Section 23Sec./Art. 23

Permanent Vacancies in the Sanggunian. - Permanent vacancies in the sangguniang panlungsod where automatic succession as provided above does not apply shall be filled by appointments in the following manner:

(a) The governor shall make the aforesaid appointments;

(b) Only the nominee of the political party under which the sanggunian member concerned had been elected shall be appointed in the manner herein provided. The appointee shall come from the political party as that of the sanggunian member who caused the vacancy and shall serve the unexpired term of the vacant office. In the appointment herein mentioned, a nomination and a certificate of membership of the appointee from the highest official of the political party concerned are conditions sine qua non, and any appointment without such nomination and certification shall be null and void ab initioand shall be a ground for administrative action against the official responsible therefore;

(c) In case the permanent vacancy Is caused by a sanggunian member who does not belong to any political party, the city mayor shall, upon the recommendation of the sangguniang panlungsod, appoint a qualified person to fill the vacancy; and

(d) In case of vacancy in the representation of the youth and the barangay in the sangguniang panlungsod, said vacancy shall be filled automatically by the official next-in-rank of the organization concerned.