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REPUBLIC ACT NO. 4586 - AN ACT
CREATING LAUREL CITY
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| SECTION
1. This Act shall be known as the Charter of Laurel
City. ARTICLE I
General Provisions SECTION 2. Territory of Laurel City. — Laurel City, which is hereby created, shall comprise the present territorial jurisdiction of the Municipality of Batangas in the Province of Batangas. The President of the Philippines may, by executive order, increase the territory of Laurel City by adding thereto such contiguous barrios or municipalities as may be necessary and desirable in the public interest. SECTION 3. Corporate character of the City. — Laurel City constitute of political body corporate and is endowed with the attribute of perpetual succession and possessed of the powers which pertain to a municipal corporation, to be exercised in conformity with the provisions of this Charter. SECTION 4. Seal and general powers of the City. — The city shall have a common seal, and may alter the same at pleasure. It may take, purchase, receive, hold, lease convey, and dispose of real and personal property for the general interests of the city, condemn private property for public use, contract and be contracted with, sue and be sued, prosecute and defend to final judgment and execution suits wherein said city is a party, and exercise all the power hereinafter conferred. SECTION 5. The city not liable for damages. — The city shall not be liable for damages or injuries to persons or property arising from 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, Mayor or city officer or employees while enforcing or attempting to enforce the provisions: provided, however, that nothing herein contained shall prevent any aggrieved party from filing a personal action in the proper court against any official or employee of the city government for any act or omission in the performance of his duties. SECTION 6. Jurisdiction of the City. — The jurisdiction of Laurel City for police purposes shall be coextensive with its territorial jurisdiction and shall extend to three miles from the shore into Batangas Bay; and for the purpose of protecting and insuring the purity of the water supply of the city, such police jurisdiction shall also extend over all territory within the drainage area of such water supply, or within one hundred meters of any reservoir, conduit, canal, aqueduct or pumping station used in connection with the city water service. The city court shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the municipal courts of the respective municipalities, to try crimes and misdemeanors committed within said drainage area, or within said spaces of one hundred meters. The court first taking jurisdiction of such an offense shall thereafter retain exclusive jurisdiction thereof. The police forces of the several municipalities concerned shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the police force of the city for the maintenance of good order and enforcement or ordinances throughout said zone, area and spaces. But any license that may be issued within said zone, area or space shall be granted by the proper authorities of the municipality concerned, and the fees arising therefrom shall accrue to the treasury of the said municipality, and not that of the city. ARTICLE II
The Mayor SECTION 7. The Mayor — His Election, Qualifications and Compensation. — The Mayor shall be the chief executive of the city. He shall be elected by the qualified voters of the city during every election for provincial and municipal officials in conformity with the provisions of the Revised Election Code. No person shall be elected mayor unless at the time of the election he is at least five years prior to his election, and a qualified voter therein. He shall hold office for four years unless sooner removed, and shall receive a salary of twelve thousand pesos per annum. He shall be provided, in addition to his salary, a commutable allowance of two hundred pesos per month. SECTION 8. The Vice-Mayor. — There shall be elected a Vice Mayor who shall be the presiding officer of the Municipal Board. The Vice-Mayor shall be elected in the same manner as the Mayor and shall at the time of his election possess the same qualifications as the Mayor. He shall receive an annual salary of eight thousand four hundred pesos. The Vice-Mayor shall perform the duties and exercise the powers of the Mayor in the event the latter's sickness, absence or other temporary incapacity to discharge the powers and duties of his office. In the event of a permanent vacancy in the Office of the Mayor, the Vice-Mayor shall become Mayor for the completion of the unexpired term. If the Vice-Mayor is temporarily incapacitated for the performance of his official duties, or is serving as Acting Mayor, the member of the Municipal Board who received the highest number of votes in the last election shall serve as Acting Vice-Mayor, and in the event of such inability of the elected Mayor, the Vice-Mayor is, for any reason, temporarily incapacitated for the performance of the duties of the Mayor, or the Office of the Vice-Mayor is vacant, the member of the Board who received the highest number of votes in the last election, shall serve as Acting Mayor and while so serving shall not perform any duty as member of the Board. In such event, the remaining members of the Board shall elect from among themselves the presiding officer. Whenever the Vice-Mayor performs the duties and exercises the powers of the Mayor, the automatically ceases to be the presiding officer of the Municipal Board. Where a member of the Municipal Board exercises the functions of the Vice-Mayor, said member ceases to take part in the deliberations of the Board except to preside. For service as Acting Mayor or Acting Vice-Mayor, the Vice Mayor or member of the Board shall receive a total compensation equivalent to the salary of the Mayor, Vice-Mayor, as the case may be, during the period of such services. The Vice-Mayor shall appoint all the employees of the Municipal Board and shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed by law or ordinance. SECTION 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. He shall have the following general powers and duties: (a) To comply with and enforce and give the necessary orders for the faithful enforcement and execution of the provisions of this Charter and other laws and ordinances in effect within the jurisdiction of the city; (b) To safeguard all the lands, buildings, records, moneys, credits and other properties and rights of the city, and subject to the provisions of this Charter, have control over all its property; (c) To see that all taxes and other revenues of the city are collected, all 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, the 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. The Mayor may, in the interest of the service, transfer officers and employees not appointed by the President of the Philippines from one section, division, or service to an other section, division or service of any department without changing the compensation and rank; (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 as he shall deem advantageous to the city; (h) To attend, if he wishes to do so, either in person or by a duly authorized representative, the session of the Board and participants in its discussions, but not to vote; (i) To represent the city in all its business matters, and sign in its behalf all its bonds, contracts and obligations made in accordance with laws and ordinances; (j) To submit to the Municipal Board at least two months before the beginning of the ensuing fiscal year a budget of receipts and expenditures of the city; (k) To receive, hear, and decide as he may deem proper the petitions, complaints, and claims of residents concerning all classes of municipal matters of an administrative and/or executive character; (l) To grant or refuse municipal licenses or permits of all classes and to revoke the same for violation of the condition or conditions upon which they were granted, or if acts prohibited by law or ordinance are being committed under the protection of such licenses or in the premises in which the business for which the same has been granted is carried on, or for any other good reason or general interest; (m) To exempt, with the concurrence of the superintendent of city schools, deserving poor pupils from the payment of school fees or any part thereof; (n) To take such emergency measures as may be necessary to avoid fires and floods and to mitigate the effects or storms and other public calamities; (o) The provisions of any existing laws to the contrary notwithstanding, to conduct administrative investigation of members of the city police department: provided, that the power to conduct the investigation granted herein may be delegated to any ranking official of the city, or to a special committee or board, the members of which shall be designated by the Mayor. Such investigation shall be conducted in accordance with the rules to be prescribed by the Municipal Board; (p) To request, if public safety and interest so require, the assistance of the Philippine Constabulary and other police agencies in maintaining peace and order in the city, and only in such cases of specific request made can the Philippine Constabulary or other police agencies intervene in the preservation of peace and order; (q) To submit an annual report to the Office of the President; (r) To perform such other duties and exercise such executive power as may be prescribed by law or ordinance; and (s) Subject to the provisions of the Civil Service Law to appoint all officers and employees of the city, except those whose appointments are vested in the President of the Philippines, or otherwise provided by law. As herein conferred, the Mayor shall have the power to appoint employees whose duties are strictly confidential in nature, the same to hold office at his pleasure: provided, however, that the appointments shall not be subject to the confirmation of the Municipal Board. SECTION 10. Secretary to the Mayor. — The Mayor shall appoint one secretary who shall hold office at the pleasure of the Mayor and who shall receive a compensation of six thousand pesos per annum. The Secretary shall have the rank of a department head and shall have charge and custody of all records and 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 this 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 ordinances and resolutions signed by the Mayor; shall, upon request, furnish certified copies of all city records and documents in his charge which are not a confidential nature and charge twenty centavos for each one hundred words including the certificates, the fees to be paid directly to the city treasurer. He shall also performed such duties as are required by the heads of departments of the city government by section eighteen hereof, and such other duties as the Mayor may require of him. ARTICLE III
The Municipal Board SECTION 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 Vice-Mayor, who shall be its presiding officer, and eight councilors who shall be elected at large by the qualified voters of the city during every election for provincial and municipal officials in accordance with the provisions of the Revised Election Code. The Vice-Mayor shall have no right to vote except in case of a tie, nor shall his presence be counted in the determination of quorum. In case of sickness, absence, suspension or other temporary disability of any member of the Board, or if necessary to maintain quorum, the President of the Philippines may appoint a temporary substitute, who must be a member of the same political party to which the regular councilor belongs, excepting those cases where an independent or partyless councilor is the one sick, absent, suspended or temporary disabled. The substitute shall possess all the rights and perform all the duties of a member of the Board until the return to duty of the regular incumbent. The members of the Board shall receive a salary of six thousand pesos each per annum, and are given the privilege to engage in the practice of their profession. SECTION 12. Qualifications, election, suspension, and removal of members. — The members of the Municipal Board shall, at the time of their election, be qualified electors of the city, residents thereof for at least five years immediately prior to their election and not less than twenty-three years of age. Such members may be suspended or removed from office under the same circumstances, in the same manner, and with the same effect, as elective provincial officers, and the provisions of law governing the suspension or removal of elective provincial officers are hereby made applicable in suspension or removal of said members. Elections for members of the Board shall be held on the date of the regular election for provincial and municipal offices, and elected members shall assume office on the first day of January next following their election, upon qualifying and shall hold office for four years and until their successors shall have been duly elected and qualified. The eight candidates receiving the greatest number of votes shall be declared elected. A vacancy in the Municipal Board shall be filled in accordance with the provisions of the Revised Election Code. SECTION 13. Secretary of the Board — His appointment, salary and duties. — The Board shall have a secretary who shall be appointed by the presiding officer with the concurrence of the majority of all the members of the Board. He shall serve during the term of office of the members thereof. The compensation of the secretary shall be fixed by ordinance, approved by the Office of the President, and not exceeding six thousand pesos per annum. A vacancy in the office of the secretary shall be filled temporarily for the unexpired term in like manner. The Secretary shall be in charge of the records of the Municipal Board. He shall keep a full record of the proceedings of the Board, and file all documents relating thereto; shall record, in a book kept for that purpose, 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 the passages of the same and of the publication of ordinances; shall keep a seal, circular in form, with the inscription "Municipal Board — Laurel City," and in the center of which shall be placed 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: and 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, shall keep his office and all records therein which are not usual business hours. SECTION 14. Method of transacting business by the Board — Veto — Authentication and publication of ordinance. — The Board shall hold one ordinary session for the transaction of business, during each week of a day which it shall fix by resolution, and such extraordinary sessions, as may be called by the Mayor or upon request of four members of the Board. It shall sit with open doors, unless otherwise ordered by the affirmative vote of a majority of all the members. It shall keep a record of all its proceedings and determine its rule of procedure not herein set forth. A majority of all the members of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day and may compel the immediate attendance of any member who is absent without good cause by issuing to the police of the city an order for his arrest and production at the session under such penalties as shall have been previously prescribed by ordinance. The affirmative vote of a majority of all members shall be necessary for the passage of any ordinance, or of any resolution or motion directing the payment of money or creating liability, but any other measure shall prevail upon the majority votes of the members present at any session duly called and held. The ayes and nays shall be taken and recorded upon the passage of all ordinances, upon all resolutions or motions directing the payment of money or creating liability, and at the request of any member, upon any other resolution or motion. Each approved ordinance, resolution or motion shall be sealed with the seal of the Municipal Board, signed by the presiding officer and the secretary of the Board and recorded in a book kept for the purpose, and shall, on the day following its passage, be posted by the secretary at the main entrance of the city hall, and in at least two other public places, and shall take effect and be in force on and after the tenth day following its passage unless otherwise stated in said ordinance, resolution or motion, or vetoed by the Mayor as hereinafter provided. A vetoed ordinance, if repassed, shall take effect ten days after the veto is overridden by the required votes unless otherwise stated in the ordinance, resolution or motion or again disapproved by the Mayor within said time. Each ordinance enacted by the Board, and each resolution or motion directing the payment of money or creating liability, shall be forwarded to the Mayor for his approval. Within ten days after 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 again be enacted by two-thirds vote of all the members of the Board, and again forwarded to the Mayor for his approval, and if within ten days after its receipt he does not again return it with his veto, it shall be deemed to be approved. If within said time he again returns it with his veto, it shall be forwarded 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 to items to which he does not object. The item or items objected to shall not take effect except in the manner heretofore provided in this section as to ordinances, resolutions or motions returned to the Board with his veto; but should an item or items in an appropriation ordinance be disapproved by the Mayor, the corresponding item or items in the appropriation ordinance of the previous year shall be deemed reenacted unless otherwise expressly provided in the veto. SECTION 15. General powers and duties of the Board. — Except as otherwise provided by law, and subject to the conditions and limitations thereof, the Municipal Board shall have the following legislative powers: (a) To provide for the levy and collection of taxes for general and special purposes in accordance with law including specifically the power to levy real property tax not to exceed one and one-half per centum ad valorem: provided, that the maximum rate of one and one-half per centum shall not be imposed during the first ten years from the effectivity of this Act; (b) To make all appropriations for the expenses of the government of the city; (c) To fix the number and salaries of officials and employees of the city not otherwise provided for in this Act: provided, that the rate thereof shall not exceed the maximum salary provided by subsisting salary laws and orders issued by the President; (d) To authorize the free distribution of evaporated or fresh native milk to indigent mothers residing in the city and of bread and light meals to indigent children ten years or less of age residing in the city, distribution to be made under the direct supervision and control of the Mayor; (e) To fix the tariff of fees and charges for all services rendered by the city or any of its departments, branches or officials; (f) To provide for the erection and maintenance or the rental, in case of need, of the necessary buildings for the use of the city; (g) To provide for the establishment and maintenance of public schools; and, except as otherwise provided by law, to fix, with the approval of the Director of Public Schools, reasonable matriculation and/or tuition fees for intermediate and secondary instructions therein and to acquire sites for school houses for primary and intermediate classes through purchases through purchases or conditional or absolute donation; (h) To establish and maintain or aid in the establishment and maintenance of vocational schools and institutions of higher learning conducted by the National Government or any of its subdivisions or agencies; and with the approval, of the director of Director Public Schools, to fix reasonable tuition fees for instructions in the vocational schools and in the institutions of higher learning supported by the city; (i) To provide for and maintain an efficient police force for the maintenance of law and order in the city, and make all necessary police ordinances, with a view to the confinement and reformation of vagrants, disorderly persons, mendicants, prostitutes and persons convicted of violating any of the ordinances of the city; (j) To provide for the city court established by law which shall have jurisdiction of all criminal cases under the ordinances of the city, and such further jurisdiction as may be herein or hereafter conferred; (k) To provide for and maintain a city fire department and to establish and maintain engine houses, fire engines, hose trucks, hooks and ladders, and other equipment for the prevention and extinguishment of fires, and to regulate the management and use of the same; (l) To establish fire zones, determine the kinds of buildings or structures that may be erected within their limits, regulate the manner of constructing and repairing the same, fix the fees for the construction, repair, or demolition of buildings and other structures. (m) To regulate the use of stables, shops, and other buildings and places and to regulate and restrict the issuance of permits for the buildings of bonfires and rockets and the use of firecrackers, fireworks, torpedoes, candles, skyrockets and other pyrotechnic displays, and to fix the fees for such thereof; (n) To make regulations to protect the public from conflagrations and to prevent and mitigate the effects of famine, floods, storms and other public calamities, and provide for victims thereof; (o) To regulate and fix the amount of 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, livery garages, livery stables, boarding stables, dealers in large cattle, public billiard tables, laundries, cleaning and dyeing establishments, public warehouses, circuses and other similar parades, public vehicles, race tracks, bowling alleys, shooting galleries, 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 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; and to impose a municipal occupation tax, not to exceed fifty pesos per annum, on lawyers medical practitioners, land surveyors, architects, public accountants, civil, electrical, chemical, mechanical, or mining engineers, radio engineers or technicians, veterinarians, dental surgeons, opticians and optometrists, insurance agents and sub-agents, business agents and business consultants, professional appraisers or connoisseurs of tobacco or other domestic of or foreign products, music teachers, piano tuners, nurses and midwives, auctioneers, plumbers electrical contractors, building contractors, massagists, physical culture instructors, chiropodists, money changers, real estate, commercial and other brokers, and persons engaged in the transportation of passengers or freight by hire, and or transportation companies and their agencies, including common carriers and transportation contractors: provided, that persons exercising their profession of occupation only as salaried employees and not as independent practitioners shall be exempt from municipal occupation tax herein prescribed; (p) To tax, regulate and fix the license fees of printers or bookbinders or both, tailorshops, milliners, manufacturers of jewelry, embroideries, sail or awning or both, rope, paper, leather goods including shoes, slippers, sandals, harnesses and valises or bags, sporting goods, rubber goods, plastic and celluloid products, hardware including glasswares and tinwares, ceramic and cement products, cooking utensils, electrical goods and construction materials, chemical products including drugs, perfumes, toilet articles, paints, dyes and inks, textiles, shells lamp shades or both, statuettes or tombstone or both sacks furniture of all kinds, including rattan goods, wire brass, beds or both, clothing, hats, eyeglasses or optical goods or both fertilizers, and buttons. Manufacturers above-mentioned shall not be subject to the payment of any municipal tax or license fee on retail dealers of their own products; (q) To tax and fix the license fee in dealers in general merchandise, including importers and indentors, except those dealers who may be expressly subject to the payment of some other municipal tax under the provisions of this section. Dealers in general merchandise shall be classified as (1) wholesale dealers and (2) retail dealers. For purposes of the tax on retail dealers, general merchandise shall be classified into four main classes — namely: (1) luxury articles, (2) semi-luxury articles, (3) essential commodities and (4) miscellaneous articles. A separate license shall be prescribed for each class but where commodities of different classes are sold in the same establishment, it shall not be compulsory for the owner to secure more than one license if he pays the higher or highest rate of tax prescribed by ordinance. Wholesale dealers shall pay the license tax as such, as may be provided by ordinance. For purposes of this section, the term "general merchandise" shall include poultry and livestock, agricultural products, fish and other allied products; (r) To tax, fix the license fee on and regulate the sale, trading in or disposal of intoxicating liquor, whether, imported or locally manufactured, alcoholic or malt, beverages, wines and mixed or fermented liquors, including tuba, basi, tapuy, offered for retail trade; (s) To impose a tax on all products or commodities manufactured or produced in the city and removal therefrom. (t) To impose a sales tax of not exceeding one per centum of the gross value in money of all articles sold, bartered, exchanged or transferred within the city; (u) To regulate the method of using steam engines and boilers, and other motive powers other than marine, or belonging to the Government of the Philippines; to provide for the inspection thereof, and fix a reasonable fee for such inspection and to regulate and fix the fees for the licenses of the engineers engaged in operating the same; (v) To enact ordinances for the maintenance of peace and good morals; (w) To prohibit, or regulate and fix the license fees for the keeping of dogs, and to authorize their impounding and destruction when running at large contrary to ordinances, and to tax and regulate the keeping or training of fighting cocks; (x) 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 violations of any ordinance in relation thereto; (y) To prohibit, and provide for the punishment of cruelty to animals; (z) To regulate and fix the license fees for the establishment or operation of dance hall, cabarets and cockpits; (aa) To require property owners by ordinance to construct or repair, at their expense, sidewalks along the street or streets adjacent to their lots in accordance with the specifications of the city engineer as to quality, width and grade, and subject to his supervision and approval: provided, that in case of failure or inability of the property owners to comply with the requirement within a specific period of time after demand, the city engineer shall cause the work to be done and the cost thereof collected as a special assessment from such owners, who may choose to pay the same in full, or in ten equal installments which shall be due and payable to Laurel City in the same manner as the annual tax levied on real estate, and shall be made subject to the same penalties for delinquency, and enforceable by the same remedies, as such annual tax; and all said sums and amounts shall, from the day in which they are assessed, constitute liens on the property against which the same are assessed and shall take precedence over any and all other liens which may exist upon such property excepting only such as may have been attached as a result of the non-payment of said annual tax; (bb) To regulate the inspection, weighing, and measuring of brick, lumber, coal and other articles or merchandise; (cc) Subject to the provisions of existing law, to provide for the laying out, construction and improvement, and to regulate the use of streets, avenues, alleys, sidewalks, wharves, piers, parks, cemeteries, and other public place; 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 procession, signs, signposts, awnings, awning posts, and the carrying or displaying of banners, placards, advertisements, or hand bills, or the flying of signs, flags, or banners whether along, across, over or from building along the same; to prohibit the placing, throwing, depositing, or leaving of obstacle of any kind, garbage, refuse, or other offensive matter or matters liable to cause damage in the street and other public places and to provide for the inspection of, fix the license fees for and regulate the openings in the same for the laying of gas, water, sewer and other pipes, the building and repair of tunnels, sewers and drains, and all structures in and under the same and the erecting of poles and the stringing of wires therein; to provide for and regulate cross-walks, curbs, and gutters therein; to name streets without a name and provide for and regulate the numbering of houses and lots fronting thereon or in the interior of the blocks; to regulate traffic and sales upon the streets and other public places; to provide for the abatement of nuisance in the same and punish the authors or owners thereof; to provide for the construction and maintenance, and regulate the use, of bridges, viaducts, and culverts; to prohibit and regulate ball playing, kite-flying, hoop rolling and other amusement which may annoy persons using the streets and public places, frighten horses or other animals; to prohibit and regulate the operation of human powered vehicles, to regulate the speed of horse and other animal driven vehicles, and locomotives within the limits of the city; to regulate the lights use on all such vehicles and locomotives; to regulate the locating, constructing, and laying of the track of horse, electric, and other forms of railroad in the streets or other public places of the city authorized by law; to provide for and change the location, grade and crossings of railroads, and compel any such railroad to raise or lower its tracks to conform to such provisions or changes; and to acquire railroad companies to fence their property, in any part thereof, to provide suitable protection against injury to persons or property, and to construct and repair ditches, drains, sewers, and culverts along and under their tracks, so that the natural drainage of the streets and adjacent property shall not be obstructed; (dd) To provide for the construction and maintenance, of, and regulate the navigation on canals and water courses within the city and provide for the cleansing and purification of the same; and to provide for a regulate the drainage and filing of premises when necessary in the enforcement of sanitary rules and regulations issued in accordance with law; (ee) Any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding to provide for the maintenance of waterworks for the purpose of supplying water to the inhabitants of the city, and for the purification of the source of water supply and the places through which the same passes, and to regulate the consumption and use of water; to fix, subject to the provision of Public Service Law, and provide for the collection of rents therefor and to regulate the construction, repair and use of hydrants, pumps, cisterns and reservoirs; (ff) To provide for the establishment and maintenance and regulate the use of public drains, sewers, latrines and cesspools; (gg) Subject to the rules and regulations issued by the Department of Health in accordance with law, to provide for the establishment and maintenance and to fix the fees for the use of, and regulate public stables, laundries, and baths, and public markets, and to prohibit or permit by license granted upon terms as shall be fixed by the Board, the establishment of operation within the city limits of public markets by any person, entity, association, or corporation other than the city; (hh) To establish authorize the establishment of slaughterhouse, 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 made on the place where the animals were slaughtered; (ii) To regulate, inspect and provide measures preventing any discrimination or the exclusion of any race or races in or from any institution, establishment or services open to the public within the city limits, or in the telephone service: to regulate charges therefor where the same have not been fixed by the national law; to regulate and provide for the inspection of all gas, electric and telephone conduits, mains, meters and other apparatus, and provide for the condemnation, substitution or removal of the same when defective or dangerous; (jj) To declare, prevent, and provide for the abatement of nuisances; to regulate the ringing of bells and the making of loud or unusual noises; to provide that owners, agents, or tenants of buildings or premises keep and maintain the same in sanitary condition, and that, in case of failure to do so within sixty days from the date of written notice is served, the city health officer shall cause the same to be kept in a sanitary condition, and the cost thereof to be assessed against the owner to the extent of not to exceed sixty per centum of the assessed value; which shall constitute a lien against the property; and to regulate and/or prohibit, or fix the license fees for the use of property on near public ways, grounds, or place, or elsewhere within the city, for display by electric signs or the erection or maintenance of billboards or structures of whatever materials erected, maintained, or used for the display of posters, signs, or other pictorial or reading matter, except signs displayed at the place or places where the profession or business advertised thereby is in whole on in part conducted; (kk) To provide for the enforcement of the rules and regulations issued by the Department of Health, and by ordinance to prescribe penalties for violation of such rules and regulations; (ll) For the purpose of protecting and insuring the purity of the water supply of the city, to extend its ordinances over all territory within the drainage area of such water supply and within one hundred meters of any reservoir, conduits, canals, aqueduct, or pumping station used in connection with the city water service; (mm) To regulate any other business or occupation being conducted within the city not specifically mentioned in the preceding paragraphs, and to impose a license fee upon all persons engaged in the same or who enjoy privileges in the city; (nn) To fix and regulate the size, speed and operation of motor and other vehicles within the city; to regulate the lights used on such vehicles; and prohibit and regulate the entrances of provincial public utility vehicles into the city, except those passing through the city; (oo) To fix the date of the holding of a fiesta in the city not oftener than once a year and to alter, not oftener than once in three years, the date fixed for the celebration thereof; (pp) To enact all ordinances it may deem necessary and proper for the sanitation and safety, the furtherance of the prosperity, and the promotion of the morality, peace, good order, comfort, conveniences and the general welfare of the city and its inhabitants, and such other as may be necessary to carry into effect and discharge the powers and duties conferred by this charter and to fix penalties for the violation of ordinances which shall not exceed two hundred peso fine or six month's imprisonment, or both such fine and imprisonment for a single offense; and (qq) To appropriate money for purposes not specified by law, having in view the general welfare of the city and the inhabitants. SECTION 16. Restrictive Provisions. — No commercial sign, signboard, or billboard shall be erected or displayed on public lands, premises or building. If, after due investigation, and having given the owners an opportunity to be heard, the Mayor should consider any sign, signboard, or billboard displayed or exposed to public view as offensive to the sight or is otherwise a nuisance he may order the removal of such sign, signboard, or billboard and if same is not removed within ten days after he has issued such order, he may himself cause its removal, and the sign, signboard or billboard shall thereupon be forfeited to the city and the expense incident to the removal of the same shall become a lawful charge against any person or property liable for the erection or display thereof. ARTICLE IV
Department and Officers of the City SECTION 17. City Departments. — There shall be the following city departments over which the Mayor shall have direct control and supervision, any existing law to the contrary notwithstanding: 1. Department of Finance 2. Department of Engineering and Public Works 3. Law Department 4. Department of Health 5. Police Department 6. Fire Department 7. Department of Assessment The Municipal Board may from time to time make such readjustment of the duties of the several departments as the public interest may demand, and, with the approval of the President, may create, or consolidate any department, division or office of the city with any other department, division or office. SECTION 18. Powers and duties of heads of departments. — Each head of department of the city government shall have control of such department and shall possess such powers and obligations as may be prescribed herein or by ordinance. He shall certify to correctness of all payrolls and vouchers of his department covering the payment of money before payment, except as herein otherwise expressly provided. At least four months before the opening of each fiscal year, he shall prepare and present to the Mayor an estimate of the appropriate 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 operation of his department. In case of the absence or sickness, or inability to act for any other reason, of the head of one of the city departments or in case of temporary vacancy, the officer next in rank of that department shall perform the duties of the department head concerned. SECTION 19. Appointment and removal of officials and employees. — The President of the Philippines shall appoint, with the consent of the Commission on Appointments, the judges and auxiliary judges of the city court, the city treasurer, the city engineer, the city fiscal and his assistants, the city health officer, the chief of police, the chief of the fire department, the city assessor, of the superintendent of schools, and heads of such city department as may be created. Said officers shall not be suspended nor removed except in the manner and for cause provided by law. All other officers and employees of the city whose appointments are not otherwise provided for by law shall be appointed by the Mayor upon recommendation of the corresponding city department head in accordance with the Civil Service Law, and they shall be suspended or removed in accordance with said law: provided, that the power of the Mayor to appoint policemen shall not be subject to the recommendation of the chief of police. SECTION 20. Full time duty. — Each city officer, except members of the Municipal Board, shall devote his time and attention exclusively during the usual office hours to the duties of his office, and such members shall attend the regular sessions of the Board. No city officer shall hold more than one office unless expressly so provided by law. But this section shall not apply to other persons discharging public duties in the city under the National Government who receive no compensation for their services. SECTION 21. Officers not to engage in certain transactions. — 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 of form; or to purchase any real estate or other property belonging to the city, or which shall be sold for taxes or assessment, or by virtue of legal process at the suit of the city or to be surety for any person having a contract or doing business with the city, for the performance of which security may be required; or to be surety on the official bond of any officer of the city, and shall not be financially interested in any transaction or contract in which the National Government or any subdivision or instrumentality thereof is an interested party. ARTICLE V
Relation to Bureaus and Offices SECTION 22. The General Auditing Office. — The Auditor General shall receive and audit all accounts of the city, in accordance with the provisions of law relating to Government accounts and accounting. The city auditor shall be appointed by the Auditor General and shall receive a salary of six thousand pesos per annum, one half of which is to be paid by the National Government and other half by the city. SECTION 23. The Bureau of Public Schools. — The Director of Public Schools shall exercise the same jurisdiction and powers in the city as elsewhere in the Philippines and the city superintendent of schools shall have all the powers and duties in respect to the schools of the city as are vested in division superintendents in respect to the schools of their division: provided, that the operational expenses of primary and intermediate schools including salaries of teachers shall be borne by the National Government. SECTION 24. Reports to the Mayor concerning Schools. — The city superintendent of schools shall make a quarterly report of the conditions of the schools and school buildings to the Mayor, and such recommendations as seem to him wise relative to improving the schools or school buildings in the city. ARTICLE VI
Department of Finance SECTION 25. The City Treasurer. — His powers and duties. — There shall be a city treasurer who shall have charge of the department of finance and shall act as chief fiscal officer and financial adviser of the city and custodian of its funds. He shall receive a salary of six 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 ordinance, all rents due for lands, markets and other property owned by the city, and all further charges of fees of whatever nature fixed by law or ordinance; shall administer public markets and slaughterhouses, and shall receive and issue receipts for all costs, fees, fines and forfeitures imposed by the city court. (b) He shall collect all miscellaneous charges made by the engineering department and by the other departments of the city government, and all charges made by the city engineer for inspections, permits, licenses, and the installations, maintenance, and services rendered in the operation of the private privy system. (c) He shall 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, 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 in general as well as other duties imposed upon him by law. (e) He shall purchase and issue all supplies, materials, equipment or other property required by the city, subject to the general provisions of law relating thereto: provided, that the city treasurer may effect in the city or elsewhere the purchase, without public bidding, of supplies and materials in an amount not exceeding five hundred pesos, or of equipment in the value of not exceeding one thousand pesos, after a canvass of the market is made by him or his representative to obtain the lowest available price therefor, of a similar purchase of supplies and materials in an amount exceeding five hundred pesos, or of equipment in the value of more than one thousand pesos, but not exceeding five thousand pesos in each case, after a canvass of the prices is made by the City Mayor and the city treasurer or their representatives: and provided further, that where the needed equipment costs more than five thousand pesos per unit, and the same is procurable only from a sole dealer, distributor or importer, or other source, the purchase thereof by the city without public bidding is also hereby authorized, the provision of existing law or order to the contrary notwithstanding, provided that the price to be paid therefor is approved by the City Committee on Award created under Republic Act Number Twenty-two hundred and sixty-four, and certified by the Bureau of Supply Coordination as the lowest and most advantageous to the city. (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 city funds and collections, as are not needed in the current transactions in his office, 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 or before the twenty-fifth day of each month he shall furnish the Mayor and the Municipal Board, for their information, a statement of the appropriations, expenditures, and balances of all funds and accounts as of the last day of the month preceding. (i) He shall be the ex-officio local civil registrar of the city in charge of the issuance of the marriage license before the solemnization of marriage. In this capacity, it shall be the duty of the city treasurer or his authorized deputy to (1) prepare the documents as are required by law in connection with the issuance of the marriage license and (2) administer oaths, free of charge, to all interested parties. SECTION 26. The Assistant City Treasurer. — There shall be an assistant city treasurer who shall assist the city treasurer in the discharge of his official duties. He shall perform such other duties as may be imposed upon him by the city treasurer or prescribed by law or ordinance. He shall be appointed by the Mayor upon recommendation of the city treasurer and subject to the approval of the Secretary of Finance, and shall receive a salary of four thousand eight hundred pesos per annum. The assistant city treasurer shall have authority to administer oaths concerning notices and notifications to those delinquent in the payment of the real estate taxes and concerning official matters relating to the city treasurer and the city assessor. ARTICLE VII
Department of Engineering and Public Works SECTION 27. The City Engineer — His powers and duties. — There shall be a city engineer who shall have charge of the department of engineering and public works. He shall receive salary of six thousand pesos per annum. He shall have the following powers and duties: (a) He shall have charge of all surveying and engineering works of the city, care, cleaning and sprinkling of streets, canals and esteros, parks, and public grounds, bridges, playgrounds and recreation, and shall perform such services in connection with public improvements, or any such work entered upon or projected 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 test 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, or public buildings. (f) He shall have the care of all public streets, parks, and bridges, and shall maintain and regulate the use of the same for all purposes as provided for any ordinance. (g) He shall prevent the encroachment of private buildings, and fences on the streets and public places of the city. (h) He shall have the care and custody of the public systems of waterworks and sewers, and all the 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 sewers systems. (i) He shall supervise the laying of mains and connections for the purpose of supplying gas to the inhabitants of the city. (j) He shall inspect and report upon the conditions of public property and public works whenever required by the Mayor. (k) He shall supervise and regulate the location and use of engines, boilers, forges, and other manufacturing and heating appliances in accordance with the law and ordinance relating thereto. He is authorized to charge fees, at rates to be fixed by the Municipal Board, for the sanitation and transportation services and supplies furnished by this department. (l) 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. (m) 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 materials employed in the construction or repair of any building or structure made in violation of said ordinances; and shall cause buildings and structures dangerous to the public to be made secure or torn down. (n) He shall file and preserve all maps, plans, notes, surveys and other papers and documents pertaining to his office. SECTION 28. Execution of authorized public works and improvements. — All repair or construction of any work or public improvement, except parks, boulevards, streets or alleys, involving an estimate cost of three thousand pesos or more shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder after advertisement by posting notices of call for bids in conspicuous places in the City Hall and other public places which shall not be less than ten days and by publication 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 prescribed by regulations. ARTICLE VIII
Law Department SECTION 29. The City Fiscal — His powers and duties. — There shall be a city fiscal and an assistant city fiscal who shall be chief and assistant chief of the law department, and who shall discharge their duties under the general supervision of the Secretary of Justice. The City fiscal shall be the chief legal adviser of the city and all offices and department thereof. He shall have the following powers and duties: (a) He shall, personally or through any assistant, represent the city in all civil cases wherein the city or any officer thereof, in his official capacity, is a party; and shall prosecute and defend all civil actions related to or connected with any city officer or interest. (b) He shall, when directed by the Mayor, institute, and prosecute in the city's interest a suit on any bond, lease, or 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 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 city officer or employee is guilty of neglect or misconduct in office, or 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 consideration mentioned in the grant of such franchise or privilege, investigate or cause the same to be investigated and report to the Mayor. (f) He shall have charge of the prosecution of all crimes, misdemeanors, and violations of laws and city ordinances, triable in the city court or the Court of First Instance and shall discharge all the duties in respect to criminal prosecutions as are enjoined by law upon provincial fiscal. (g) He shall cause to be investigated all charges of crimes, misdemeanors and violations of law and city ordinances brought to his knowledge, and have the necessary informations or complaints prepared or made against the accused. He or any of his assistants may conduct such investigations by taking oral evidence of reputed witnesses, and for this purpose may issue subpoena to 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 an absent or recalcitrant witness may be enforced by application for a warrant of arrest to the city court or to the Court of First Instance. (h) He shall also cause to be investigated the cause of sudden deaths which have not been satisfactory explained and when there is suspicion that the cause arose from the 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 investigation of autopsies the aid of the city health officer, or, subject to the rules and conditions previously established by the Secretary of Justice, that of the medico-legal section of the National Bureau of Investigation. In case the city fiscal deems it necessary to have further expert assistance for the satisfactory performance of his duties in relation with medico-legal matters or knowledge, including the giving of medical testimony in the courts of justice, he shall request the same, in the same manner and subject to the rules and conditions as above specified, from the medico-legal officer of the said Bureau who shall thereupon furnish the assistance required, in accordance with his powers and facilities. (i) He shall at all times render such official services as the Mayor or the Municipal 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. SECTION 30. Compensation of City Fiscal and Assistant City Fiscal. — The city fiscal shall receive a salary of six thousand pesos per annum, and the assistant city fiscal shall receive a salary of four thousand five hundred pesos per annum, which shall be paid by Laurel City. ARTICLE IX
Health Department SECTION 31. The City Health Officer — His powers and duties. — There shall be a city health officer and one assistant city health who shall respectively be the chief and the assistant chief of the health department. The city health officer shall receive a salary of six thousand pesos per annum, and the assistant city health officer, four thousand five hundred pesos, one half of which salaries shall be paid by the city government and other half by the National Government. The city health officer shall have the following general powers and duties: (a) He shall have general supervision over the health and sanitary conditions of the city. (b) He shall execute and enforce all laws, ordinances and regulations relating to the public health. (c) He shall recommend to the Municipal Board the passage of such ordinance as he may deem necessary for the preservation of the public health. (d) He shall cause to be prosecuted all violations of sanitary laws, ordinances, or regulations. (e) He shall make sanitary inspections and may be aided therein by such member of the police force of the city or of the national police as shall be designated as sanitary police by the chief of police or proper national police officer and such sanitary inspector as may be authorized by law. (f) He shall have charge of the collection and disposal of all garbage, refuse, the contents of closets, vaults, and cesspools, and all other offensive and dangerous substances within the city and, in the event the disposal and collection of such garbage, refuse and other offensive substances has been awarded to a private contractor, the disposal and collection thereof shall be under the supervision of the city health officer. (g) He shall administer the city cemeteries; and shall have charge of the duties relative to the issuance of burial and transfer permits and permits for the conveyance of body to sea for burial. (h) He shall have control and supervision over puericulture centers and social services of the city. (i) He shall keep a civil register for the city for recording the civil status of persons, in which shall be entered: (a) births, (b) deaths, (c) marriages, (d) annulments of marriages, (e) legitimations, (f) adoptions, (g) acknowledgment of natural children, (h) naturalizations; and (i) change of name. He shall also perform such other duties as are required of all civil registrars by the provisions of Act Numbered Thirty-seven hundred and fifty-three, entitled "An Act to established a Civil Register." He shall perform such other duties, not repugnant to law or ordinance, with reference to the health and sanitation of the city as the Secretary of Health and shall direct. In case of epidemic or when the inhabitants of the city are menaced by any infectious or contagious diseases, the Secretary of Health shall designate the proper health officer who shall assume control of the health and sanitation services of the city until such condition shall have ceased to exist. ARTICLE X
Police Department SECTION 32. The Chief of Police — His power and duties. — There shall be a chief of police who shall have charge of the police department and shall receive a salary of six thousand pesos per annum. He shall have the following 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 through the city fiscal, violators of law ordinances; 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 offenders and 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 safekeeping of all prisoners until they shall be released from custody, in accordance with law, or delivered to the warden of the proper prison of penitentiary. (c) He shall have authority, within the police limits of the city, to serve and execute criminal processes of any court. (d) He shall be the deputy sheriff of the city, and as such, he shall personally or by representative, attend the sessions of the city court, and shall execute promptly and faithfully, all writs and processes of said court. (e) He shall have such other powers and perform such other duties as may be prescribed by law or ordinance. SECTION 33. The Deputy Chief of Police. — There shall be a deputy chief of police with compensation at the rate of four thousand two hundred pesos per annum, and whose duties shall be to act as chief in the absence or incapacity of the chief of police and, under the direction of the chief of police, to look after the discipline of the police force and perform such other duties, as may be imposed upon him by the chief or prescribed by law or ordinance. SECTION 34. The 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. SECTION 35. Peace Officers — their powers and duties. — The Mayor, the chief of police, the deputy 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 city 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, 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, a crime or breach of peace; to arrest or cause to be arrested, without warrant, any offender when the offense is committed in the presence of peace officer or within his view; and such pursuits of arrest, to enter any building, ship, boat, or vessel or 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 in accordance with the provisions of existing laws relative to such detention. 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 may request the assistance of the Philippine Constabulary or other members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and/or other police agencies. Except only in such cases of specific request made, police jurisdiction and supervision and the preservation of peace and order shall pertain exclusively to the peace officers herein mentioned, existing law to the contrary notwithstanding. ARTICLE XI
Fire Department SECTION 36. Chief of Fire Department. — There shall be a chief of fire department who shall have the management and control of all matters relating to the administration, organization, government, discipline, and disposition of the fire forces. He shall receive a salary of five thousand four hundred pesos per annum, and shall have the following powers and duties: (a) He shall 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, the fire engines, hose trucks, 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 upon the origin or 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 provide sufficient protection against fire and comply with the ordinance relating thereto. (g) He shall have charge of the city fire alarm service. (h) He shall have the exclusive power, any law to the contrary notwithstanding, to 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 condemn all defective electrical installations and shall take the necessary steps to effect immediate corrective action, informing the Mayor of the action thus taken. (j) He shall supervise the manufacture, storage, and use of petroleum, gas acetylene, gun-powder, and other highly combustible matter and explosives. (k) No permit for the construction or repair of buildings within the city shall be granted unless the plans relative thereto have approved by the chief of fire department. He shall have the power to alter or disapprove such plans as do not provide for adequate protection against the occurrence of fires. (l) He shall have such powers and perform such duties as may further be prescribed by law or ordinance. SECTION 37. The Deputy Chief of the Fire Department. — There shall be a deputy chief of the fire department whose duties shall be to act as chief in the absence or incapacity of the chief of the fire department, and under the direction of the chief of the fire department, to look after the discipline of the fire force and perform such duties as may be imposed upon him by the chief or prescribed by law or ordinance. ARTICLE XII
Department of Assessment SECTION 38. The City Assessor — His powers and duties. — There shall be a city assessor who shall have charge of the department of assessment and who shall receive a salary of four hundred eight hundred pesos per annum. The city treasurer shall act as city assessor ex-officio with an additional compensation of one thousand two hundred pesos per annum until the Municipal Board, by ordinance, provides otherwise at which the time the city assessor shall be appointed as heretofore provided. The city assessor shall have the following powers and duties: (a) The city assessor or his duly authorized deputies shall assess all lands, buildings and other real properties subject to taxation within the jurisdiction of the city, and for this purpose he and his authorized deputies are empowered to administer in connection with the valuation of real estate for this assessment and collection of taxes: provided, that no increase in the assessment of a particular real estate shall be made oftener than once every ten years. (b) He shall make a list of the taxable real estate in the city and the names of the owners thereof, with a brief description of the property opposite each such names and the cash value thereof. In making this list, the city assessor shall be into consideration any sworn statement made by the owners of the property, but shall not be prevented thereby from considering any 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 examination concerning the amount of real estate, its ownership and cash value. (c) He may, if necessary, examine the records of the register of deeds of the Province of Batangas showing the ownership of real estate in the city. SECTION 39. Real estate exempt estate from taxation. — The following shall be exempted from taxation: (a) Lands or buildings owned by the Republic of the Philippines, the Province of Batangas of Laurel City, and burying grounds, churches, and 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, through income therefrom be devoted to religious, charitable, scientific or educational purposes. (b) When the entire assessed valuation of real property belonging to a single owner is not in excess of two hundred pesos or when the assessed value of a house, used as residence of the owner thereof, together with the lot on which the same is built, does not exceed four hundred pesos and such owner has no other real property, the tax thereon shall not be collected, no shall the tax be collected on a dwelling house built on the field, on an adjacent orchard if any, as improvement, if the assessed value of each, assessed separately, is not in excess of two hundred pesos, though in any event the property shall be valued for the purposes of assessment and record shall be kept thereof as in other cases. (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. SECTION 40. Declaration to be made by persons acquiring or improving real estate. — It be the duty of each person who at time, acquires real estate in the city, and each person who contracts or adds to any improvement on real estate owned by him the city, to prepare and present to the city assessor within a period of sixty days next following 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 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 be in valid and binding on all persons interested, and for all purposes, as though the same has been assessed in name of its present owner. SECTION 4 |