the change in nomenclature transformed the character of LCP from an organization of political personalities, to a membership-based institution where the cities, and not the political leaders, are the accountable entities. Furthermore, the role of the LCP has evolved from administrative services, to policy and technical support.

By virtue of the Local Government Code of 1991, the League of Cities has been formed and institutionalized with the membership of now 117 cities in the Philippines. The law provides:

Article III LEAGUE OF CITIES

Section 499. Purpose of Organization. – There shall be an organization of all cities to be known as the League of Cities for the primary purpose of ventilating, articulating and crystallizing issues affecting city government administration, and securing, through proper and legal means, solutions thereto.

The league may form chapters at the provincial level for the component cities of a province. Highly-urbanized cities may also form a chapter of the League. The National League shall be composed of the presidents of the league of highly-urbanized cities and the presidents of the provincial chapters of the league of component cities.

Section 500. Representation. – Every city shall be represented in the league by the city mayor or in his absence, by the city vice-mayor or a sanggunian member duly elected for the purpose by the members, who shall attend all meetings and participate in the deliberations of the league.

Section 501. Powers, Functions and Duties of the League of Cities. – The league of cities shall:
a. Assist the national government in the formulation and implementation of the policies, programs and projects affecting cities as a whole;
b. Promote local autonomy in the city level;
c. Adopt measures for the promotion of the welfare of all cities and its officials and employees;
d. Encourage people’s participation in local government administration in order to promote united and concerted action for the attainment of country-wide development goals;
e. Supplement the efforts of the national government in creating opportunities for gainful employment the cities;
f. Give priority to programs designed for the total development of cities in consonance with the policies, programs and projects of the national government;
g. Serve as a forum for crystallizing and expressing ideas, seeking the necessary assistance of the national government and providing the private sector avenues for cooperation in the promotion of the welfare of the cities; and
h. Exercise such other powers and perform such other duties and functions as the league may prescribe for the welfare of the cities.