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REPUBLIC ACT NO. 4645

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 4645 - AN ACT CREATING THE CITY OF OLONGAPO

ARTICLE I
Title of Act

SECTION 1. Title of Act. — This Act shall be known as the Charter of the City of Olongapo.

ARTICLE II
General Provisions

SECTION 2.    Territory of the City of Olongapo. — The City of Olongapo, which is hereby created, shall comprise the present territorial jurisdiction of the Municipality of Olongapo, Province of Zambales. The boundaries and limits of the City of Olongapo are established and described as follows:

Bounded on the NW and N. by the Municipality of Subic; on the E. by the Municipality of Subic and Subic Naval Base (Swo-40367, Parcel 1); on the S. by the U.S. Naval Base (Swo-40367, Parcel 1); and on the W. by U.S. Naval Base, Swo-40367, Parcel 8 (Subic Bay).

Beginning at the point marked "1" on the southern bank of Matain River, at the mouth entering Subic Bay at a point 0339-4360; thence following northeasterly direction along the southern bank of the Matain River to the southern line of the Philippine National Highway No. 7 at a point 0445-4380; thence following a northeasterly direction along the eastern bank of Matain River at a point 0980-5220; thence due East, 2529.81 m. on Mt. Balakibok at a point 1230-5220; thence due east up to the provincial boundary of Zambales and Bataan; thence due Southwest along the provincial boundary of Zambales Province and Bataan Province, up to the Philippine National Highway No. 7; thence following a westerly direction of the southern line of the Philippine National Highway No. 7 at a point 0870-5320; thence following a southerly direction along the 50 contour to the western bank of the drainage canal at a point 0815-4230; thence following the southerly direction along the north bank of the drainage to a point of the Saluysuy River at a point 0820-4100; thence following the westerly direction along the north bank of the drainage canal to a portion of Manila Avenue, Community of Olongapo at a point 0700-4100; thence following the northwesterly direction along the north bank of the drainage canal to a point on the eastern bank of the Kalaklan River at a point 0635-4125; thence following a southwesterly direction of the northern bank of Kalaklan River to the north line of the Philippine National Highway No. 7 at a point 0615-4095; thence following the westerly direction of the northern line of the Philippine National Highway No. 7 across the Kalaklan River on the western bank at a point 0610-4100; thence following the seaward line of the Philippine National Highway No. 7 to the westernmost promontory north of the Olongapo Cemetery at a point 0565-4140; thence following the northwesterly direction along the coast of Subic Bay to the southern bank of Matain River, at the mouth of Subic Bay, point of beginning, containing an approximate area of eighteen thousand five hundred hectares.

The territory of the City of Olongapo shall also include, subject to existing treaties and executive agreements entered into between the Republic of the Philippines and the United States of America, the islands of Mayanga, Grande and Chiquita, as well as that area within the Province of Zambales indicated in plan Swo-40367, parcel one of the Bureau of Lands.

SECTION 3.    Corporate character of the City. — The City of Olongapo constitutes a political body corporate and as such is endowed with the attribute of perpetual succession and possessed of the powers which pertain to a municipal corporation, to be exercised in conformity with the provisions of this Charter.

SECTION 4.    Seal and General Powers of the City. — The city shall have a common seal, and may alter the same at pleasure. It may take, purchase, receive, hold, lease, convey, and dispose of real and personal property for 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.

SECTION 5.    The City not liable for damages. — The City shall not be liable or held for damages or injuries to persons or property arising from failure of the city council, 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 city council, Mayor or city officers or employees while enforcing or attempting to enforce the provisions thereof: provided, that nothing herein contained shall prevent any aggrieved party from filing personal action in the proper court against any official or employee in the city government for any action or omission in the performance of his duties.

SECTION 6.    Jurisdiction of the City. — The jurisdiction of the City of Olongapo for police purposes shall be co-extensive with its territorial jurisdiction; shall extend to six miles from the shore of the city; and for the purpose of protecting and insuring the purity of water supply of the city, such police jurisdiction shall also extend over all territories within the watershed area of such water supply, or within two 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 or city courts of the respective municipalities or cities, to try crimes and misdemeanors committed within said watershed area, or within said spaces of two hundred meters. The court first taking jurisdiction of such an offense shall thereafter retain exclusive jurisdiction thereof. The police forces of the several municipalities and cities concerned shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the police force of the city for the maintenance of good order and the enforcement of ordinances throughout said zone, area, and spaces. But any license that may be issued within said zone, area or spaces shall be granted by the proper authorities of the city or municipality concerned, and the fees arising therefrom shall accrue to the treasury of the said city or municipality concerned and not to the City of Olongapo.

SECTION 7.    Income, receipts and profits derived from sale and/or administration of alienable and disposable lands of the public domain. — All incomes, receipts, and profits derived from the sale, disposition and/or administration of alienable and disposable lands of the public domain within the City of Olongapo shall accrue to the city notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary.

ARTICLE III
The Mayor

SECTION 8.    The Mayor. — The Mayor shall be elected at large by qualified voters of the city. He shall be at least twenty-five years of age, a resident of the City for at least three years prior to his election, and a qualified voter therein: provided, that the first election for Mayor shall be held at the general elections for provincial and municipal officials next following the approval of this Act. He shall hold office for four years, unless sooner removed for cause as provided by law and with due process.

He shall receive a salary provided for by existing laws. Through an ordinance approved by the city council, the Mayor may be provided, in addition to his salary, a commutable allowance of not exceeding six thousand pesos per annum.

SECTION 9.    The Vice-Mayor. — There shall be a vice-mayor who shall be chosen in the same manner as the City Mayor, and shall possess the same qualifications as that of the City Mayor. He shall perform the duties and exercise the powers of the City Mayor in the event of death, sickness, absence or other temporary incapacity of the incumbent, or in the event of a permanent vacancy in the position of city mayor.

If, for any reason, the Vice-Mayor is temporarily incapacitated in the performance of the duties of the City Mayor, or said office of the vice-mayor is vacant, the duties and powers of the City Mayor shall be performed and executed by the councilor who obtained the highest number of votes during the election for members of the city council.

The Vice-Mayor shall perform such other duties as may be assigned to him by the City Mayor or prescribed by law or ordinance. He shall receive a salary provided for by existing laws.

SECTION 10.    General powers and duties of the Mayor. — Unless otherwise provided by law, the Mayor shall have immediate control over the executive and administrative functions of the different departments of the City, subject to the authority and supervision of the President. 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 property and rights of the City, and, subject to the provisions of this Charter, have control over all its property.

(c)    To see that all taxes and other revenues of the city are collected, and applied in accordance with appropriations to the payment of the city 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 interest 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 of least twice a year, and whenever occasion arises. For this purpose he shall be provided by the City Council with such clerical or other assistance as may be necessary.

(g)    To give such information and recommend such measures to the City Council 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 city council 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 of the residents concerning all classes of city matters of an administrative or executive character.

(k)    To grant or refuse municipal licenses or permits of all classes and to revoke the same for violation of the conditions upon which they were granted, or if acts prohibited by law or city 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 interest.

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

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

(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)    Subject to the provisions of the Civil Service Law, to appoint all officers and employees of the City of Olongapo whose salaries are paid fully or partly from city funds, any existing law to the contrary notwithstanding, except those whose appointments are vested in the President, or otherwise provided for in the charter. Officers and employees appointed by the mayor may be suspended or removed by him in accordance with law. The mayor shall have also the power to appoint employees whose duties are strictly confidential in nature, and who shall hold office at his pleasure.

(p)    To attend, if he wishes to do so, the sessions of the city council and participate in the discussions, but not to vote.

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

SECTION 11.    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 as provided for by existing laws.

The secretary shall have charge and custody of all records and documents of the city and any office or department thereof for which provision is not otherwise made; shall keep the corporate seal and affix the same with his signature to all ordinances and resolutions signed by the Mayor and to all other official documents and papers of the government of the City as may be required by law or ordinance; shall attest all executive orders, proclamations, ordinances, and resolutions signed by the mayor; shall, upon request, furnish certified copies of all city records and documents in his charge which are not of a confidential character for which he shall charge twenty centavos for each one hundred words or fraction thereof, including the certificate, such fees to be paid directly to the city treasurer; and shall perform such other duties as the Mayor may require of him.

SECTION 12.    City Administrator. — Upon the recommendation of the Mayor, the City Council may provide, by ordinance approved by a vote of at least three-fourths of all the councilors, for the establishment of the position of city administrator, with the following powers, duties and responsibilities to be exercised under the direction, control and supervision of the Mayor:

(a)    To supervise and coordinate the work of all departments and agencies under the jurisdiction of the Mayor, except such as may be expressly excluded in the ordinance establishing the position of the city administrator;

(b)    To serve as budget officer of the city;

(c)    To be responsible for the development and administration of a sound personnel system for the city consistent with the governing provisions of the Civil Service Law; and to establish and maintain a roster of all employees of the city, whether or not in the classified service, in which there shall be set forth, as to each employee, the class, title of the position held, the salary or pay, any change in class, title, pay or status, and other pertinent data;

(d)    Subject to any applicable Civil Service Law or regulation, to prepare and recommend for adoption by the City Council, with the approval of the Mayor first had, a comprehensive pay plan for the appointive officers and employees of the City, which shall be based on the duties, authority and responsibility of the various positions; and to recommend changes in and revisions to such plan from time to time as he may deem necessary or desirable;

(e)    To conduct a continuous study of the work and the internal organization and procedures of all offices, departments, and agency under the jurisdiction of the Mayor, and to develop and prescribe accepted administrative procedures, and establish management and work standards therefor;

(f)    To analyze and report to the Mayor concerning impending policy decisions affecting the management of the city and its agencies;

(g)    To convene the heads of departments and agencies under the jurisdiction of the Mayor, singly or collectively, for the purpose of conference, discussion and report;

(h)    To conduct research and prepare reports which give continuing attention to problems involving the effective and economical organization and administration of the city services; and to prepare annual and such other reports as the Mayor or the City Council may require;

(i)    To require, provide for, and make arrangement for the installation and maintenance by departments and agencies under the jurisdiction of the Mayor, of such management records and statistical techniques related to the collection and analysis of performance data as may, from time to time, become necessary or desirable;

(j)    To develop and prepare materials on management practice for use in in-service training programs and to provide technical assistance and guidance in the conduct of such programs;

(k)    To maintain liaison with civic and community groups on matters of governmental management;

(l)    To attend meetings of the City Council at its request and make available such information as it may require and submit recommendations on such matter as it may specify;

(m)    To attend meetings of the board or committee of which the Mayor is a member, when requested by the Mayor, with the privilege of participating in the discussions and deliberations of such boards or committees as the Mayor's proxy; and

(n)    To perform all other duties required of him by ordinance or assigned to him in writing by the Mayor.

The City Administrator shall be appointed by the City Mayor and shall receive the salary equivalent to that of a city department head. Such position shall be within the unclassified civil service but may be filled by appointment by the Mayor in the manner in which classified civil service positions are filled, and, if so filled, the appointee shall be entitled to all the benefits of classified employees, except that he shall hold office only during the term of office of the appointing Mayor, and until his successor is appointed and qualified, unless sooner separated for or without cause by the Mayor.

ARTICLE IV
The City Council

SECTION 13.    Constitution and Organization of the City Council — Compensation of Members thereof . — The City Council 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 elected at large by popular vote during every election for provincial and municipal officials in conformity with the provisions of the Revised Election Code. In case of sickness, absence, suspension or other temporary disability of any member of the Council, or if necessary to maintain a quorum, the Mayor may designate a temporary substitute from any of the heads of the departments of the city who shall possess all the rights and perform all the duties of a member of the Council without additional compensation and/or remuneration until the return to duty of the regular incumbent.

If any member of the City Council should be a candidate for office in any election, he shall be disqualified to act with the Council 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 a disinterested elector of the city to act with the Council in such matters in his stead.

The members of the City Council shall receive a salary as provided for by existing laws.

SECTION 14.    Qualification, Suspension and Removal of the Members of the Council. — The members of the City Council shall be at least twenty-five years of age, qualified electors of the city, and residents therein for at least one year. Upon qualifying, the members-elect shall assume office on the date fixed in the Revised Election Code until their successors shall have been elected and qualified.

The members of the City Council may be suspended or removed from office under the same circumstances, in the same manner, and within the same effect, as elective provincial officers and the provisions of laws providing for the suspension or removal of elective provincial officers are hereby made effective for the suspension or removal of said members of the Council.

Vacancies in the City Council shall be filled in accordance with the provisions of the Revised Election Code.

SECTION 15.    Appointment, Salary and Duties of Secretary of the Council. — The Council shall have a secretary who shall be appointed by it to serve during the term of office of the members thereof. The compensation of the secretary shall be in accordance with existing laws. 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 city council. He shall keep a complete record of its proceedings 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 council, with the dates of passage of the same, and of the publication of ordinances; shall keep a seal, circular in form, with the inscription "City Council — City of Olongapo", in the center of which shall be placed the coat of arms of the city, and affix the same with his signature to all ordinances and other official acts of the Council and shall present the same for signature to the presiding officer; shall cause each ordinance passed to be published as herein provided; shall, upon request, furnish certified copies of all records of public character in his charge under the seal of his office upon payment of such fees as may be prescribed by resolution of the council to be paid directly to the City Treasurer; and shall keep his office and all records therein which are not of confidential nature, open to public inspection during usual business hours.

SECTION 16.    Methods of Transacting Business by the Council — Veto, Authentication and Publication of Ordinances. — Unless the President of the Philippines orders otherwise, the Council shall hold one ordinary session for the transaction of business during each week on a day which it shall fix by resolution, and such extraordinary sessions, not exceeding thirty during any one year as may be called by the Mayor or by a majority of the members of the Council. It shall sit with open doors, unless otherwise ordered by an affirmative vote of five members. It shall keep a record of its proceedings and determine its rules of procedure not herein set forth. Five members of the Council shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. A smaller number may adjourn from day to day but 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 ordinances. Five affirmative votes shall be necessary for the passage of any ordinance, or of any resolution or motion directing payment of money or creating liability, but any other measure 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 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 Council and recorded in a book kept for the purpose, and shall, on the day following its passage, be posted by the secretary at the main entrance to the City Hall, and shall take effect and be in force on and after the tenth day following its passage unless otherwise stated in said ordinance, resolution or motion, or vetoed by the Mayor as hereinafter provided. A vetoed ordinance, if repassed, shall take effect ten days after the veto is overridden by the required votes unless otherwise stated in the ordinance or again disapproved by the Mayor within said time.

Each ordinance and resolution or motion directing payment of money or creating liability enacted or adopted by the Council shall be forwarded to the Mayor for 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 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 seven members of the Council, and again forwarded to the Mayor for his approval, and if within ten days after its receipt he does not return it with his veto, it shall be deemed approved. If within said time he again returns it with his veto, it shall be forwarded forthwith to the President of the Philippines for approval or disapproval, which then shall be final. The Mayor shall have the power to veto any particular item or items of an appropriation, or of any ordinance, resolution or motion directing 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 Council 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.

SECTION 17.    General powers and duties of the Council. — Except as otherwise provided by law, and subject to the conditions and limitations thereof, the City Council shall have the following legislative powers:

(a)    To provide for the levy and collection of taxes for general and specific purposes in accordance with law, including specially the power to levy real property tax not to exceed one and one-half per centum ad valorem; provided, that the said maximum rate of one and one-half per centum shall not be imposed during the first five years of the effectivity of this Act.

(b)    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.

(c)    To make all appropriations for the expenses for the government of the city.

(d)    To authorize the free distribution of medicine to the employees and laborers of the city whose salary or wage does not exceed one hundred and eighty pesos per month or six pesos per day, and 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, the distribution to be made under the direct supervision and control of the Mayor.

(e)    To fix the tariff of fees and charges for all services rendered by the city or any of its departments, branches or officials.

(f)    To provide for the erection and maintenance or the rental in case of need, of the necessary buildings for the use of the city.

(g)    To provide for the establishment and maintenance of public schools and, except as otherwise provided by law, to fix, with the approval of the Director of Public Schools, reasonable matriculation and/or tuition fees for intermediate and secondary institution therein, and to acquire sites for schoolhouse for primary and intermediate classes through purchase 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 Public Schools or Director of Vocational Education, to fix reasonable tuition fees for instruction in the vocational schools and in the institutions of higher learning supported by the city.

(i)    To maintain the city court established by law which shall have jurisdiction over all criminal cases under the ordinances of the city, and such further jurisdiction as may be herein or hereafter conferred.

(j)    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, prostitution and persons convicted of violating any of the ordinances of the city.

(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 extinguishing of fires, and to regulate the management and use of the same.

(l)    To establish fire zones, determine the kinds of buildings or structures that may be erected within their limits, regulate the manner of constructing and repairing the same, and fix the fees for permits for the construction, repair, or demolition of buildings and other structures.

(m)    To regulate the use of lights in stables, shops, and other buildings and places and to regulate and restrict the issuance of permits for the building of bonfires and rockets, and other pyrotechnic displays, and to fix the fees for such permits.

(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 relief for victims thereof.

(o)    To tax, regulate and fix the amount of license fees for the following: hawkers, peddlers, hucksters or peddlers, barbers, collecting agencies, manicurists, hair dressers, tattooers, jugglers, acrobats, wrestlers and boxers; shooting galleries, merry-go-rounds and other similar riding devices, and the keeping, preparation, and sale of meat, poultry, fish, game, butter, cheese, lard, vegetable, bread and other provisions; and to impose a municipal occupation tax, not to exceed fifty pesos per annum, on lawyers, physicians, dentists, architects, civil, electrical, mechanical, chemical or mining engineers, radio engineers or technicians, certified public accountants, opticians, and optometrists, veterinarians, land surveyors, insurance agents and sub-agents, business agents and business consultants, professional appraisers or connoisseurs of tobacco or other domestic or foreign products, music teachers, piano 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, including common carriers and transportation contractors: provided, that persons exercising their profession or occupation only as salaried employees and not as independent practitioners shall be exempt from the municipal occupation tax herein prescribed.

(p)    To tax, fix the license fee and regulate the business of hotels, restaurants, refreshment places, cafes, lodging houses, brewers, distillers, rectifiers, laundries, dyeing and cleaning establishments, beauty parlors, physical or beauty culture and fashion schools, clubs, livery garages, public warehouses, pawnshops, theaters, cinematographs, and the letting or subletting of lands and buildings whether used for commercial, industrial or residential purposes; and further to fix the location of, and to tax, fix the license fee on, and regulate the business of livery stables, boarding stables, embalmers, public billiard tables, public pool tables, bowling alleys, dance halls, public dancing halls, cabarets, night clubs and day clubs, circuses and other similar parades, public vehicles, public ferries, cockpits, dealers in second-hand materials or merchandise, junk dealers, theatrical performances, boxing contests, public exhibitions, blacksmith shops, foundries, steam boilers, lumber yards, shipyards, the storage and sale of gunpowder, tar, pitch, resin, coal, oil, gasoline, benzine, turpentine, hemp, cotton, nitroglycerin, petroleum or any of the products thereof and of all other highly combustible or explosive materials and other establishments likely to endanger the public safety or give rise to conflagrations or explosions, and subject to the provisions of law, tanneries, renderies, tallow chandleries, bone factories, soap factories: provided, that no license shall be granted to any theater or cinematograph unless the applicant for said license agrees to exhibit pictures made in the Philippines to the extent of five per centum of their annual exhibitions: provided, finally, that any violation of this condition shall cause the revocation of said license.

(q)    To tax and fix the license fees on pictures or bookbinders or both, manufacturers of rope, paper, leather goods, including shoes, slippers, sandals, harnesses and valises or bags, sporting goods, rubber goods, plastics and celluloid products, hardware, including glasswares, cooking utensils, electrical goods, and construction materials, chemical products, including drugs, perfumes, toilet articles, paints, dyes and inks, textiles, shell lamps or lamp shades or both, statuettes or tombstones or both, sacks, furniture of all kinds, including rattan goods, wire, brass beds or both, clothing, hats, eyeglasses or optical goods or both, fertilizers or buttons.

(r)    To tax and fix the license fee on dealers in general merchandise, including importers and indentors, except those dealers who may be expressly subject to the payment of some other municipal tax under the provisions of this section.

Dealers in general merchandise shall be classified as (a) wholesale dealers and (b) retail dealers. For purposes of the tax on retail dealers, general merchandise shall be classified into four main classes namely: (1) luxury articles, (2) semi-luxury articles, (3) essential commodities, and (4) miscellaneous articles. A separate license shall be prescribed for each class but where commodities of different classes are sold in the same establishment, it shall not be compulsory for the owner to secure more than one license if he pays the higher or highest rate of tax prescribed by ordinance. Wholesale dealers shall pay the license tax as such, as may be provided by ordinance.

For purposes of this section, the "general merchandise" shall include poultry and livestock agricultural products, fish and other allied products.

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

(t)    To impose a tax on all products or commodities manufactured or produced in the city and removed therefrom.

(u)    To impose a sales tax of not exceeding one per centum of the gross value in money of all articles sold, bartered, exchanged or transferred within the city.

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

(w)    To provide for the prohibition and suppression of riots, affrays, disturbances, and disorderly assemblies; houses of ill-fame and other disorderly houses; gaming houses, gambling houses and all fraudulent devices for the purpose of obtaining money or property; prostitution, vagrancy, intoxication, fighting, quarrelling, and all disorderly conduct, and printing, circulation, exhibition, possession or sale of obscene pictures, books, or publications thereof and for the maintenance and preservation of peace and morals.

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

(y)    To establish and maintain municipal pounds; to regulate, restrain, and prohibit the running at large of domestic animals, and provide for the distraining, impounding, and sale of the same for penalty incurred, and the cost of the proceedings, and to impose penalties upon the owners of said animals for the violation of any ordinance in relation thereto.

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

(aa)    To require property owners by ordinance to construct or repair, at their expense, sidewalks along the street or streets adjacent to their lots in accordance with the specifications of the city engineer as to width, the quality, 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 specified period of time after demand, the city engineer shall cause the work to be done and the cost thereof collected as a special assessment from such owners who may choose to pay the same in full, or in ten equal yearly installments which shall be due and payable to the City of Olongapo in the same manner as the annual tax levied on real estate and shall be made subject to the same penalties for delinquency, and enforceable by the same remedies, as such annual tax and all said sums and amounts shall, from the day in which they are assessed, constitute liens on the property against which the same were assessed and shall take precedence over any and all other liens which may exist upon such property excepting only such as may have been attached as a result of the nonpayment of said annual tax.

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

(cc)    Subject to the provisions of existing law, to provide for the laying out, construction and improvement, and to regulate the use of streets, avenues, alleys, sidewalks, wharves, piers, parks, cemeteries and other public places; to provide for lighting, cleaning, and sprinkling of streets, and public places; to regulate, fix the license fees for and prohibit the use of the same for processions, signs, signposts, awnings, awning posts, and the carrying or displaying of banners, placards, advertisements or handbills, or the flying of signs, flags or banners whether along, across, over or from buildings along the same; to prohibit the placing, throwing, depositing, or leaving of obstacles of any kind, garbage, refuse, or other offensive matter or matters liable to cause damage in the streets and other public places and to provide for the collection and disposition thereof; to provide for the inspection of, fix the license fees for and regulate the openings in the same for the laying of water, sewer and other pipes, building and repair of tunnels, sewers and drains, and all structures in and under the same and the erecting of poles and the stringing of wires therein; to provide for and regulate crosswalks, curbs and gutters thereon; to name streets without names and provide for and regulate the numbering of houses and lots fronting thereon or in the interior of the blocks; to regulate traffic and sales upon the streets and other public places; to provide for the abatement of nuisances in the same and punish the authors and owners hereof; to provide for the construction and maintenance and regulate the use of bridges, viaducts, and culverts; to prohibit and regulate ball playing, hoop rolling, and other amusements, which may annoy persons using the streets and public places, or frighten horses or obstruct other vehicles; to regulate the speed of horses and other animal driven vehicles within the limits of the city.

(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 cleaning 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 levies, and 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.

To undertake and carry out the reclamation of submerged land from the sea adjoining the city limits at the expense of the city the area thus reclaimed to belong exclusively to the city, or to cause to be undertaken by private contractors such reclamation work on terms and conditions approved by the city council and the Mayor.

(ee)    Any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, to provide for the maintenance of waterworks for the purpose of supplying water to the inhabitants of the city, and for the purification of the source of water supply and the places through which the same passes, and to regulate the consumption and use of water; to fix subject to the provisions of the Public Service Law, and provide for the collection of rents therefor and to regulate the construction, repair and use of hydrants, pumps, cisterns, and reservoirs.

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

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

(hh)    To establish or authorize the establishment of slaughterhouses, to provide for their veterinary or 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 domestic animals slaughtered outside the city, when such inspection was had at the place where the animals were slaughtered.

(ii)    To regulate, inspect and provide measures preventing 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, or in the sale and supply of gas or electricity, or in the telephone service; to fix and regulate charges therefor where the same has not been fixed by the national law, to regulate and provide for 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 and unusual noises; to provide that owners, agents, or tenants of buildings or premises keep and maintain the same in sanitary condition, and that, in case of failure to do so, within sixty days from the date a written notice is served, the city health officer shall cause the same to be kept in a sanitary condition, and the cost thereof to be assessed against the owner to the extent of not to exceed sixty per centum of the assessed value, which cost shall constitute a lien against the property; and to regulate and/or prohibit, or fix the license fees for the use of property on or near public ways, grounds, or places, or elsewhere within the city, or 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 or in part conducted.

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

(ll)    To extend its ordinances over all waters within the city and 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 two hundred meters of any reservoir, conduit, canal, aqueduct or pumping station used in connection with the city water service.

(mm)    To regulate any other business or occupation being conducted within the city not specifically mentioned in the preceding paragraphs, and to impose a license fee upon all persons engaged in the same or who enjoy privileges in the city.

(nn)    To fix and regulate the size, speed, and operation of motor and other vehicles within the city; to regulate the light used on such vehicles; to establish bus stops and terminals; and prohibit and regulate the entrance of provincial public utility vehicles into the city, except those passing through the city.

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

(pp)    To enact all ordinances it may deem necessary and proper for the sanitation and safety, the furtherance of prosperity and the promotion of morality, peace, good order, comfort, convenience, and general welfare of the city and its inhabitants, and such others as may be necessary to carry into effect and discharge the powers and duties conferred by this Charter; and to fix 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.

(qq)    Subject to the provisions of existing law, to exercise the power of eminent domain for the following purposes; the construction or extension of roads, streets, sidewalks, boulevards, seawalls, bridges, ferries, levees, wharves, or piers, airfields, the construction of public buildings including schoolhouses and the making of necessary improvements in connection therewith; the establishment of parks, playgrounds, plazas, market places, artesian wells, or systems for the supply of water, irrigation, canals and dams, and the establishment of nurseries, breeding centers for animals, health centers, hospitals, cemeteries, drainage systems, cesspools, or sewage systems and abattoirs.

(rr)    To dispose by lease or otherwise all lands of the public domain ceded to it by the National Government pursuant to the provisions of this Charter.

SECTION 18.    Restrictive Provisions. — No commercial sign, signboard or billboard shall be erected or displayed on public lands, premises 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 to public view is offensive to the sight or is otherwise a nuisance, he may order the removal of such sign, signboard, or billboard, and if the same is not removed within ten days from receipt of the order issued by him, he may himself cause its removal, and the sign, signboard, or billboard shall thereupon be forfeited to the city, and the expenses incident to the removal of the same shall become a lawful charge against any person or property liable for the creation or display thereof.

ARTICLE V
Departments and Offices of the City

SECTION 19.    City Departments. — There shall be a finance department, a law department, an engineering department, a health department, a police department, a fire department and an assessment department. Any existing law to the contrary notwithstanding, the Mayor shall have direct control and supervision over all the city departments.

Consistent with law, the City Council 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 City Mayor, may create, merge and/or consolidate any department, division or office of the city with any other department, division or office.

SECTION 20.    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 prescribed herein or by ordinance. He shall certify to the correctness of all payrolls and vouchers of his department covering the payment of money before payment, except as herein otherwise expressly provided. At least four months before the beginning of each fiscal year, he shall prepare and present to the Mayor an estimate of the appropriations 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 reasons, of the head of any 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 similar documents.

SECTION 21.    Appointment and removal of officials and employees. — The President of the Philippines, with the consent of the Commission on Appointments, shall appoint the city judges, the city treasurer, the city fiscal and assistant city fiscals, the city engineer, the city health officer, the chief of police, the chief of the fire department, the city assessor, and other heads of such city departments as may be created. Said officers shall not be suspended nor removed except in the manner and for causes provided by law: provided, however, that the chief of police and the members of the police force department shall be suspended or removed in accordance with existing law.

SECTION 22.    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 or firm; or to purchase any real estate or other property belonging to the city.

SECTION 23.    Statement of Assets. — Before assuming office, every official and regular or temporary employee of the city government shall file a sworn statement of his assets and property holdings.

ARTICLE VI
Finance Department

SECTION 24.    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 in accordance with existing laws. He shall have the following general powers and duties:

(a)    He shall collect all taxes due the city, all licenses authorized by law or ordinance, all rents due for lands, markets, and other property owned by the city, all further charges, of whatever nature fixed by law or ordinance, and shall receive and issue receipt for all costs, fees, fines and forfeitures imposed by the 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 inspection, permits, licenses, and the installation, maintenance, and services rendered in the operation of private privy system.

(c)    Unless otherwise specifically provided by law or resolution, he shall perform in and for the city duties imposed by law or resolution upon provincial treasurers in general, as well as, the other duties imposed upon him by law.

(d)    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.

(e)    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.

(f)    He shall deposit all city funds and collections in any bank duly designated as government depository, in accordance with existing laws, rules and regulations.

(g)    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 City Council for their administrative information a statement of the appropriation, expenditures and balances of all funds and accounts as of the last day of the month preceding.

ARTICLE VII
Law Department

SECTION 25.    The city fiscal — His powers, duties and compensation. — There shall be a city fiscal, who shall be the chief legal adviser of the city. There shall be four assistant city fiscals, who shall be known as the first, second, third and fourth assistant city fiscals, respectively. The city fiscal and his assistants shall each receive the salary provided for in existing laws to be payable from national funds: provided, however, that their salaries shall be paid from city funds until such time as the appropriation for the same has been included in the said annual appropriations act. The city fiscal shall, subject to the general supervision of the Secretary of Justice, have the following general 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 other contract and upon any breach or violation thereof.

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

(d)    He shall give his opinion in writing, when requested by the Mayor or the Council 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 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 information or make the necessary complaints against the persons accused. He may conduct such investigation by taking oral evidence of reputed witnesses and for this purpose may, by subpoena or subpoena duces tecum, summon witnesses to appear and testify under oath before him, or produce documents and other evidence before him, and the attendance of, or the production of documents and other evidence by an absent or recalcitrant witness may be enforced by application for warrant of arrest to the city 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 Zambales and the city court, and shall discharge all the duties in respect to criminal prosecution enjoined by law upon provincial fiscals.

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

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

ARTICLE VIII
Engineering Department

SECTION 26.    The City Engineer — His powers, duties and compensation. — There shall be a city engineer who shall receive a salary in accordance with existing laws. 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 survey of the city, 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 use of materials of a pool 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 take inventory and 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.

(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 have the 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 or removal of the same, and enforce all ordinances relating to the same.

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

(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 have the management, care and custody of the electrical system, and shall control, maintain and regulate the use of the same in accordance with the ordinances relating thereto, and shall issue permits for power and electrical connections and/or installations.

(l)    He shall have the management, care and custody of the telephone system, and shall control, maintain and regulate the use of the same, in accordance with ordinances relating thereto, and shall issue permits for telephone installations and/or connections.

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

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

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

(p)    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.

(q)    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.

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

(s)    He shall have authority to charge at rates to be fixed by the City Council, fees for public services and supplies furnished by his department to private parties, including such public services which are subject to the approval of the Public Service Commission.

SECTION 27.    Execution of authorized public works and improvements. — All public works constructions, repair and improvement of the city shall be carried out by administration by the Office of the City Engineer under the direct supervision and direction of the City Mayor. The approval of plans and specifications thereof by the City Mayor with the favorable recommendation of the City Council and the City Engineer shall constitute sufficient warrant for the undertaking and execution of said projects. For justifiable reasons, the Mayor, with the advice and consent of the City Council, may also have said work done totally or partially by contract, upon advertising for bids, therefor: provided, that in the case where the funds are borrowed from private persons or institutions and not obtained from taxes or any other governmental source, public bidding may be dispensed with.

ARTICLE IX
Health Department

SECTION 28.    The City Health Officer — His powers and duties. — There shall be a city health officer who shall have charge of the department of health and shall receive a salary in accordance with existing laws. He shall have the following powers and duties:

(a)    He shall have general supervision over the health and sanitary conditions of the city, including the cleaning of crematories, cemeteries, stockyards, slaughterhouses, and markets.

(b)    He shall execute and enforce all laws, ordinances and regulations relating to public health.

(c)    He shall recommend to the City Council the passage of such ordinances as he may deem necessary for the preservation of 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 members of the police force of the city or the National Police, as shall be designated as sanitary police by the chief of police or proper national police officer and such sanitary inspectors 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 of 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 city register 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) acknowledgments of natural children, (h) naturalization, and (i) changes of name. He shall also perform such other duties as are required of local civil registrars by the provisions of Act Numbered Thirty-seven hundred and fifty-three, entitled "An Act to establish a Civil Register".

(j)    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 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 official who shall assume full control of the health and sanitation services of the city until such condition shall have ceased to exist.

ARTICLE X
Police Department

SECTION 29.    The Chief of Police — His powers and duties. — There shall be a chief of police who shall have charge of the police department and shall receive a salary as provided for in existing laws for chiefs of police. 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 attorney, violators of laws or ordinances; shall exercise exclusive police supervision over all land and water within the police jurisdiction of the city; shall be charged with the protection of the rights of persons and property wherever found within the jurisdiction of the city, and shall arrest, when necessary to prevent the escape of offenders and violators of any law or ordinance, all who obstruct or interfere with him in the discharge of his duties; 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 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: provided, however, that he shall not exercise this power in cases of violations of any penal law, except when the fiscal of the city shall so recommend and fix the bail to be required for the person arrested.

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

(e)    He shall exercise supervision over the police training school as may be established in accordance with the rules and regulations of the police department.

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

SECTION 30.    The Deputy Chief of Police. — There shall be a deputy chief of police 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. He shall receive a compensation of not more than four thousand two hundred pesos per annum.

SECTION 31.    Chief of secret service. — There shall be a chief of 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. He shall receive a compensation of not less than three thousand six hundred pesos per annum.

SECTION 32.    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 a peace officer or within his view; and in such pursuit or arrest, to enter any building, boat or vessel or take into custody any person therein suspected of having committed theft; 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 requests 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.

SECTION 33.    When a member of the city police is accused in Court. — When a member of the city police is accused in court of any felony or violation of law or ordinance by the city fiscal, the Mayor shall immediately suspend the accused from office in accordance with existing laws pending the final decision of the case by the court. In case of acquittal, the accused shall be entitled to payment of the entire salary he failed to receive during his suspension.

ARTICLE XI
Fire Department

SECTION 34.    Chief of Fire Department. — There shall be a chief of the fire department who shall have the management and control of all matters relating to the administration, organization, government, discipline and disposition of the fire force. He shall receive a salary in accordance with existing laws, 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 government 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 the authority to remove or demolish any building or other property whenever it shall become necessary to prevent the spread 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 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 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, gunpowder, 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 been 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 35.    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. He shall receive a compensation of not more than four thousand two hundred pesos per annum.

ARTICLE XII
Assessment Department

SECTION 36.    The City Assessor — His powers and duties. — The city assessor shall have charge of the department of assessment. He shall receive a salary as provided for in existing laws. He and his authorized deputies are empowered to administer any oath authorized in connection with the valuation of real estate for the assessment and collection of taxes. He shall make a list of 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 evidences 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 and of the Office of the Provincial Treasurer in the Province of Zambales showing the ownership of real estate in the city. The city treasurer shall act as city assessor until the city council by ordinance approved by the Department Head, provides otherwise.

SECTION 37.    Real estate exempt from taxation. — The following shall be exempt from taxation:

(a)    Lands or buildings owned by the Republic of the Philippines, the Province of Zambales or the City of Olongapo, burying grounds, churches, and their adjacent parsonages and convents, 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 do not exceed two hundred pesos.

SECTION 38.    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 wh