Republic Act No. 3278

REPUBLIC ACT No. 3278 An Act Creating the City of Caloocan Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippine Congress Assembled: Section 1. This Act shall be known as the Charter of the City of Caloocan. Article I General Provisions Section 2. Territory of the City of Caloocan. -The City of Caloocan, which is hereby created, shall comprise the present territorial jurisdiction of the Municipality of Caloocan, in the Province of Rizal. Section 3. Corporate Character of the City. -The City of Caloocan constitutes a political body corporate and as such is endowed with the attribute of perpetual succession and possessed of the powers which pertain to a municipal corporation, to be exercised in conformity with the provisions of this Charter. Section 4. Seal and General Powers of the City. -The city shall have a common seal, and may alter the same at pleasure. It may take, purchase, receive, hold, lease, convey, and dispose of real and personal property for the general interest of the city, condemn private property for public use, contract and be contracted with, sue and be sued, prosecute and defend to final judgment and execution suits wherein said city is a party, and exercise all the powers hereinafter conferred. Section 5. The City not liable for damages. -The city shall not be liable or held for damages or injuries to persons or property arising from the failure of the Municipal Board, the Mayor or any other city officer or employee to enforce the provisions of this Charter, or of any other law or ordinance, or from the negligence of said Municipal Board, Mayor or other city officers or employees while enforcing or attempting to enforce the provisions thereof. Section 6. Jurisdiction of the City. -The jurisdiction of the City of Caloocan for police purposes only shall be co-extensive with its territorial jurisdiction and for the purpose of protecting and insuring the purity of the water supply of the city, such police jurisdiction shall also

extend over all territory within the drainage area of such water supply, or within one hundred meters of any reservoir, conduit, canal, aqueduct or pumping station used in connection with the city water service. The Municipal Court of the city shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the justice of the peace courts or municipal court of the respective municipalities or cities, or try crimes and misdemeanors committed within said drainage area, or within said spaces of one hundred meters. 1awp++i1 The court first taking jurisdiction of such an offense shall thereafter retain exclusive jurisdiction thereof. The police force of the several municipalities and cities concerned shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the police force of the city for the maintenance of good order and the enforcement of ordinances throughout said zone, area and spaces. But any license that may be issued within said zone, area or spaces shall be granted by the proper authorities of the city or municipality concerned, and the fees arising therefrom shall accrue to the treasury of the said city or municipality concerned and not to the city. Article II The Mayor and the Vice-Mayor Section 7. The Mayor. -The Mayor shall be the chief executive of the city. He shall be elected at large by the qualified voters of the city. No person shall be eligible for the position of Mayor unless at the time of the election he is at least twenty-five years of age, a resident of the city for at least two years prior to his election, and a qualified voter therein. He shall hold office for four years, unless sooner removed, and shall receive a salary of nine thousand six hundred pesos per annum. The Municipal Board may appropriate such sum of money as may be necessary for the house allowance of the Mayor, not to exceed two hundred pesos monthly, or commute the same in addition to his salary. Section 8. The Vice-Mayor. There shall be elected a Vice-Mayor who shall be the presiding officer of the Municipal Board. The

Vice-Mayor shall be elected in the same manner as the Mayor and shall at the time of his election possess the same qualifications as the Mayor. He shall receive a salary of six thousand pesos per annum. The Vice-Mayor shall perform the duties and exercise the powers of the Mayor in the event of the latters sickness, absence or other temporary incapacity to discharge the powers and duties of his office. In the event of a permanent vacancy in the office of the Mayor, the Vice-Mayor shall become Mayor for the completion of the unexpired term. If the Vice-Mayor is temporarily incapacitated for the performance of his official duties, or is serving as Acting Mayor, the member of the Municipal Board who received the highest number of votes in the last election shall serve as Acting Vice-Mayor; and in the event of such inability of the elected Mayor, the Vice-Mayor is, for any reason, temporarily incapacitated for the performance of the duties of the Mayor, or the office of the Vice-Mayor is vacant, the member of the Board who received the highest number of votes in the last election, shall serve as Acting Mayor and while so serving shall not perform any duty as members of the Board. In such event, the remaining members of the Board shall elect from among themselves the presiding officer. Whenever the Vice-Mayor performs the duties and exercises the powers of the Mayor, he automatically ceases to be the presiding officer of the Municipal Board. Where a member of the Municipal Board exercises the functions of the Vice-Mayor, said member ceases to take part in the deliberations of the Board except to preside. For service as Acting Mayor or Acting Vice-Mayor, the Vice-Mayor or member of the Board shall receive a total compensation equivalent to the salary of the Mayor or Vice-Mayor as the case may be, during the period of such service. The Vice-Mayor shall perform such other duties as may be assigned to him by the Mayor or prescribed by law or ordinance. Section 9. General p

owers and duties of the Mayor. The Mayor shall have immediate control over the executive and administrative functions of the different departments of the city, subject to the supervision of the President of the Philippines. He shall have the following general powers and duties: (a) To comply with and enforce and give the necessary orders for the faithful enforcement and execution of the provisions of this Charter and other laws and ordinances in effect within the jurisdiction of the city; (b) To safeguard all the lands, buildings, records, moneys, credits, and other properties and rights of the city, and, subject to the provisions of this Charter, have control over all its property; (c) To see that all taxes and other revenues of the city are collected, and applied in accordance with appropriations to the payment of the municipal expenses; (d) To cause to be instituted judicial proceedings to recover property and funds of the city wherever found, to cause to be defended all suits against the city, and otherwise to protect the interests of the city; (e) To see that the executive officers and employees of the city properly discharge their respective duties; (f) To examine and inspect the books, records, and papers of all officers, agents, and employees of the city over whom he has executive supervision and control whenever occasion arises; (g) To give such information and recommend such measures to the Board as he shall deem advantageous to the city; (h) To attend, if he wishes to do so, either in person or by a duly authorized representative, the sessions of the Board and participate in its discussions, but not to vote; (i) To represent the city in all its business matters and sign in its behalf all its bonds, contracts, and obligations made in accordance with laws and ordinances; (j) To submit to the Municipal Board at least two months before the beginning of the ensuing fiscal year a budget of receipts and expenditures of the city; (k) To receive, hear, and decide

as he may deem proper the petitions, complaints, and claims of the residents concerning all classes of municipal matters of an administrative and executive character; (l) To grant or refuse municipal licenses or permits of all classes and to revoke the same for violation of the conditions upon which they were granted, or if acts prohibited by law or municipal ordinance are being committed under the protection of such licenses or in the premises in which the business for which the same has been granted is carried on, or for any other good reason of general interest; (m) To exempt, with the concurrence of the superintendent of city schools, deserving poor pupils from the payment of school fees or of any part thereof; (n) To take such emergency measures as may be necessary to avoid fires and floods and to mitigate the effects of storms and other public calamities; (o) The provisions of any existing law to the contrary notwithstanding, to conduct administrative investigation of members of the city police department: Provided, That the power to conduct the investigation granted herein may be delegated to any ranking official of the city, or to a special committee or board, the members of which shall be designated by the Mayor; (p) To request, if public interest and safety so require, the assistance of the Philippine Constabulary and other police agencies in maintaining peace and order in the city, and only in such cases of specific request made can the Philippine Constabulary or other police agencies intervene in the preservation of peace and order; and (q) To perform such other duties and exercise such other executive powers as may be prescribed by law or ordinance. Section 10. Secretary to the Mayor. -The Mayor shall appoint one secretary who shall hold office at the pleasure of the Mayor and who shall receive a compensation of six thousand pesos per annum. The secretary shall have the rank of a department head and shall have charge and custody of all records and docu

ments of the city and of any office or department thereof for which provision is not otherwise made, shall keep the corporate seal and affix the same with his signature to all ordinances and resolutions signed by the Mayor and to all other official documents and papers of the government of the city as may be required by law or ordinance; shall attest all executive orders, proclamations, ordinances, and resolutions signed by the Mayor; shall, upon request, furnish certified copies of all city records and documents in his charge which are not of a confidential nature and charge twenty centavos for each one hundred words including the certificate, the fees to be paid directly to the city treasurer. He shall also perform such duties as are required by the heads of departments of the city government by Section eighteen hereof, and such other duties as the mayor may require of him. The position of the secretary shall be regarded as within the unclassified civil service but may be filled in the manner in which classified positions are filled, and if so filled, the appointee shall be entitled to all the benefits and privileges of classified employees, except that he holds office only during the term of the appointing Mayor and until a successor in the office of the secretary is appointed and qualified, unless sooner separated. Article III The Municipal Board Section 11. Constitution and organization of the Municipal BoardCompensation of members thereof . -The Municipal Board shall be the legislative body of the city and shall be composed of the Vice-Mayor, who shall be its presiding officer, and eight councilors who shall be elected at large by the qualified voters of the city during every election for provincial and municipal officials in accordance with the provisions of the Revised Election Code. The Vice-Mayor shall have no right to vote except in case of a tie. In case of sickness, absence, suspension or other temporary disability of any member of the Board, or if nec

essary to maintain quorum, the President of the Philippines may appoint a temporary substitute, who shall possess all the rights and perform all the duties of a member of the Board until the return to duty of the regular incumbent. The members of the Municipal Board shall receive a salary of four thousand eight hundred pesos each per annum. Section 12. Qualifications, election, suspension and removal of members. -The members of the Municipal Board shall at the time of their election, be qualified electors of the city, residents thereof for at least two years immediately prior to their election and not less than twenty-three years of age. Such members may be suspended or removed from office under the same circumstances, in the same manner, and with the same effect, as elective provincial officers, and the provisions of law governing the suspension or removal of elective provincial officers are hereby made applicable in the suspension or removal of said members. Elections for members of the Board shall be held on the date of the regular election for provincial and municipal offices, and elected members shall assume office on the first day of January next following their election, upon qualifying, and shall hold office for four years and until their successors shall have been duly elected and qualified. The eight candidates receiving the greatest number of votes shall be declared elected. A vacancy in the Municipal Board shall be filled in accordance with the provisions of the Revised Election Code. Section 13. Secretary of the Board. -The Board shall have a secretary, who shall be elected by it to serve during the term of office of the members. A vacancy in the office of secretary shall be filled temporarily or for the unexpired term in like manner. The secretary shall be in charge of the records of the Municipal Board. He shall keep a full record of the proceedings of the Board, and file all documents relating thereto; shall record, in a book kept for that purpose, a

ll ordinances, and all resolutions and motions directing the payment of money or creating liability enacted or adopted by the Board, with the dates of passage of the same and of the publication of ordinances; shall keep a seal, circular in form with the inscription "Municipal BoardCity of Caloocan," in the center of which shall be placed the arms of the city, and affix the same, with his signature, to all ordinances and other official acts of the Board, and shall present the same for signature to the presiding officer; and shall cause each ordinance passed to be published as herein provided; shall upon request, furnish certified copies of all records of public character in his charge under the seal of his office and charge twenty centavos for each one hundred words including the certificate, the fees to be paid directly to the city treasurer; and shall keep his office and all records therein which are not of a confidential nature open to public inspection during usual business hours. The compensation of the secretary shall be fixed by the Board at not exceeding four thousand eight hundred pesos per annum. Section 14. Method of transacting business by the BoardVetoAuthentication and publication of ordinances. -The Board shall hold two ordinary sessions for the transaction of business during each week on days which it shall fix by resolution, and such extraordinary sessions, as may be called by the Mayor or upon request of four members of the Board. It shall sit with open doors, unless otherwise ordered by the affirmative vote of a majority of all the members. It shall keep a record of all its proceedings and determine its rule of procedure not herein set forth. A majority of all the members of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day and may compel the immediate attendance of any member who is absent without good cause by issuing to the police of the city an order for his arrest and produ

ction at the session under such penalties as shall have been previously prescribed by ordinance. The affirmative vote of a majority of all the members shall be necessary for the passage of any ordinance, or of any resolution or motion directing the payment of money or creating liability, but any other measure shall prevail upon the majority vote of the members present at any session duly called and held. The ayes and nays shall be taken and recorded upon the passage of all ordinances, upon all resolutions or motions directing the payment of money or creating liability, and at the request of any member, upon any other resolution or motion. Each approved ordinance, resolution or motion shall be sealed with the seal of the Municipal Board, signed by the presiding officer and the secretary of the Board and recorded in a book kept for the purpose, and shall, on the day following its passage, be posted by the secretary at the main entrance of the city hall, and in at least two other public places, and shall take effect and be in force on and after the tenth day following its passage unless otherwise stated in said ordinance, resolution or motion, or vetoed by the Mayor as hereinafter provided. A vetoed ordinance, if repassed, shall take effect ten days after the veto is overridden by the required votes unless otherwise stated in the ordinance, resolution or motion or again disapproved by the Mayor within said time. Each ordinance enacted by the Board, and each resolution or motion directing the payment of money or creating liability, shall be forwarded to the Mayor for his approval. Within ten days after the receipt of the ordinance, resolution or motion, the Mayor shall return it with his approval or veto. If he does not return it within that time, it shall be deemed to be approved. If the returns it with his veto, his reasons therefor in writing shall accompany it. It may then again be enacted by a two-thirds vote of all the members of the Board, and again forwarded to

the Mayor for his approval, and if within ten days after its receipt he does not again return it with his veto, it shall be deemed to be approved. If within said time he again returns it with his veto, it shall be forwarded forthwith to the President of the Philippines for his approval or disapproval, which shall be final. The Mayor shall have the power to veto any particular item or items of an appropriation ordinance, or of an ordinance, resolution or motion directing the payment of money or creating liability, but the veto shall not affect the item or items to which he does not object. The item or items objected to shall not take effect except in the manner heretofore provided in this section as to ordinances, resolutions or motions returned to the Board with his veto; but should an item or items in an appropriation ordinance be disapproved by the Mayor, the corresponding item or items in the appropriation ordinance of the previous year shall be deemed reenacted unless otherwise expressly directed in the veto. Section 15. General powers and duties of the Board. -Except as otherwise provided by law, and subject to the conditions and limitations thereof, the Municipal Board shall have the following legislative powers: (a) To provide for the levy and collection of taxes for general and special purposes in accordance with law including specifically the power to levy real property tax not to exceed two per centum ad valorem; (b) To make all appropriations for the expenses of the government of the city; (c) To fix the number and salaries of officials and employees of the city not otherwise provided for in this Act: Provided, That the rate thereof shall not exceed the maximum salary provided by subsisting salary laws and orders issued by the President; (d) To authorize the free distribution of medicine to the employees and laborers of the city whose salary or wage does not exceed one hundred and twenty pesos per month or four pesos per day, and of evaporated or fresh na

tive milk to indigent mothers residing in the city and of bread and light meals to indigent children ten years or less of age residing in the city, the distribution to be made under the direct supervision and control of the Mayor; (e) To fix the tariff of fees and charges for all services rendered by the city or any of its departments, branches or officials; (f) To provide for the erection and maintenance or the rental, in case of need, of the necessary buildings for the use of the city; (g) To provide for the establishment and maintenance of public schools; and, except as otherwise provided by law, to fix, with the approval of the Director of Public Schools, reasonable matriculation and/or tuition fees for intermediate and secondary instruction therein and to acquire sites for school houses for primary and intermediate classes through purchases or conditional or absolute donation; (h) To establish or maintain or aid in the establishment and maintenance of Vocational schools and institutions of higher learning conducted by the National Government or any of its subdivisions or agencies; and, with the approval of the Director of Public Schools, to fix reasonable tuition fees for instruction in the vocational schools and in the institutions of higher learning supported by the city; (i) To provide for and maintain an efficient police force for the maintenance of law and order in the city, and make all necessary police ordinances, with a view to the confinement and reformation of vagrants, disorderly persons, mendicants, prostitutes and persons convicted of violating any of the ordinances of the city; (j) To maintain the municipal court established by law which shall have jurisdiction of all criminal cases under the ordinances of the city, and such further jurisdiction as may be herein or hereafter conferred; (k) To provide for and maintain a city fire department and to establish and maintain engine houses, fire engines, hose trucks, hooks and ladders, and other equipmen

t for the prevention and extinguishment of fires, and to regulate the management and use of the same; (l) To establish fire zones, determine the kinds of buildings or structures that may be erected within their limits, regulate the manner of constructing and repairing the same, and fix the fees for permits for the construction, repair, or demolition of buildings and other structures; (m) To regulate the use of lights in stables, shops, and other buildings and places and to regulate and restrict the issuance of permits for the building of bonfires and rockets and the use of firecrackers, fireworks, torpedoes, candles, skyrockets, and other pyrotechnic displays, and to fix the fees for such permits; (n) To make regulations to protect the public from conflagrations, to prevent and mitigate the effects of famine, flood storms and other public calamities, and provide relief for victims thereof; (o) To tax, regulate and fix the amount of the license fees for the following: hawkers, peddlers, hucksters, not including hucksters or peddlers who sell only native vegetables, fruits, or foods personally carried by the hucksters or peddlers; barbers, collecting agencies, manicurists, hair dressers, tattooers, jugglers, acrobats, wrestlers, boxers, pelotaris and jockeys; shooting galleries, slot machines, merry-go-rounds and other similar riding devices, and the keeping, preparation, and sale of meat, poultry, fish, game, butter, cheese, lard, vegetable, bread, and other provisions; and to impose a municipal occupation tax, not to exceed fifty pesos per annum on lawyers, medical practitioners, land surveyors, architects, public accountants, civil, electrical, chemical, mechanical, or mining engineers, radio engineers or technicians, veterinarians, dental surgeons, opticians and optometrists, insurance agents and sub-agents, business agents and business consultants, professional appraisers or connoisseurs of tobacco or other domestic or foreign products, music teachers, piano tune

rs, nurses and midwives, auctioneers, plumbers, electrical contractors, building contractors, massagists, physical culture instructors, chiropodists, money changers, real estate, commercial and other brokers, and persons engaged in the transportation of passengers or freight by hire, and/or transportation companies and their agencies, including common carriers and transportation contractors: Provided, That persons exercising their profession or occupation only as salaried employees and not as independent practitioners shall be exempt from the municipal occupation tax herein prescribed; (p) To tax, fix the license fee and regulate the business of hotels, restaurants, refreshment places, cafes, lodging houses, boarding houses, brewers, distillers, rectifiers, laundries, dyeing and cleaning establishments, beauty parlors, physical or beauty culture and fashion schools, clubs, livery garages, public warehouses, pawnshops, theaters, cinematographs, and the letting or sub-letting of lands and buildings, whether used for commercial, industrial or residential purposes; and further to fix the location of, and to tax, fix the license fee on, and regulate the business of, livery stables, boarding stables, embalmers, public billiard tables, public pool tables, bowling alleys, dance halls, public dancing halls, cabarets, night clubs, circuses and other similar parades, public vehicles, public ferries, race tracks, horse races, dog races, cockpits, dealers in second-hand materials or merchandise, junk dealers, theatrical performances, boxing contests, public exhibitions, blacksmith shops, foundries, steam boilers, lumber yards, shipyards, the storage and sale of gunpowder, tar, pitch, resin, coal, oil, gasoline, benzine, turpentine, hemp, cotton, nitroglycerin, petroleum or any of the products thereof and of all other highly combustible or explosive materials, and other establishments likely to endanger the public safety or give rise to conflagration or explosions, and, subject t

o the provisions of rules and regulations issued by the Department of Health in accordance with law, taneries, renderies, tallow chandleries, bone factories, and soap factories; (q) To tax, regulate and fix the license fees on printers bookbinders or both, tailor shops, milliners, manufacturers of jewelry, embroideries, sail, or awnings or both, rope, paper, leather goods, including shoes, slippers, sandals, harnesses, and valises or bags, sporting goods, rubber goods, plastics and celluloid products, hardware including glasswares and tinwares, ceramics, and cement products, cooking utensils, electrical goods and construction materials, chemical products including drugs, perfumes, toilet articles, paints, dyes and inks, textiles, shell lamps or lamp shades or both, statuettes or tombstones or both, sacks, furniture of all kinds, including rattan goods, wire, brass beds or both, clothing, hats, eyeglasses or optical goods or both, fertilizers, and buttons. Manufacturers above-mentioned shall not be subject to the payment of any municipal tax or license fee as retail dealers of their own products; (r) To tax and fix the license fee on dealers in general merchandise, including importers and indentors, except those dealers who may be expressly subject to the payment of some other municipal tax under the provisions of this section; Dealers in general merchandise shall be classified as (a) wholesale dealers and (b) retail dealers. For purposes of the tax on retail dealers, general merchandise shall be classified into four main classes, namely: (1) luxury articles, (2) semi-luxury articles, (3) essential commodities and (4) miscellaneous articles. A separate license shall be prescribed for each class but where commodities of different classes are sold in the same establishment, it shall not be compulsory for the owner to secure more than one license if he pays the higher or highest rate of tax prescribed by ordinance. Wholesale dealers shall pay the license tax as such, as

may be provided by ordinance. For purposes of this section, the term "general merchandise" shall include poultry and livestock, agricultural products, fish and other allied products; (s) To tax, fix the license fee on and regulate the sale, trading in or disposal of intoxicating liquor, whether imported or locally manufactured, alcoholic or malt beverages, wines, and mixed or fermented liquors, including tuba, basi, and tapuy offered for retail sale; (t) To impose a tax on all products or commodities manufactured or produced in the city and removed therefrom; (u) To impose a sales tax of not exceeding one per centum of the gross value in money of all articles sold, bartered, exchanged or transferred within the city; (v) To regulate the method of using steam engines and boilers, and all other motive powers other than marine, or belonging to the Government of the Philippines; to provide for the inspection thereof, and fix a reasonable fee for such inspection and to regulate and fix the fees for the licenses of the engineers engaged in operating the same; (w) To provide for the prohibition and suppression of riots, affrays, disturbances, and disorderly assemblies; houses of ill-fame and other disorderly houses; gaming houses; gambling and all fraudulent devices for the purpose of obtaining money or property; prostitution; vagrancy, intoxication, fighting, quarrelling, and all disorderly conduct; and printing, circulation, exhibition, possession or sale of obscene pictures, books or publications, and for the maintenance and preservation of peace and good morals; (x) To prohibit, or regulate and fix the license fees for the keeping of dogs, and to authorize their impounding and destruction when running at large contrary to ordinances, and to tax and regulate the keeping or training of fighting cocks; (y) To establish and maintain municipal pounds; to regulate, restrain, and prohibit the running at large of domestic animals, and provide for the distraining, impounding, a

nd sale of the same for the penalty incurred, and the cost of the proceedings; and to impose penalties upon the owners of said animals for the violation of any ordinance in relation thereto; (z) To prohibit, and provide for the punishment of, cruelty to animals; (aa) To require property owners by ordinance to construct or repair, at their expense, sidewalks along the street or streets adjacent to their lots in accordance with the specifications of the city engineer as to quality, width and grade, and subject to his supervision and approval, providing that, in case of failure or inability of the property owners to comply with the requirement within a specified period of time after demand, the city engineer shall cause the work to be done and the cost thereof collected as a special assessment from such owners, who may choose to pay the same in full, or in ten equal yearly installments which shall be due and payable to the City of Caloocan in the same manner as the annual tax levied on real estate, and shall be made subject to the same penalties for delinquency, and enforceable by the same remedies, as such annual tax; and all said sums and amounts shall, from the day in which they are assessed, constitute liens on the property against which the same were assessed and shall take precedence over any and all other liens which may exist upon such property excepting only such as may have been attached as a result of the non-payment of said annual tax; (bb) To regulate the inspection, weighing, and measuring of brick, lumber, coal and other articles or merchandise; (cc) Subject to the provisions of existing law, to provide for the laying out, construction and improvement, and to regulate the use of streets, avenues, alleys, sidewalks, wharves, piers, parks, cemeteries, and other public places; to provide for lighting, cleaning, and sprinkling of streets and public places; to regulate, fix license fees for and prohibit the use of the same for processions, signs, signposts, a

wnings, awning posts, and the carrying or displaying of banners, placards, advertisements, or hand bills, or the flying of signs, flags, or banners whether along, across, over or from buildings along the same; to prohibit the placing, throwing, depositing, or leaving of obstacles of any kind, garbage, refuse, or other offensive matter or matters liable to cause damage in the street and other public places an to provide for the collection and disposition thereof; to provide for the inspection of, fix the license fees for and regulate the openings in the same for the laying of gas, water, sewer and other pipes, the building and repair of tunnels, sewers, and drains, and all structures in and under the same and the erecting of poles and the stringing of wires therein; to provide for and regulate cross-walks, curbs, and gutters therein; to name streets without a name and provide for and regulate the numbering of houses and lots fronting thereon or in the interior of the blocks; to regulate traffic and sales upon the streets and other public places; to provide for the abatement of nuisances in the same and punish the authors or owners thereof; to provide for the construction and maintenance, and regulate the use, of bridges, viaducts, and culverts; to prohibit and regulate ball playing, kite-flying, hoop rolling, and other amusements which may annoy persons using the streets and public places, or frighten horses or other animals; to prohibit and regulate the operation of human powered vehicles; to regulate the speed of horse and other animal driven vehicles, and locomotives within the limits of the city; to regulate the lights used on all such vehicles and locomotives; to regulate the locating, constructing, and laying of the track of horse, electric, and other forms of railroad in the streets or other public places of the city authorized by law; to provide for and change the location, grade and crossing of railroad, and compel any such railroad to raise or lower its tra

cks to conform to such provisions or changes; and to require railroad companies to fence their property, or any part thereof, to provide suitable protection against injury to persons or property, and to construct and repair ditches, drains, sewers, and culverts along and under their tracks, so that the natural drainage of the streets and adjacent property shall not be obstructed; (dd) To provide for the construction and maintenance of, and regulate the navigation on canals and watercourses within the city and provide for the cleansing and purification of the same; and to provide for or regulate the drainage and filling of private premises when necessary in the enforcement of sanitary rules and regulations issued in accordance with law; (ee) Any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, to provide for the maintenance of waterworks for the purpose of supplying water to the inhabitants of the city, and for the purification of the source of water supply and the places through which the same passes, and to regulate the consumption and use of water; to fix, subject to the provisions of the Public Service Law, and provide for the collection of rents therefor and to regulate the construction, repair and use of hydrants, pumps, cisterns and reservoirs; (ff) To provide for the establishment and maintenance and regulate the use of public drains, sewers, latrines and cesspools; (gg) Subject to the rules and regulations issued by the Department of Health in accordance with law, to provided for the establishment and maintenance and to fix the fees for the use of, and regulate public stables, laundries, and baths, and public markets and to prohibit or permit by license granted upon such terms as shall be fixed by the Board, the establishment or operation within the city limits of public markets by any person, entity, association, or corporation other than the city; (hh) To establish or authorize the establishment of slaughterhouses, to provide for their veterinary or sanit

ary inspection, to regulate the use of the same, and to charge reasonable slaughter fees. No fees shall be charged for veterinary or sanitary inspection of meat from large cattle or other domestic animals slaughtered outside the city, when such inspection was had at the place where the animals were slaughtered; (ii) To regulate, inspect and provide measures preventing and discrimination or the exclusion of any race or races in or from any institution, establishment, or service open to the public within the city limits, or in the sale and supply of gas or electricity, or in the telephone service; to fix and regulate charges therefor where the same have not been fixed by national law; to regulate and provide for the inspection of all gas, electric and telephone conduits, mains, meters, and other apparatus, and provide for the condemnation, substitution or removal of the same when defective or dangerous; (jj) To declare, prevent, and provide for the abatement of nuisances; to regulate the ringing of bells and the making of loud or unusual noises; to provide that owners, agents, or tenants of buildings or premises keep and maintain the same in sanitary condition, and that, in case of failure to do so within sixty days from the date of written notice is served, the city health officer shall cause the same to be kept in a sanitary condition, and the cost thereof to be assessed against the owner to the extent of not to exceed sixty per centum of the assessed value, which cost shall constitute a lien against the property; and to regulate and/or prohibit, or fix the license fees for the use of property on or near public ways, grounds, or places, or elsewhere within the city, for display by electric signs or the erection or maintenance of billboards or structures of whatever materials erected, maintained, or used for the display of posters, signs, or other pictorial or reading matter, except sings displayed at the place or places where the profession or business advertised th

ereby is in whole or in part conducted; (kk) To provide for the enforcement of the rules and regulations issued by the Department of Health, and by ordinance to prescribe penalties for violation of such rules and regulations; (ll) For the purpose of protecting and insuring the purity of the water supply of the city, to extend its ordinances over all territory within the drainage area of such water supply, and within one hundred meters of any reservoir, conduit, canal, aqueduct, or pumping station used in connection with the city water service; (mm) To regulate any other business or occupation being conducted within the city not specifically mentioned in the preceding paragraphs, and to impose a license fee upon all persons engaged in the same or who enjoy privileges in the city; (nn) To fix and regulate the size, speed, and operation of motor and other vehicles within the city; to regulate the lights used on such vehicles; to establish bus stops and terminals; and prohibit and regulate the entrance of provincial public utility vehicles into the city, except those passing through the city; (oo) To fix the date of the holding of a fiesta in the city not oftener than once a year and to alter, not oftener than once in three years, the date fixed for the celebration thereof; and (pp) To enact all ordinances it may deem necessary and proper for the sanitation and safety, the furtherance of the prosperity, and the promotion of the morality, peace, good order, comfort, convenience, and general welfare of the city and its inhabitants, and such other as may be necessary to carry into effect and discharge the powers and duties conferred by this Charter; and to fix penalties for the violation of ordinances, which shall not exceed a two hundred-peso fine or six months imprisonment, or both such fine and imprisonment for a single offense. Section 16. Restrictive provisions. -No commercial sign, signboard, or billboard shall be erected or displayed on public lands, premises or bui

ldings. If after due investigation, and having given the owners an opportunity to be heard, the Mayor should consider any sign, signboard or billboard displayed or exposed to public views as offensive to the sight or is otherwise a nuisance, he may order the removal of such sign, signboard or billboard, and if same is not removed within ten days after he has issued such order, he may himself cause its removal, and the sign, signboard, or billboard shall thereupon be forfeited to the city and the expense incident to the removal of the same shall become a lawful charge against any person or property liable for the erection or display thereof. Article IV Department and Offices of the City Section 17. City Departments. -There shall be the following city departments over which the Mayor shall have direct control and supervision, any existing law to the contrary notwithstanding: 1. Department of Finance 2. Department of Engineering and Public Works 3. Law Department 4. Department of Health 5. Police Department 6. Fire Department 7. Department of Assessment The Municipal Board may from time to time make such readjustment of the duties of the several departments as the public interest may demand, and, with the approval of the President, may consolidate any department, division or office of the city with any other department, division or office. Section 18. Powers and duties of heads of departments. -Each head of department of the city government shall have control of such department and shall possess such powers as may be prescribed herein or by ordinance. He shall certify to the correctness of all payrolls and vouchers of his department covering the payment of money before payment, except as herein otherwise expressly provided. At least four months before the opening of each fiscal year, he shall prepare and present to the Mayor an estimate of the appropriation necessary for the operation of his department during the ensuing fiscal year, and shall submit therewith such inf

ormation for purposes of comparison as the Mayor may desire. He shall submit to the Mayor as often as required reports covering the operation of his department. In case of the absence or sickness, or inability to act for any other reason, of the head of one of the city departments, or in case of temporary vacancy, the officer next in rank of that department shall perform the duties of the department head concerned. Section 19. Appointment and removal of officials and employees. -The President of the Philippines shall appoint, with the consent of the Commission on Appointments, the judges and auxiliary judges of the municipal court, the city treasurer, the city engineer, the city fiscal and his assistants, the city health officer, the chief of police, the chief of the fire department, the city assessor, the city superintendent of schools, and other heads of such city departments as may be created. Said officers shall not be suspended nor removed except in the manner and for cause provided by law. All other officers and employees of the city whose appointments are not otherwise provided for by law shall be appointed by the Mayor upon recommendation of the corresponding city department head in accordance with the Civil Service Law, and they shall be suspended or removed in accordance with said law. Section 20. Full time duty. -Each city officer, except members of the Municipal Board, shall devote his time and attention exclusively during the usual office hours to the duties of this office, and such members shall attend the regular sessions of the Board. No city officer shall hold more than one office unless expressly so provided by law. But this section shall not apply to other persons discharging public duties in the city under the National Government who receive no compensation for their services. Section 21. Officers not to engaged in certain transactions. -It shall be unlawful for any city officer, directly or indirectly, individually or as a member of a firm, to e

ngage in any business transaction with the city, or with any of its authorized officials, boards, agents or attorneys, whereby money is to be paid, directly or indirectly, out of the resources of the city to such person or firm; or to purchase any real estate or other property belonging to the city, or which shall be sold for taxes or assessment, or by virtue of legal process at the suit of the city; or to be surety for any person having a contract or doing business with the city, for the performance of which security may be required; or to be surety on the official bond of any officer of the city, and shall not be financially interested in any transaction or contract in which the National Government or any subdivision or instrumentality thereof is an interested party. Article V Relation to Bureaus and Offices Section 22. The General Auditing Office. -The Auditor General shall receive and audit all accounts of the city, in accordance with the provisions of law relating to Government accounts and accounting. 1avvphi1 T he city auditor shall be appointed by the Auditor General and shall receive a salary of seven thousand two hundred pesos per annum, one-half of which is to be paid by the National Government and the other half by the city. Section 23. The Bureaus of Public Schools. -The Director of Public Schools shall exercise the same jurisdiction and powers in the city as elsewhere in the Philippines, and the city superintendent of schools shall have all the powers and duties in respect to the schools of the city as are vested in division superintendents in respect to the schools of their division: Provided, That the operational expenses of primary and intermediate schools shall be borne by the National Government. Section 24. Reports to the Mayor concerning schools. -The city superintendent of schools shall make a quarterly report of the conditions of the schools and school buildings of the city to the Mayor, and such recommendations as seem to him wise relative to

improving the schools or school buildings in the city. Article VI Department of Finance Section 25. The City TreasurerHis powers and duties. -There shall be a city treasurer who shall have charge of the department of finance and shall act as chief fiscal officer and financial adviser of the city and custodian of its funds. He shall receive a salary of seven thousand two hundred pesos per annum. He shall have the following general powers and duties: (a) He shall collect all taxes due the city, all licenses authorized by law or ordinance, all rents due for lands, markets and other property owned by the city, and all further charges or fees of whatever nature fixed by law or ordinance; shall administer public markets and slaughterhouses, and shall receive and issue receipts for all costs, fees, fines and forfeitures imposed by the municipal court; (b) He shall collect all miscellaneous charges made by the engineering department and by the other departments of the city government, and all charges made by the city engineer for inspections, permits, licenses, and the installations, maintenance, and services rendered in the operation of the private privy system; (c) He shall, any provision of existing law to the contrary notwithstanding, be a deputy of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, and as such, he shall, by himself or deputies, collect and receive, and issue receipts for, all taxes and charges imposed by the Government of the Republic of the Philippines upon persons or property in the city, and shall, in accordance with law and regulations, deposit such collections in any depository of the Government, and dispose of the same as provided by law: Provided, That the duty and responsibility of collecting the delinquent national internal revenue taxes in the city and the enforcement therein of all laws falling within the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, including in particular the provisions of Chapter II, Title IX, of Commonwealth Act Numbered Four hun

dred sixty-six, shall devolve exclusively on the collection agent and/or other internal revenue officers of the said Bureau. As deputy of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, the city treasurer and his deputies shall have power to administer oaths and to take testimony in any official matter or investigation conducted by them touching any matter within the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Internal Revenue; (d) Unless otherwise specifically provided by law or resolution, he shall perform in and for the city the duties imposed by law or resolution upon provincial treasurers in general as well as other duties imposed upon him by law; (e) He shall purchase and issue all supplies, materials, equipment or other property required by the city, through the purchasing agent, or otherwise, as may be authorized, subject to the general provisions of law relating thereto: Provided, That the city treasurer may effect in the city or elsewhere the purchase, without public bidding, of supplies and materials in an amount not exceeding five hundred pesos, or of equipment in the value of not exceeding one thousand pesos, after a canvass of the market is made by him or his representative to obtain the lowest available price therefor, or a similar purchase of supplies and materials in an amount exceeding five hundred pesos, or of equipment in the value of more than one thousand pesos, but not exceeding five thousand pesos in each case, after a canvass of the prices is made by the City Mayor and the city treasurer or their representatives: And Provided, further, That where the needed equipment costs more than five thousand pesos per unit, and the same is procurable only from a sole dealer, distributor or importer, or other source, the purchase thereof by the city without public bidding is also hereby authorized, the provision of existing law or order to the contrary notwithstanding, provided that the price to be paid therefor is approved by the City Committee on Award created under Republic