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REPUBLIC ACT NO. 3445

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 3445 - AN ACT CREATING THE CITY OF CANLAON

Section 1.    This Act shall be known as the Charter of the City of Canlaon.

ARTICLE I
General Provisions

Sec. 2.    Territory of the City of Canlaon. — The City of Canlaon shall comprise the present territorial jurisdiction of the Municipality of Canlaon in the Province of Oriental Negros.

The President of the Philippines may, by executive order, increase the territory of the City of Canlaon by adding thereto such contagious barrios as may be necessary and desirable in the public interest.

Sec. 3.    Corporate Character of the City. — The City of Canlaon 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.

Sec. 4.    Seal and general powers of the City. — The city shall have a seal, which shall be used in all documents of official character. It may acquire, receive, hold, barter, donate, lease, convey, and dispose of real and personal property for public use, contract and be contracted with, sue and be used, prosecute and defend to final judgment and execution, and exercise all the powers hereinafter conferred: Provided, That all dispositions of real property shall not have any effect until approved by the President of the Philippines.

Sec. 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 the Charter, or any other law or ordinance, or from negligence of said Municipal Board, Mayor or other city officers or employees while enforcing or attempting to enforce the provisions thereof.

Sec. 6.    Jurisdiction of the city. — The jurisdiction of the City of Canlaon for police purposes 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 one hundred meters of any reservoir, conduit, canal, aqueduct or pumping station used in connection with the city water services.

ARTICLE II
The Mayor

Sec. 7.    The Mayor. — His appointment and compensation. — The Mayor shall be the chief executive of the city. He shall be elected by qualified voters of the city during every general election for provincial, city and municipal officials in accordance with the provisions of the Revised Election Code. No person shall be elected Mayor unless he is at least twenty-five years of age, a resident of the city for at least five years prior to his election, and a qualified voter therein: Provided, however, That the incumbent Mayor shall remain in office until his term of office expires.

The Mayor shall receive a salary of five thousand four hundred pesos per annum. He shall be provided, in addition to his salary, a commutable allowance of two hundred pesos a month.

Sec. 8.    The Vice-Mayor. — There shall be a Vice-Mayor who in the event of sickness, absence, or other temporary incapacity of the Mayor, or in the event of a temporary vacancy in the position of Mayor, shall perform the duties of the Mayor until said office shall be filled in accordance with law. The Vice-Mayor shall also preside over the meetings of the Municipal Board, but he shall have no right to vote except in case of tie. He shall be elected in the same manner as the Mayor and shall at the time of his election possesses the same qualifications as the Mayor. If, for any reason, the duties of the office of the Mayor cannot be performed by the Vice-Mayor, said duties shall be performed by the city treasurer. In case of the incapacity of the officials mentioned above to perform the duties of the Mayor, the President shall appoint or designate one. The Vice-Mayor, when acting as Mayor, shall have the same powers and duties as the Mayor, and if one appointed or designated is other than a government official, he shall receive the same compensation. He shall receive a salary of from one thousand eight hundred to two thousand four hundred pesos per annum: Provided, however, That the incumbent Vice-Mayor shall remain in office until his term of office expires.

Sec. 9.    General powers and duties of the Mayor. — Unless otherwise provided by law, the Mayor shall have immediate control over the executive and administrative functions of the different departments of the city, subject to the authority and 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 laws and ordinances in effect within the jurisdiction of the city.

(b)    To safeguard all the lands, buildings, records moneys, credit, and other property and rights of the city and, subject to the provisions of this Charter, have control of 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 all officers and employees of the city properly discharge their respective duties.

     To examine and inspect the books, records, and papers of all officers, agents, and employees of the city whenever in his opinion such examination or inspection is necessary. For this purpose, he shall be provided by the Municipal Board with such clerical or other assistance as may be necessary.

(g)    To give such information and recommend such measures to the Board as he shall deem advantageous to the city.

(h)    To represent the city in all its business matters and sign in its behalf all its bonds, contracts, and obligations made in accordance with law or ordinance.

(i)    To submit to the Municipal Board at least two months before the beginning of each fiscal year a budget or receipts and expenditures of the city.

( j)    To receive, hear, and decide as he may deem proper the petitions, complaints, and claims concerning all classes of municipal matters of an administrative or executive character.

(k)    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 ordinances are being committed under the protection of such licenses or in the premises in which the business for which the same have been granted is carried on, or for any other good reason of general interest.

(l)    To exempt with the concurrence of the division superintendent of schools deserving poor pupils from the payment of schools fees or of any part thereof.

(m)    To take such emergency measures as may be necessary to avoid fires, floods, and mitigate the effects of storms and other public calamities.

(n)    To submit an annual report to the President of the Philippines.

(o)    To perform such other duties and exercise such other executive powers as may be prescribed by law or ordinances.

Sec. 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, to be fixed, upon recommendation of the Municipal Board, by the City Mayor, at not exceeding two thousand four hundred pesos per annum. In case of disagreement between the Board and the Mayor, the President of the Philippines shall decide, and his decision shall be final.

The secretary shall have charge and custody of all records and documents 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, and shall perform such other duties as the Mayor may require of him; shall, upon request, furnish certified copies of all city records and document in his charge which are not of a confidential character, and shall charge twenty centavos for each one hundred words including the certificate, such fees to be paid directly to the city treasurer.

ARTICLE III
The Municipal Board

Sec. 11.    Constitution and organization of the Municipal Board. — 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 popular vote during every election for provincial and municipal officials in conformity with the provisions of the Revised Election Code. In case of sickness, absence, suspension or other temporary disability of any member of the Board, or if necessary to maintain a 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: Provided, however, That the incumbent councilors shall remain in the office until their terms of office expire.

If any member of the Municipal Board should be candidate for office in any election, he shall be disqualified to act with the Board in the discharge of the duties conferred upon it relative to election matters, and in such case the other members of the Board shall discharge said duties without his assistance, or the Mayor may choose some disinterested elector of the city to act with the Board in such matters in his stead.

Sec. 12.    Salaries of Members of Municipal Board. — The salaries of the councilors shall be not more than one thousand eight hundred pesos per annum.

Sec. 13.    Qualifications, election, suspension, and removal of the Members of Board. — The members of the Municipal Board shall be qualified electors of the city, residents therein for at least six months, and not less than twenty-one years of age. Upon qualifying, the members-elect shall assume office on the date fixed in the Revised Election Code until their successors are elected and qualified.

If for any reason the election fails to take place on the date fixed by law, or such election results in a failure to elect one or more of the members, the President shall issue as soon as practicable a proclamation calling a special election to fill said office. Whenever the member-elect dies before assumption of office, or having been elected, his election is not confirmed by the President for disloyalty, or such member-elect fails to qualify for any reason, the President may in his discretion either call a special election or fill the office by appointment. Vacancies occurring after assumption of office shall be filled by appointment by the President of suitable person belonging to the political party of the officer whom he is to replace.

The members of the Municipal Board 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 providing for the suspension or removal of elective provincial officers are hereby made effective for the suspension or removal of said members of the Board.

Sec. 14.    Appointment, salary and duties of Secretary of Board. — The Board shall have a secretary who shall be appointed by the Mayor with the consent of the Board to serve during the term of office of the members thereof. The compensation of the secretary shall be fixed, upon recommendation of the Municipal Board by the City Mayor at not exceeding one thousand eight hundred pesos per annum. In case of disagreement between the Board and the Mayor, the President of the Philippines shall decide and his decision shall be final. A vacancy in the office of the secretary may be filled temporarily by the Mayor.

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, all 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 Board — City of Canlaon," 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 of the Board; shall cause each ordinance to be published as herein provided; shall, upon request, furnish 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 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 character open to public inspection during usual business hours.

Sec. 15.    Method of transacting business by the Board — Veto — Authentication and publication of Ordinances. — The Board shall hold one ordinary session for the transaction of business during each week on a day which its shall fix by resolution, and such extraordinary sessions, not exceeding thirty during any one year, as may be called by the Mayor. It shall sit with open doors, unless otherwise ordered by an affirmative vote of five members. It shall keep a record of its proceedings and determine its rules of procedure not herein set forth. Five members of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. But a smaller number may adjourn form day to day and may compel the immediate attendance of any member absent without good cause by issuing to the police of the city an order for his arrest and production at the session under such penalties as shall have been previously prescribed by ordinance. Five affirmative votes shall be necessary for the passage of any ordinance, or of any resolution or motion directing the payment of money or creating liability, and at the request of any member, the majority vote of the members present at any meeting 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 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 to the city hall, 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 overriden by the required votes unless otherwise stated in the ordinance or again disapproved by the Mayor within said time.

Each ordinance and each resolution or motion directing the payment of money or creating liability enacted or adopted by the Board 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 he returns it with his veto, his reasons therefor in writing shall accompany it. It may then be again enacted by the affirmative votes of six 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, and 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 ordinances of the previous year shall be deemed restored unless otherwise expressly directed in the veto.

Sec. 16.    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.

(d)    To authorize the free distribution of medicine to the employees and laborers of the city whose salaries or wages do not exceed one hundred twenty pesos per month or two pesos and fifty centavos per day; of fresh or evaporated native milk to indigent mothers residing in the city and of bread and light meals to indigent children of ten years or less or 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 department, branches or officials.

     To provide for the erection and maintenance or the rental of the necessary buildings for the use of the city.

(g)    To establish and maintain schools as provided by law and with the approval of the Director of Public Schools, to fix reasonable tuition fees for instruction therein.

(h)    To establish or aid in the establishment and maintenance of vocational schools and institutions of higher learning conducted by the National Government of any of its subdivisions and agencies; and, with the approval of the Director of Public Schools, to fix reasonable tuition fees for instruction in the vocational schools and in those higher institutions supported by the city.

(i)    To establish and maintain an efficient police force 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 ordinances of the city.

( j)    To establish and maintain an efficient fire force and provide engine houses, fire engines, hose carts, hooks and ladders, and other equipment for the prevention and extinguishment of fires, and to regulate the management and use of the same.

(k)    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 structures.

(l)    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 the use of firecrackers, fireworks, skyrockets, and other pyrotechnic displays, and to fix the fees for such permits.

(m)    To make regulations to protect the public from conflagration; and to prevent and mitigate the effects of famine, floods, storms and other public calamities, and provide relief for persons suffering from same.

(n)    To regulate and fix the amount of the license fees for the following: hawkers, peddlers, and hucksters, not including hucksters or peddlers who sell only native vegetables, fruits, or foods, personally carried by the hucksters or peddlers; auctioneers, plumbers, barbers, collecting agencies, mercantile agencies, shipping and intelligence offices, private detective agencies, advertising agencies, beauty parlors, massagists, tattooers, jugglers, acrobats, hotels, clubs, restaurants, cafes, lodging houses, boarding-houses, livery garages, livery stables, laundries, boarding stables, dealers in large cattle, public billiard tables, cleaning and dyeing establishments, public warehouses, circuses and other similar parades, public vehicles, race tracks, horse races, bowling alleys, shooting galleries, slot machines, merry-go-round, pawnshops, dealers in second hand merchandise, junk dealers, brewers, distillers, rectifiers, money changers and brokers, public ferries, theaters, theatrical performances cinematographs, public exhibition and all other performances and places of amusements, and the keeping, preparation, and sale of meat, poultry, fish, game, butter, cheese, lard, vegetables, bread, and other provisions.

(o)    To tax and fix the license fees on dealers in new automobiles or accessories or both, and retail dealers in new merchandise, which dealers are not yet subject to the payment of any municipal tax. For the purpose of taxation, those retail dealers shall be classified as (A) retail dealers in general merchandise, and (B) retail dealers exclusively engaged in the sale of (a) textiles including knitted wares, (b) hardwares including glasswares, cooking utensils, electrical goods and construction materials, (c) groceries including toilet articles except perfumery, (d) drugs including medicine and perfumeries, (e) books including stationery, paper, and office supplies,

jewelry, (g) slippers, (h) arms, ammunitions, and sporting goods.

( p)    To tax, fix the license fee for, regulate the business and fix the location of, match factories, blacksmith shops, foundries, steam boilers, lumberyards, shipyards, the storage and sale of gunpowder, tar, pitch, resin, coal, oil, gasoline, benzine, turpentine, hemp, cotton, nitroglycerine, 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 conflagrations or explosions, and, subject to the rules and regulations issued by the Director of Health Services in accordance with law, tanneries, renderies, tallow chandleries, embalmers, and funeral parlors, bone factories, and soap factories.

(q)    To regulate the method of using steam engines and boilers, and all other motive powers other than marines 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.

(r)    To enact ordinances for the maintenance and preservation of peace and good morals.

(s)    To regulate and fix the license fees for the keeping of dogs, 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.

(t)    To establish and maintain municipal pounds; to regulate, restrain, and prohibit the running at large of domestic animals, and provide for the distraining, impounding and 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.

(u)    To prohibit and provide for the punishment of cruelty to animals.

(v)    To regulate the inspection, weighing, and measuring of brick, lumber, coal, and other articles of merchandise.

(w)    To prohibit or regulate the establishment or operation of dance halls, cabarets, and cockpits.

(x)    Subject to the provisions of subsection   of Section one thousand nine hundred one of the Administrative Code, 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 the license fees for, and prohibit the use of the same for processions, signs, signposts, awnings, awning posts, the carrying or displaying of banners, placards, advertisements, or handbills 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, offal, garbage, refuse or other offensive matter or matters liable to cause damage, in the streets and other public places, and 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 crosswalks, 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 author or owners thereof; to provide for the construction and maintenance, and regulate the use of bridges, viaducts, and culverts; to prohibit or 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 regulate the speed of horses and other animals, motor and other vehicles, cars, and locomotives within the limits of the city; to regulate the locating, constructing, and laying of the tracks of horse, electric, and other forms of railroad on the streets or other public places of the city authorized by law; unless otherwise provided by law, to provide for and change the location, grade, and crossing of railroads, and to compel any such railroad to raise or lower its track to conform to such provisions or changes; and to require railroad companies to fence their property, or any part thereof, 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.

(y)    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.

(z)    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 supply and the places through which the same passes, and to regulate the consumption and use of the 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.

(aa)    To provide for the establishment and maintenance and regulate the use, of public drains, sewers, latrines, and cesspools.

(bb)    Subject to the rules and regulations issued by the Director of Health Services in accordance with law, to provide for the establishment, maintenance and regulation and fix the fees for the use of public stables, laundries and baths, and public markets and prohibit the establishment or operation within the city limits of public markets by any person, entity, association, or corporation other than the city.

(cc)    To establish or authorize the establishment of slaughterhouses, to provide for their veterinary or sanitary 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.

(dd)    To regulate, inspect, and provide measures, preventing any 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; to regulate and provide for the inspection of all gas, electric, telephone, and street-railway conduits, mains, meters, and other apparatus, and provide for the condemnation, substitution, or removal of the same when defective or dangerous.

(ee)    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 a 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 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, or a display of electric signs or the erection or maintenance of billboards or structures of whatever material erected, maintained, or used for the display of posters, signs, or other pictorial or reading matter, except signs displayed at the place or places where the profession or business advertised thereby is in whole or part conducted.

( ff )    To provide for the enforcement of the rules and regulations issued by the Director of Health Services, and by ordinance to prescribe penalties for violations of such rules and regulations.

(gg)    To extend its ordinances over all waters within the city, over any boat or other floating structures thereon and, for the purpose of protecting and insuring the purity of the water supply of the city, 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.

(hh)    To tax, fix the license fee for, and regulate the sale, trading in or disposal of, alcoholic or malt beverages, wines, and mixed or fermented liquor including tuba, basi, tapuy, offered for retail sale.

(ii)    To regulate any other business or occupation 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.

( jj)    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.

(kk)    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 others as may be necessary to carry into effect and discharge the powers and duties conferred by this Charter, and to fix the 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.

Sec. 17.    Restrictive provisions. — No commercial sign, signboard, or billboard shall be erected or displayed in public lands, premises, or buildings, without the consent of the Mayor. If after due investigation, and having given the owners and opportunity to be heard, the mayor shall decide that any sign, signboard, or billboard displayed or exposed to public view is 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 expenses incident to the removal of the same shall become a lawful charge against any person or property liable for the creation or display thereof.

ARTICLE IV
Departments and Offices of the City

Sec. 18.    City Departments. — There shall be a finance department, an engineering department, a law department, a police department, a fire department and an assessment department. Unless otherwise provided by law, the Mayor shall have supervisory control over all the city departments.

Sec. 19.    Powers and duties of heads of departments. — Each head of department of the city government shall be in control of such department and shall possess such powers and obligations 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 beginning 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 coming fiscal year, and shall submit therewith such information for purposes of comparison as the Mayor may desire. He shall submit to the Mayor as often as required reports covering the operations of his department.

In case of inability due to absence or sickness of the head of one of the city departments, the acting head of the department or the officer next in charge of that department shall act in his place with authority to sign all necessary papers, vouchers, requisitions, and so forth.

Sec. 20.    Appointment and removal of officials and employees. — The President of the Philippines shall appoint, with the consent of the Commission on Appointments, the judge and auxiliary judge of the municipal court, the city treasurer, the city engineer, the city attorney, the chief of police, the chief of the fire department, the chief of secret service and the other heads of such city departments as may be created. Except the judge and the auxiliary judge of the municipal court, said officers shall hold office at the pleasure of the President: Provided, That the incumbent justice of the peace shall continue in office as judge of the municipal court without the necessity of a new appointment.

All other officers and employees of the city whose appointments are not otherwise provided for by law shall be appointed by the Mayor upon the 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.

Sec. 21.    Officers not to engage in certain transactions. — It shall be unlawful for any city officer, or relative within the fourth degree, civil law reckoning, directly or indirectly, individually or as a member of a firm, to engage 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 assessments, 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.

ARTICLE V
Finance Department

Sec. 22.    The City Treasurer — His powers, duties and compensation. — 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 not exceeding three thousand six 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, all further charges of whatever nature fixed by law or ordinance, and shall receive and issue receipt 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 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 collect, as deputy of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, by himself or deputies, all taxes and charges imposed by the Government of the Republic of the Philippines upon property or persons in the City of Canlaon depositing daily such collections in any depository bank of the Government.

(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 generally, as well as the other duties imposed upon him by law.

(e)    He shall purchase and issue all supplies, 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.

     He shall be accountable for all funds and property of the city and shall render such accounts in connection therewith as may be prescribed by the Auditor General.

(g)    He shall deposit daily all municipal funds and collections in any bank duly designated as Government depository.

(h)    He shall disburse the funds of the city in accordance with duly authorized appropriations, upon properly executed vouchers bearing the approval of the chief of the department concerned, and on or before the twentieth day of each month he shall furnish the Mayor and the Municipal Board for their administrative information of statement of the appropriation, expenditures and balances of all funds and accounts as of the last day of the month preceding.

ARTICLE VI
Engineering Department

Sec. 23.    The City Engineer — His powers, duties and compensation. — There shall be a city engineer, who shall be in charge of the department of engineering and public works. He shall receive a salary of not exceeding three thousand six hundred pesos per annum. He shall have the following powers and duties:

(a)    He shall have charge of all the surveying and engineering work of the city, and shall perform such service in connection with public improvements, or any work entered upon or proposed by the city, or any department thereof, as may require the skill and experience of a civil engineer.

(b)    He shall ascertain, record, and establish monuments of the city survey and from thence extend the survey of the city, and locate, establish, and survey all city property and also private property abutting on the same, whenever directed by the Mayor.

(c)    He shall prepare and submit plans, maps, specifications, and estimates for buildings, streets, bridges, and other public works, and supervise the construction and repair of the same.

(d)    He shall make such tests and inspection of engineering materials used in construction and repair as may be necessary to protect the city from the use of materials of a poor or dangerous quality.

(e)    He shall have the care of all public buildings, when erected, including markets and slaughterhouses and all buildings rented for city purposes, and of any system now or hereafter established by the city for lighting the streets, public places, and public buildings.

     He shall have the care of all public streets, parks, and bridges, and shall maintain, clean, sprinkle, and regulate the use of the same for all purposes as provided by ordinance; shall collect and dispose of all garbage, refuse, the contents of closets, vaults, and cesspools, and all other offensive and dangerous substances within the city.

(g)    He shall prevent the encroachment of private buildings and fences on the streets and public places of the city.

(h)    He shall have general supervision and inspection of all private docks, wharves, piers, levees, and landing places, and other property bordering on the harbor, river, esteros, and waterways of the city, and shall issue permits for the construction, repair and removal of the same, and enforce all ordinances relating to the same.

(i)    He shall have the care and custody of the public system of waterworks and sewers, and all sources of water supply, and shall control, maintain, and regulate the use of the same, in accordance with the ordinance relating thereto; shall inspect and regulate the use of all private systems for supplying water to the city and its inhabitants, and all private sewers and their connections with the public sewer system.

( j)    He shall supervise the laying of mains and connections for the purpose of supplying gas to the inhabitants of the city.

(k)    He shall inspect and report upon the conditions of public property and public works whenever required by the Mayor.

(l)    He shall supervise and regulate the location and use of engines, boilers, forges, and other manufacturing and heating appliances in accordance with law and ordinances relating thereto. He is authorized to charge fees, at rates to be fixed by the Board with the approval of the department head, for sanitation and transportation services and supplies furnished by his department.

(m)    He shall inspect and supervise the construction, repair, removal, and safety of private buildings, and regulate and enforce the numbering of houses, in accordance with the ordinances of the city.

(n)    With the previous approval of the Mayor in each case, he shall order the removal of buildings and structures erected in violation of the ordinances; shall order the removal of the material employed in the construction or repair of any building or structure made in violation of said ordinances; and shall cause buildings or structures dangerous to the public to be made secure or torn down.

(o)    He shall file and preserve all maps, plans, notes, surveys, and other papers and documents pertaining to his office.

Sec. 24.    Execution of authorized public works and improvement. — All repair or construction of any work or public improvement, except parks, boulevards, streets or alleys, involving an estimated cost the three thousand pesos or more shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder after public advertisement in the Official Gazette for not less than ten days, by the Mayor upon the recommendation of the city engineer: Provided, however, That the city engineer may, with the approval of the President of the Philippines, upon the recommendation of the Secretary of Public Works and Communications, execute by administration any such public work costing three thousand pesos or more.

In the case of public works involving an expenditure of less than three thousand pesos, it shall be discretionary with the city engineer either to proceed with the work himself or to let the contract to the lowest bidder after such publication and notice as shall be deemed appropriate or as may be, by regulations, prescribed.

ARTICLE VII
Law Department

Sec. 25.    The City Attorney — His powers and duties. — The city attorney shall be the chief legal adviser of the city. He shall receive a salary of not exceeding three thousand six hundred pesos per annum. He shall have the following powers and duties:

(a)    He shall represent the city in all civil cases wherein the city or any officer thereof, in his official capacity, is a party.

(b)    He shall, when directed by the Mayor, institute and prosecute in the city's interest a suit on any bond, lease, or other contract and upon any breach or violation thereof.

(c)    He shall, when requested, attend meetings of the Board, draw ordinances, contracts, bonds, leases, and other instrument involving any interest of the city, and inspect and pass upon such instrument already drawn.

(d)    He shall give his opinion in writing, when requested by the Mayor or the Board or any of the heads of the city departments, upon any question relating to the city or the rights or duties of any city officer thereof.

(e)    He shall, whenever it is brought to his knowledge that any person, firm, or corporation holding or exercising any franchise or public privilege from the city, has failed to comply with any condition, or to pay any consideration mentioned in the grant of such franchise or privilege, investigate or cause to be investigated the same and report to the Mayor.

     He shall investigate all charges of crimes, misdemeanors, and violations of laws and city ordinances and prepare the necessary informations or make the necessary complaints against the person accused. He may conduct such investigations by taking oral evidence of reputed witnesses and for this purpose may, by subpoena, summon witnesses to appear and testify under oath before him, and subpoena duces tecum for the production of documents and other evidence. The attendance of evidence of an absent or recalcitrant witness may be enforced by application for a warrant of arrest to the municipal court or the Court of First Instance.

(g)    He shall have charge of the prosecution of all crimes, misdemeanors and violations of laws and city ordinances triable in the Court of First Instance of Oriental Negros and the municipal court of the city, and shall discharge all the duties in respect to criminal prosecution enjoined by law upon provincial fiscals.

(h)    He shall cause to be investigated the causes of sudden deaths which have not been satisfactorily explained and when there is suspicion that the cause arose from unlawful acts or omissions of other persons or from foul play. For that purpose he may cause autopsies to be made in case it is deemed necessary and shall be entitled to demand and receive for the purpose of such investigations or autopsies the aid of the city health officer.

(i)    He shall at all times render such professional service as the Mayor or Board may require, and shall have such powers and perform such duties as may be prescribed by law or ordinances.

( j)    He shall perform the duties prescribed by law for register of deeds.

ARTICLE VIII
Police Department

Sec. 26.    The Chief of Police — His powers, duties and compensation. — There shall be a chief of police who shall have charge of the police department. He shall receive a salary of not exceeding two thousand four hundred pesos per annum. He shall have the following general powers and duties:

(a)    He may issue supplementary regulations not incompatible with law or general regulations promulgated by the proper department head of the National Government, in accordance with law, for the government of the city police and detective force.

(b)    He shall quell riots, disorders, disturbances of the peace, and shall arrest and prosecute violators of any law or ordinance; shall exercise police supervision over all land and water within the police jurisdiction of the city; shall be charged with the protection of the rights of persons and property wherever found within the jurisdiction of the city, and shall arrest when necessary to prevent the escape of the offender, violators of any law or ordinance, and all who obstruct or interfere with him in the discharge of his duty; shall have charge of the city prison; and shall be responsible for the safe-keeping of all prisoners until they shall be released from custody, in accordance with law, or delivered to the warden of the proper prison or penitentiary.

(c)    He may take good and sufficient bail for the appearance before the judge of the municipal court of any person arrested for violation of any city ordinance.

(d)    He shall have authority within the police limits of the city, to serve and execute criminal processes of any court.

(e)    He shall be deputy sheriff of the city, and as such he shall, personally or by representative, attend the sessions of the municipal court, and shall execute promptly and faithfully, all writs and processes of said court.

     He shall have such other powers and perform such other duties as may be prescribed by law or ordinance.

Sec. 27.    Chief of secret service. — There shall be a chief of the secret service who shall have charge of the detective work of the department and of the detective force of the city, and shall perform such other duties as may be assigned to him by the chief of police or prescribed by law or ordinance. He shall receive a salary of not exceeding one thousand eight hundred pesos per annum.

Sec. 28.    Peace Officers — Their powers and duties. — The Mayor, the chief of police, the chief of the secret service, and all officers and members of the city police and detective force shall be peace officers. Such officers are authorized to serve and execute all processes of the municipal court and criminal processes of all other courts to whomsoever directed, within the jurisdictional limits of the city or within the police limits as hereinbefore defined; within the same territory, to pursue and arrest, any person found in suspicious places or under suspicious circumstances reasonably tending to show that such person has committed, or is about to commit, any crime, or breach of the peace; to arrest or cause to be arrested, without warrant, any offender when the offense is committed in the presence of a peace officer or within his view; in such pursuit or arrest to enter any building, ship, boat, or vessel or take into custody any person therein suspected of being concerned in such crime or breach of the peace, and any property suspected of having been stolen and to exercise such other powers and perform such other duties as may be prescribed by law or ordinance. They shall detain an arrested person only until he can be brought before the property magistrate. Whenever the Mayor shall deem it necessary to avert danger or to protect life and property, in case of riot, disturbance, or public calamity, or when he has reason to fear any serious violation of law and order, he shall have power to swear in special police, in such numbers as the occasion may demand. Such special police shall have the same powers while on duty as members of the regular force.

ARTICLE IX
Fire Department

Sec. 29.    Chief of Fire Department — His powers, duties and compensation. — There shall be a chief of fire department who shall have charge of said department. He shall receive a salary of not exceeding one thousand eight hundred pesos per annum. He shall have the following general powers and duties:

(a)    He may issue supplementary regulations not incompatible with law or general regulations issued by the proper department head of the National Government in accordance with law, for the governance of the fire force.

(b)    He shall have charge of the fire-engine houses, fire engines, hose carts, hooks and ladders, trucks, and all other fire apparatus.

(c)    He shall have full police powers in the vicinity of fires.

(d)    He shall have authority to remove or demolish any buildings or other property whenever it shall become necessary to prevent spreading of fire or to protect adjacent property.

(e)    He shall investigate and report to the Mayor upon the origin and cause of all fires occurring with the city.

     He shall inspect all buildings erected or under construction or repair within the city and determine whether they provide sufficient protection against fire and comply with the ordinances relating thereto.

(g)    He shall have charge of the city fire alarm service.

(h)    He shall supervise and regulate the stringing, grounding, and installation of wires for all electrical connections with a view to avoiding conflagrations, interference with public traffic or safety, or the necessary operation of the fire department.

(i)    He shall supervise the manufacture, storage, and use of petroleum, gas, acetylene, gunpowder, and other highly combustible matter and explosives.

( j)    He shall have such other powers and perform such other duties as may be prescribed by law or ordinance.

ARTICLE X
Assessment Department

Sec. 30.    The City Assessor — His powers and duties. — The city assessor shall have charge of the department of assessment. He shall receive salary of not exceeding two thousand four hundred pesos per annum. He and his authorized deputies are empowered to administer any oath authorized in connection with the valuation of real estate for the assessment and collection of taxes. He shall make a list of the taxable real estate in the city arranging in the order of the lot and block numbers the names of the owners thereof, with a brief description of the property opposite each such name and the cash value thereof. In making this list, the city assessor shall take into consideration any sworn statement made by the owners of the property, but shall not be prevented thereby from considering other evidence on the subject and exercising his own judgment in respect thereto. For the purpose of completing this list, he and his representatives may enter upon the real estate for the purpose of examining and measuring it, and may summon witnesses, administer oaths to them, and subject them to examination concerning the ownership and the amount of real estate and its cost value. He may, if necessary, examine the records of the office of the Register of Deeds of the Province of Oriental Negros showing the ownership of real estate in the city. The city treasurer shall act as city assessors until the Municipal Board, by ordinance approved by the Department head, provides otherwise.

Sec. 31.    Real estate exempt from taxation. — The following shall be exempt from taxation:

(a)    Lands or buildings owned by the Republic of the Philippines, the Province of Oriental Negros or the City of Canlaon and burying grounds, churches, and their adjacent parsonages and convents, and lands or buildings used exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, or educational purposes, and not for profit; but such exemption shall not extend to lands or buildings held for investment, though the income therefrom be devoted to religious, charitable, scientific, or educational purposes.

(b)    Lands or buildings which are the only real property of the owner, and the value of which does not exceed five hundred pesos.

(c)    Machinery, which term shall embrace machines, mechanical contrivances, instruments, appliances, and apparatus attached to the real estate, used for industrial, agricultural or manufacturing purposes, during the first three years of the operation of the machinery.

Sec. 32.    Declaration to be made by persons acquiring or improving real estate. — It shall be the duty of each person who, at any time, acquires real estate in the city, and of each person who constructs or adds to any improvement on real estate owned by him in the city, to prepare and present to the city assessor within a period of sixty days next succeeding such acquisition, construction or addition, a sworn declaration setting forth the value of the real estate acquired or the improvement constructed or addition made by him and a description of such property sufficient to enable the city assessor readily to identify the same. Any person having acquired real estate who fails to make and present the declaration herein required within the said period of sixty days shall be deemed to have waived his right to notice of the assessment of such property and the assessment of the same in the name of its former owner shall, in all such cases, be valid and binding on all persons interested, and for all purposes, as though the same has been assessed in the name of its actual owner.

Sec. 33.    Action when owner makes no returns, or is unknown, or ownership is in dispute or in doubt, or when land and improvements are separately owned. — If the owner of any parcel or real estate shall fail to make a return thereof, or if the city assessor is unable to discover the owner of any real estate, he shall nevertheless list the same for taxation, and charge the tax against the true owner, if known, and unknown then as against an unknown owner. In case of doubt or dispute as to ownership of real estate, the taxes shall be levied against the possessor or possessors thereof. When it shall appear that there are separate owners of the land and the improvements thereon, a separate assessment of the property of each shall be made.

Sec. 34.    Action in case estate has escaped taxation. — If it shall come to the knowledge of the city assessor that any taxable real estate in the city has escaped listing, it shall be his duty to list and value the same at the time and in the manner provided in the next succeeding section and to charge against the owner thereof the taxes due for the current year and the last preceding one year, and the taxes thus assessed shall be legal and collectible by all the remedies herein provided, and if the failure of the city assessor to assess such taxes at the time when they should have been assessed was due to any fault or negligence on the part of the owner of such property, the penalties shall be added to such back taxes as though they had been assessed at the time when they should have been assessed.

Sec. 35.    When assessment may be increased or reduced. — The City assessor shall during the first fifteen days of January of each year add to his list of taxable real estate in the city the value of the improvements placed upon such property during the preceding year, and any property which is taxable and which has theretofore escaped taxation. He may during the same period revise and correct the assessed value of any or all parcels of real estate in the city which are not assessed at their true money value, by reducing or increasing the existing assessment, as the case may be.

Sec. 36.    Publication of complete list and proceedings thereon. — The city assessor shall, when the list shall be completed, inform the public by notice published for seven days in a newspaper of general circulation in the city, if any, and by notice posted for seven days at the main entrance of the city hall, that the list is on file in his office and may be examined by any person interested therein, and that upon the date fixed in the notice, which shall not be later than the tenth day of February, the city assessor will be in his office for the purpose of hearing complaints as to the accuracy of the listing of the property and the assessed value thereof. He shall further notify in writing each person the amount of whose tax will be changed by such proposed change, by delivering or mailing such notification to such person or his authorized agent at the last known address of such owner or agent in the Philippines, sometime in the month of January.

It shall be his duty carefully to preserve and record in his office copies of said notice. On the day fixed in the notice, and for five days thereafter, he shall be present in his office to hear all complaints filed within the period by persons against whom taxes have been assessed as owners of real estate, and he shall make his decision forthwith and enter the same in a well-bound book, to be kept by him for that purpose, and if he shall determine that injustice had been done or errors have been committed he is authorized to amend the list in accordance with his findings.

Sec. 37.    City assessor to authenticate lists of real estate assessed. — The city assessor shall authenticate each list of real estate valued and assessed by him as soon as the same is completed, by signing the following certificate at the foot thereof:

"I hereby certify that the foregoing list contains a true statement of the piece or pieces of taxable real estate belonging to each person named in the list, and its true cash value, and that no real estate taxable by law in the City of Canlaon has been omitted from the list, according to the best of my knowledge and belief.

_________________________
(Signature of City Assessor)"

Sec. 38.    Time and manner of appealing to Board of Tax Appeals. — In case any owner of real estate or his authorized agent, shall feel aggrieved by any decision of the city assessor under the preceding sections of this Article, such owner or agent may, within thirty days after the notice of such decision, appeal to the Board of Tax Appeals. The appeal shall be perfected by filing a written notice of the same with the city assessor and it shall be the duty of the officer forthwith to transmit the appeal to the Board of Tax Appeals with all the written evidence in his possession relating to such assessment and valuation.

Sec. 39.    Constitution and compensation of Board of Tax Appeals. — There shall be a Board of Tax Appeals which shall be composed of five members to be appointed by the President of the Philippines with the consent of the Commission on Appointments. Three members of the Board shall be selected from among government officials in the city other than those in charge of assessment and they shall serve without additional compensation. The two other members shall be selected from among property owners in the city and they shall each receive compensation of ten pesos for each day of session actually attended. The chairman of the Board shall be designated in the appointment and shall have the power to designate any city official or employee to serve as the secretary of the Board without additional compensation.

The members of the Board of Tax Appeals shall hold office for a term of two years unless sooner removed by the President of the Philippines.

Sec. 40.    Oath to be taken by members of the Board of Tax Appeals. — Before organizing as such, the members of the Board of Tax Appeals shall take the following oath before the municipal judge or some other officer authorized to administer oaths:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will hear and determine well and truly all matter and issues between taxpayer and the city assessor submitted for my decision. So help me God. (In case of affirmation the last four words to be stricken out.)

______________________
(Signature)

"Subscribed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me this ________ day of ____________, 19 ______ .

___________________________________
(Signature and title of officer administering oath)

Sec. 41.    Proceedings before Board of Tax Appeals and the Department Head. — The Board of Tax Appeals shall hold such number of sessions as may be authorized by the Secretary of Finance, shall hear all appeals duly transmitted to it, and shall decide the same forthwith. It shall have authority to cause to be amended the listing and valuation of the property in respect to which any appeal has been perfected by order signed by the Board or a majority thereof, and transmit it to the city assessor who shall amend the tax list in conformity with said order. it shall also have power to revise and correct, with the approval of the Department Head first had, any and all erroneous or unjust assessments and valuations for taxation, and make a correct and just assessment and state the true valuation, in each case when it decides that the assessment previously made is erroneous or unjust. The assessment when so corrected shall be as lawful and valid for all purposes as though the assessment had been made within the time herein prescribed. Such reassessment and revaluation shall be made on due notice to the individual concerned who shall be entitled to be heard by the Board of Tax Appeals before any reassessment or revaluation is made. The decision of the Board of Tax Appeals shall be final unless the Department Head declares the decision reopened for review by him, in which case he may make such revision or revaluation as in his opinion the circumstances justify. Such revision when approved by the President of the Philippines shall be final.

Sec. 42.    Taxes on real estate — Extension and remission of the tax. — A tax, the rate of which shall not exceed two per centum ad valorem to be determined by the Municipal Board, shall be levied annually on or before the second Monday of January on the assessed value of all real estate in the city subject to taxation. All taxes on real estate for any year shall be due and payable annually on the first day of June and from this date such taxes together with all penalties accruing thereto shall constitute a lien on the property subject to such taxation.

Such lien shall be superior to all other liens, mortgages or encumbrances of any kind whatsoever; and shall be enforceable against the property whether in the possession of the delinquent or any subsequent owner, and can only be removed by the payment of the tax and penalty.

At the option of the taxpayer, the tax for any year may be paid in two installments to be fixed annually by the Municipal Board simultaneously with the rate per centum of ad valorem taxation: Provided, That the time limit for the first and second installments shall be set at not later than the thirty-first day of May and the thirtieth day of October of each year, respectively.

Any person, who on the last day set for the payment of the real estate tax as provided in the preceding paragraphs shall be within the premises of the city hall willing and ready to pay the tax but is unable to effect it on account of the large number of taxpayers therein present, shall be furnished a properly inscribed card which will entitle him to pay the tax without penalty on the following day.

The words paid "under protest" shall be written upon the face of the real estate tax receipt upon the request of any person willing to pay the tax under protest. Confirmation in writing of an oral protest shall be made within thirty days.

At the expiration of the time for the payment of the real estate tax without penalty, the taxpayer shall be subject, from the first day of delinquency, to the payment of a penalty at the rate of two per centum for each full month of delinquency that has expired, on the amount of the original tax due, until the tax shall have been paid in full or until the property shall have been forfeited to the city as provided in this Act: Provided, That in no case shall the total penalty exceed twenty-four per centum of the original tax due.

In the event that the crop is extensively damaged or that a great lowering of the prices of products is registered in any year, or that a similar disaster extends throughout the province, or for other good and sufficient reason, the Municipal Board may, by resolution passed on or before the thirty-first day of December of such year, extend in the time for the collection of the tax on real estate in the City of Canlaon for a period not to exceed three months, or remit wholly or in part the payment of the tax or penalty for the ensuing year, but such resolution shall have to specify clearly the grounds for such extension or remission and shall not take effect until it shall have been approved by the Department Head.

The President of the Philippines, may in his discretion, remit or reduce the real estate taxes for any year in the City of Canlaon if he deems this to be in the public interest.

Sec. 43.    Seizure of the personal property for delinquency in payment of the tax. — After a property shall have become delinquent in the payment of taxes and said taxes and the corresponding penalties shall remain unpaid ninety days after payment thereof shall have become due, the city treasurer, or his deputy, if he desires to compel payment through seizure of any personal property of any delinquent person or persons, shall issue a duly authenticated certificate, based on the records of his office, showing the fact of delinquency and the amount of the tax and penalty due from said delinquent person or persons or form each of them. Such certificate shall be sufficient warrant for the seizure of the personal property belonging to the delinquent person or persons in question not exempt from seizure; and these proceedings may be carried out by the city treasurer, his deputy, or any other officer authorized to carry out legal proceedings.

Sec. 44.    Personal property exempt from seizure and sale for delinquency. — The following personal property shall be exempt from seizure, sale and execution for delinquency in the payment of the real estate tax:

(a)    Tools and implements necessarily used by the delinquent in his trade or employment.

(b)    Two horses, or cows or carabaos, or other beasts of burden, such as the delinquent may select, and necessarily used by him in his ordinary occupation.

(c)    His necessary clothing and that of his family.

(d)    Household furniture and utensils necessary for housekeeping and used for the purpose by the delinquent, such as he may select of a value not exceeding three hundred pesos.

(e)    Provisions for individual or family use sufficient for four months.

     Professional libraries of lawyers, judges, clergymen, physicians, engineers, school teachers, and music teachers, not exceeding five hundred pesos in value.

(g)    The fishing boat and net not exceeding the total value of five hundred pesos, the property of any fisherman, by the lawful use of which he earns a livelihood.

(h)    Any article or material which forms part of a home or of any improvement on any real estate.

Sec. 45.    The owner may redeem personal property before sale. — The owner of the personal property seized may redeem the same from the collecting officer at any time after seizure and before sale by tendering to him the amount of the tax, the penalty, and the costs incurred up to the time of tender. The cost to be charged in making such seizure and sale shall only embrace the actual expenses of seizures and preservation of the property pending the sale, and no charge shall be imposed for the services of the collecting officer or his deputy.

Sec. 46.    Sale of seized personal property. — Unless redeemed as hereinbefore provided, the property seized through proceedings under Section forty-three hereof shall, after due advertisement, be exhibited for sale at public auction and so much of the same as shall satisfy the tax, penalty, and cost of seizure and sale, shall be sold to the highest bidder. The purchaser at such sale shall acquire an indefeasible title to the property sold.

The advertisement shall state the time, place and cause of sale, and be posted for ten days prior to the date of the auction, at the main entrance of the city hall and at a public and conspicuous place in the district where the property was seized.

The sale shall take place, at the discretion of the city treasurer or his deputy, either at the main entrance of the city hall or at the district where such property was seized. If no satisfactory bid is offered in the aforementioned districts another auction shall be held, upon notice published anew.

Sec. 47.    Return of officer — Disposal of surplus. — The officer directing the sale under the preceding section shall forthwith make return of his proceedings, and note thereof shall be made by the city treasurer upon records. Any surplus resulting from the sale over and above the tax, penalty and cost, and any property remaining in possession of the officer, shall be returned to the taxpayer on account of whose delinquency the sale has been made.

Sec. 48.    Vesting title to real estate in city government. — Upon the expiration of two years from the date on which the taxpayer has been delinquent, and in the event of continued default in the payment of the tax and penalty, all private rights, titles and interest in and to the real estate on which said tax is delinquent, shall be indefeasibly vested in the city government, subject only to the rights of redemption and repurchase provided for hereinbelow: Provided, That the title acquired by said city government to real estate shall not be superior to the title thereto of the original owner prior to the seizure thereof.

Sec. 49.    Redemption of real estate before seizure. — At any time after the delinquency shall have occurred, but not after the expiration of ninety days from the date of sale, the owner or his lawful representative or any person having any lien, right, or any other legal or equitable interest in said property, may pay the taxes and penalties accrued and thus redeem the property. Such redemption shall operate to divest the city government of its title to the property in question and to revert the same to the original owner, but when such redemption shall be made by a person other than the owner, the payment shall constitute a lien on the property, and the person making such payment shall be entitled to recover the same from the original owner, or if he be a lessee, he may retain the amount of said payment from the proceeds of any income due to the owner of such property: Provided, That the person exercising the right of redemption shall not acquire a title to said property better than that of the original owner prior to the seizure.

Sec. 50.    Notice of seizure of real estate. — Notice of seizure of the real estate shall be given by posting notices at the main entrance of the city hall, the provincial building and all the municipal buildings in the Province of Oriental Negros, in English and Spanish and in the dialect commonly used in the locality. Three copies of said notice shall also be posted on the property subject to seizure, and a copy shall be sent by registered mail to the delinquent owner. Such notices shall state the names of the delinquent persons, the date on which such delinquency commenced, the amount of the taxes and penalties then due from each, and shall state that unless such taxes and penalties are paid within ninety days from the date of the publication of such notice, the forfeiture of the delinquent real estate to the city government shall become absolute.

Sec. 51.    Ejectment of occupants of seized property. — After the expiration of ninety days from the date of sale the city treasurer, or his deputy, may issue to the Mayor or to other officers authorized by law to execute and enforce the laws a certificate describing the parcel of real estate on which the taxes have been declared delinquent, stating the amount of taxes due, and the penalties and costs accrued by reason of the delinquency, and requesting him to eject from said property all the tenants thereon. Upon receiving such certificate, the Mayor or any other officer authorized to enforce the law, shall forthwith have all the tenants and occupants who refuse to recognize the title of the city expelled from the property in question, and to that end he may use the police force: Provided, however, That if the property so seized is or includes a residential home, the occupant thereof shall be given sufficient time, not exceeding ten days from the date of the notice of ejectment, to vacate the premises.

Sec. 52.    Redemption of real property before sale. —