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

ARTICLE I
General Provisions

Sec. 2.    Territory of the City of Lipa. — The City of Lipa which is hereby created, shall comprise the present territorial jurisdiction of the municipality of Lipa, in the Province of Batangas.

Sec. 3.    Corporate character of the city. — The City of Lipa 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 Chapter.

Sec. 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 the public use, contract and be contracted with, sue and be sued, prosecute and defend to final judgment and execution, and exercise all the powers hereinafter conferred.

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 this Charter, or any other law or ordinance, or from negligence of said Municipal Board, or other city officers or employees while enforcing or attempting to enforce the provisions thereof. chan robles virtual law library

Sec. 6.    Jurisdiction of the city. — The jurisdiction of the City of Lipa 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 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.

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 appointed by the President of the Philippines, with the consent of the Commission on Appointments of the Congress of the Philippines, and shall hold office at the pleasure of the President. 

He shall receive a salary of not exceeding four thousand pesos a year. With the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, the Mayor may be provided, in addition to his salary, a not commutable allowance of not exceeding two thousand pesos per annum.

Sec. 8.    The Acting Mayor. — In the event of sickness, absence, or other temporary incapacity of the Mayor, or in the event of a vacancy in the position of Mayor, the City Treasurer shall perform the duties of the Mayor until said office shall be filled in accordance with law. If, for any reason, the duties of the office of the Mayor cannot be performed by the City Treasurer, said duties shall be performed by the City Engineer. 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 Acting 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.

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 Secretary of the Interior. 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, credits, 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 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 at least once a year, and whenever occasion arises. 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 of 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 license or permits of all classes and to revoke the same for violation of the conditions upon which they were granted, or if facts 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 have been granted is carried on, or for any other good reason of general interests. 

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

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

(n)    To submit an annual report to the Secretary of the Interior.

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

Sec. 10.    Secretary to 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 by ordinance approved by the Secretary of the Interior of not exceeding one thousand eight hundred pesos per annum.

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 documents 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 — Compensation of members thereof . — The Municipal Board shall be the legislative body of the city and shall be composed of the Mayor, who shall be its presiding officer, the city treasurer, the city engineer, and five councilors elected at large by popular vote during every election for provincial and municipal officials in conformity with the provisions of the 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 of a member of the Board until the return to duty of the regular incumbent.  chan robles virtual law library

If any member of the Municipal Board should be candidate for office in any election, he shall be incompetent 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 they may choose some disinterested elector of the city to act with the Board in such matters in his stead.

The members of the Municipal Board, who are not officers or employees of the Government receiving a fixed compensation or salary from public funds, shall receive ten pesos for each day of attendance on the session of the Board.

Sec. 12.    Qualifications, election, suspension and removal of members of the Board. — The elective members of the Municipal Board shall be qualified electors of the city, residents therein for at least one year, and not less than twenty-three years of age. Upon qualifying, the members-elect shall assume office on the date fixed in the 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 elective 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 members-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 in the office of elective members occurring after assumption of office shall be filled by appointment by the President of a suitable person belonging to the political party of the officer whom he is to replace.

The elective 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. chan robles virtual law library

Sec. 13.    Appointment, salary and duties of secretary of Board. — The Board shall have a secretary who shall be chosen by it to serve during the term of office of the members thereof. The compensation of the secretary shall be fixed by ordinance approved by the Secretary of the Interior, at not exceeding one thousand eight hundred pesos per annum. A vacancy in the office of the secretary shall be filed temporarily from 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, 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 Lipa," 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 the certificate, the fees to be paid directly to the city treasurer and shall keep his office and all records therein in which are not of a confidential character open to public inspection during usual business hours.

Sec. 14.    Method of transacting business by the Board — Veto — Authentication and publication of ordinances. — Unless the Secretary of the Interior orders otherwise, the Board shall hold one ordinary session for the transaction of business during each week on a day which shall be fixed by resolution, and such extraordinary session, 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 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 from 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, but other measures shall prevail upon the majority votes 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 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 overridden 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 Secretary of the Interior 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 ordinance of the previous year shall be deemed restored unless otherwise expressly directed in the veto.  chan robles virtual law library

The Secretary of the Interior shall have full power to disapprove directly, in whole or in part, any ordinance, resolution or motion of the Municipal Board if he finds said ordinance, resolution or motion or parts thereof, beyond the powers conferred upon the Board.

Sec. 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 purpose 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 with the approval of the Department Head the number and salaries of officials and employees of the city not otherwise provided for in this Act.

(d)    To authorize with the approval of the Department Head the free distribution of medicines to the employees and laborers of the city whose salaries or wages, do not exceed sixty 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 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 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 Education, 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 or any of its subdivisions and agencies; and, with the approval of the Director of Education, to fix reasonable tuition fees for instruction in the vocational schools and in those higher institutions supported entirely 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 of the 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 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 display, 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 the 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, boarding stalls, dealers in large cattle, public billiard tables, laundries, 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-rounds, pawnshops, dealers in second-hand merchandise, junk dealers, brewers, distillers, rectifiers, money changers and brokers, public ferries, theaters, theatrical performances, cinematographs, public exhibitions, and all other performances and places of amusements, and the keeping, preparations, 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) textile including knitted wares, (b) hardwares including glasswares, cooking utensils, electrical goods and construction materials, (c) groceries including toilet articles except perfumery, (d) drugs including medicines and perfumeries, (e) books including stationery, paper, and office supplies, (f) 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, lumber yards, 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 in accordance with law, tanneries, renderies, tallow chandleries, embalmers and funeral parlors, bone factories, and soap factories.

(q)    To impose tax on motor and other vehicles, and draft animals not paying any national tax; provided that all automobiles and trucks belonging to the National Government or to any provincial or municipal government and automobiles and trucks not regularly kept in the city shall be exempt from such tax.

(r)    To regulate the method of using steam engines and boilers, and all other motive powers other than marine or those belonging to the Government of the Philippines; to provide for the inspection thereof, and for a reasonable fee for such inspection and to regulate and fix the fees for the licenses of the engineers engaged in operating the same.

(s)    To enact ordinances for the maintenances and preservation of peace and good morals.

(t)    To regulate and fix the license fee for the keeping of dogs, to authorize their impounding and destruction when running at large contrary to ordinance, and to tax and to regulate the keeping or training of fighting cocks.

(u)    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.

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

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

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

(y)    Subject to the provisions of subsection (f) 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 license fees for, and prohibit the use of the same for processions, signs, signposts, awning, awning posts, 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, offal, garbage, refuse of 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, 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 on 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 lights used on such vehicles, cars, 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; unless otherwise provided by law, to provide for and change the location, grade, and crossing the railroads, and to compel any such railroad to raise or lower its tracks to conform to such provisions of 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.

(z)    To provide for the construction and maintenance of, and regulate the navigation on, canals and water courses within the city and provide for the clearing and purification of the same; unless otherwise provided by law, to provide for the construction and maintenance, and regulate the use of public landing places, wharves, piers, docks and levees, and of those of private ownership, 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.

(aa)    Subject to the provisions of the Public Service Law, to fix the charges to be paid by all water craft landing at or using public wharves, docks, levees, or landing places owned, operated, managed or controlled by the city. 

(bb)    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.

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

(dd)    Subject to the rules and regulations issued by the Director of Health 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.

(ee)    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 fee. No fees shall be charge 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.

(ff)    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. 

(gg)    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 or buildings or premises keep and maintain the same in sanitary condition, and that, in case of failure to do so after sixty days from the date of serving a written notice, the cost thereof to be assessed to 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, for a display of electric signs or the erection or maintenance of bill-boards 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.

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

(ii)    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.

(jj)    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 liquors including tuba, basi, and tapuy, offered for retail sale.

(kk)    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.

(ll)    To grant fishing and fishery privileges subject to the provisions of the Fisheries Act. 

(mm)    To fix the date of the holding of fiesta in the city not oftener than once a year and to alter, not oftener than once in three years, the date so fixed for the celebration thereof.

(nn)    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 Act, 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. chan robles virtual law library

Sec. 16.    Restrictive provisions. — No commercial sign, signboard, or billboard shall be erected or displayed on public lands, premise, or buildings. If after due investigation, and having given the owners an opportunity to be heard, the Mayor shall decide that any sign, signboard, or billboard displayed or exposed in 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. chan robles virtual law library

ARTICLE IV
Department and Offices in the City

Sec. 17.    City departments. — There shall be a finance department, an engineering department, a law department, a police department and a fire department. Unless otherwise provided by law, the Mayor shall have general supervisory control over all the city departments. chan robles virtual law library

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.

Sec. 18.    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 as may be described 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 ensuing 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 the absence or sickness, or inability to act for any other reason, of the head of one of the city departments, 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. chan robles virtual law library

Sec. 19.    Appointment and removal of officials and employees. — The President of the Philippines shall appoint, with the consent of the Commission on Appointments of the Congress of the Philippines, 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, 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.

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. 20.    Officers not to engage in certain transaction. — It shall be unlawful for any city officer, 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. chan robles virtual law library

ARTICLE V
Finance Department

Sec. 21.    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: chan robles virtual law library

(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 cost, 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 installation, maintenance, and services rendered in the operation of the private system. 

(c)    He shall collect, as deputy of the Collector of Internal Revenue, by himself or deputies, all taxes and charges imposed by the Government of the Republic of the Philippines upon property or person in the City of Lipa, depositing daily such collections in any depositary 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.

(f)    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 a statement of the appropriations, expenditures and balances of all funds and accounts as of the last day of the month preceding. chan robles virtual law library

ARTICLE VI
Engineering Department

Sec. 22.    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 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 services 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 surveys 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, docks, 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.

(f)    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 have the care and custody of all public docks, wharves, piers, levees, and landing places owned by the city.

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

(i)    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 thereto.

(j)    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 ordinances 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.

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

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

(m)    He shall supervise and regulate the location and use of engines, boilers, forges, and other manufacturing and heating appliances in accordance with law and ordinance relating thereto. He is authorized to charge, 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 departments. 

(n)    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.

(o)    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 materials 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. chan robles virtual law library

(p)    He shall file and preserve all maps, plans, notes, surveys, and other papers and documents pertaining to his office. chan robles virtual law library

Sec. 23.    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 of three thousand pesos 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. 24.    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 pesos per annum. He shall have the following powers and duties: chan robles virtual law library

(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 instruments involving any interest of the city, and inspect and pass upon any such instruments 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 department, upon any question relating to the city or the rights or duties of any city officer therefor.

(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.

(f)    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 persons 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 the attendance or evidence of an absent or recalcitrant witness may be enforced by application 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 Batangas and the municipal court of the city, and shall discharge all the duties in respect to criminal prosecutions enjoined by law upon provincial fiscals.

(h)    He shall cause to be investigated the cause of sudden deaths which have not been satisfactorily explained and when there is suspicions 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 purposes of such investigations or autopsies then of the city health officer.  

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

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

ARTICLE VIII
Police Department

Sec. 25.  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 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 governance 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 jurisdiction of the city; shall be charged with the protection of the rights of person 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. chan robles virtual law library

(e)    He shall be the 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 process of said court. 

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

Sec. 26.    Chief of secret service. — There shall be a chief of the secret service who shall, under the chief of police, 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.

The chief of secret service shall receive a salary of not exceeding one thousand eight hundred pesos per annum.

Sec. 27.      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 peace 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 jurisdiction limits of the city or within the police limits as hereinbefore defined; within the same territory, to pursue and arrest, without warrant, 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 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 proper 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. 28.    Chief of fire department — His powers, duties and compensation. — There shall be a chief of the 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.  chan robles virtual law library

(b)    He shall have charge of fire-engine houses, fire engines, hose cart, 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 building or other property whenever it shall become necessary to prevent the spreading of fire or to protect adjacent property.

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

(f)    He shall inspect all buildings erected or under construction or repair within the city and determine whether they provided sufficient protection against fire and comply with 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 connection 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. 29.    The city assessor — His powers and duties. — The city assessor shall have charge of the department of assessment. He shall receive a 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 the 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 cash value. He may, if necessary, examine the records of the office of the Register of Deeds in the Province of Batangas showing the ownership of real estate in the city. The city treasurer shall act as city assessor until the Municipal Board, by ordinance approved by the Department of Health, provides otherwise.  chan robles virtual law library

Sec. 30.    Real estate exempt from taxation. — The following shall be exempted from taxation:

(a)    Lands or buildings owned by the Republic of the Philippines, the Province of Batangas or the City of Lipa, by burying grounds, churches, and their adjacent personages 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 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 two 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 five years of the operation of the machinery.

Sec. 31.    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 improvements 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. 32.    Action when owner makes no return, or is unknown, or ownership in dispute or in doubt, or when land and improvements are separately owned. — If the owner of any parcel of 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 if 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. chan robles virtual law library

Sec. 33.    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. 34.    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 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 assessments as the case may be.

Sec. 35.    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, some time in the month of January.

It shall be his duty carefully to preserve and record in his office copies of said notices. 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 person 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 has been done