Abstract
The primary function of the Sangguniang Barangay is to enact local laws, so the officials should be knowledgeable about the legislative process and able to craft responsive ordinances and resolutions. The assessment of these competencies will provide valuable insights into the preparedness of barangay officials to discharge their legislative functions effectively. In this context, the study aimed to determine the level of awareness and capability of Sanguniang Barangay in the local legislation for Calendar Year 2022. The data for this study were collected from 180 Barangay Officials using a self-developed data-gathering instrument that has undergone stringent validity and reliability testing. Along the way, this research strictly adhered to ethical research principles by protecting the identities of the sampled respondents. The ensuing analysis revealed a moderate level of awareness and capability among barangay officials in formulating resolutions and ordinances, being their primary responsibility as servants of the people. Based on groupings by age, sex, educational attainment, and length of service, the study revealed the same findings- a moderate level of awareness and capability both in formulating resolutions and ordinances. Meanwhile, the comparative analysis of awareness levels in formulating resolutions showed no significant difference across age, sex, and educational attainment groups. Nonetheless, an exception occurred when they were grouped by length of service, where a significant difference was found. Contrastingly, no significant difference in awareness of crafting ordinances was found across the four variable groupings. Moving on, the comparative analysis of the capability of the same barangay officials to formulate resolutions showed no significant difference across age, education, and length of service groupings, except for sex groupings, where a significant difference was found. Still another comparative analysis of the capability of the same barangay officials to formulate ordinances showed no significant difference across the four variable groupings mentioned earlier in this paper. The study findings call for periodic training or workshops on crafting resolutions, ordinances, and other relevant policies to enhance barangay officials’ skills in particular and elevate the quality of their service to their constituents in general.
Keywords: Awareness, capability, sanguniang barangay, policy process, local legislation.