Section 1. Title. — This Act shall be known as the Charter of Quezon City.
Section 2. Powers. — The territory within the
boundaries described in the next succeeding section and the inhabitants
thereof, shall be a municipality which shall be known as Quezon City;
and by that name it shall have perpetual succession; have and use a
common seal and alter the same at pleasure; sue and be sued; and
prosecute and defend to final judgment and execution; take purchase,
receive, hold, lease, convey, and dispose of real and personal
property, for the benefit of the city, within or without its corporate
limits; contract and be contracted with; and execute all the powers
hereinafter conferred.
Section 3. Boundaries. — The boundaries and limits of
the territory of said city are established and prescribed as follows:
Beginning at a point marked "1" which is identical to Boundary Monument
No. 1 of Piedad Estate; to point "2", which is Boundary Monument No. 2
of Piedad Estate; thence downstream following the Arroyo between
Payatas Estate and Mariquina Estate to point "3", which is the junction
of the Arroyo and Mariquina River; thence downstream following
Mariquina River to point "4", which is the crossing of Mariquina by the
old Rosario Road; thence westward following the old Rosario Road to
point "5", which is the south-easternmost corner of Wack Wack Golf and
Country Club; thence following the road along the south boundary of the
Wack Wack and Country Club to point "6" where the said road crosses the
creek; thence downstream following the Salapan Creek to point "7",
which is the junction of Salapan Creek and Dario River; thence
southward following the Salapan River to its intersection with the east
boundary of the City of Manila to point "8"; thence north-westward
following the east boundary of the City of Manila to point "9" near La
Loma Cabaret, which is a corner of the boundary of the City of Manila
near the entrance to the North Cemetery; thence northward following the
boundary of the City of Manila to point "10", which is the northeast
corner of said City; thence westward along said City of Manila boundary
at a distance of 100 meters to point "11"; thence of 100 meters from
the property line on the side of said road to point "12", which is at a
distance of 100 meters north of the crossing of Samson Street (road
connecting Balintawak Monument with Bonifacio Monument); thence
eastward paralleling Samson Street and the Circumferential road at a
distance of 100 meters on the northside of said street and road to
point "13", which is the center of the Culiat Creek; thence upstream
following the Culiat Creek to point "14", which is the junction of
Pasong Tamo River and Culiat Creek; thence upstream following Pasong
Tamo River to point "15", which is the junction of Pasong Tamo River
and Pinagpatayan Buaya Creek, thence to the point of beginning.
Section 4. Appointment of City Officials —
Compensation. — The President of the Philippines shall appoint, with
the consent of the Commission on Appointments of the National Assembly,
the mayor, the vice-mayor, the city secretary the members of the City
Council, the city health officer, the city engineer, the chief of
police, the city treasurer the city assessor, the city attorney, and
the assistant city attorney, and he may remove at pleasure any of them.
He may appoint to any of the above-named offices persons already
holding official positions. In case of sickness, absence, or inability
to serve for any reason of any of the aforementioned officials, the
President of the Philippines may make a temporary appointment or
designation until the return to duty of such official. During the
period of such temporary appointment or designation, the person so
appointed or designated shall possess all the powers and perform all
the duties pertaining to the office.
The mayor shall receive a compensation of not more than seven thousand
two hundred pesos per annum. The city secretary shall receive three
thousand six hundred pesos per annum. The members of the City Council,
including the vice-mayor, shall receive a per diem of twenty pesos for
each day of attendance at the session of the City Council.
The compensation of other officers and employees of the city shall be
determined by ordinance approved by the Secretary of the Interior.
The President of the Philippines is authorized to organize immediately
the government of the city, and to that end he may pay and advance from
any fund of the Treasury of the Philippines not otherwise appropriated
such amount as may be necessary, not exceeding the sum of two hundred
thousand pesos. Pending such organization, the territory comprised in
said city shall continue to be subject to the jurisdiction and control
of the respective municipalities to which they belong at the time of
the approval of this Act.
Section 5. Officers not to Engage in Certain
Transactions. — No city officer or employee shall be directly or
indirectly interested in any city contract work, or in any business
transaction with the city whereby money is to be paid directly or
indirectly out of the revenues of the city to such person, or in any
games and amusements licensed by the city or in any business of the
city, or in the purchase of any real estate or any other property
belonging to the city.
Section 6. City not Liable for Damages. — The failure
of any city officer to enforce the provisions of this Act or any law or
ordinance, or the negligence of said officer while enforcing or
attempting to enforce the same, shall not cause the city to be held
liable for damages or injuries to persons or property.
Section 7. Additional Powers and Duties of Officers. —
Every city officer shall have such other powers and duties as may be
prescribed by law or ordinance.
Section 8. Conduct of Elections. — The duties which
are by the Election Code made incumbent upon provincial boards and
municipal councils shall be performed by the City Council; and those
upon provincial treasurers and municipal secretaries, by the city
secretary.
Section 9. The Mayor. — There shall be a Mayor who
shall be a member of the City Council, and who shall have the following
general powers and duties:
(a) He shall take care that the laws of the
Philippines, the provisions of this Act, and the ordinances and
resolutions of the city are duly observed and enforced within the
jurisdiction of the city.
(b) He shall see that all other officers of the city
faithfully discharge their respective duties, and to that end may cause
to be instituted any appropriate criminal action, or take proceedings
to bring to the attention of the proper superior officer the
derelictions of the city official.
(c) He shall give to the City Council from time to
time such information and recommend such measures as he shall deem
advantageous to the city.
(d) He shall preside at all meetings of the City
Council; shall have the right to vote on all ordinances or other
matters coming before the Council, shall sign the secretary's record of
the proceedings of each meeting at the same meeting at which same is
approved by the Council, and shall sign all ordinances and resolutions.
(e) He shall have power to examine and inspect the
books, records, and papers of all officers, agents, or employees of the
city.
(f) He shall sign all warrants drawn on the city
treasurer and all bonds, contracts, and obligations of the city.
(g) He shall appoint, in accordance with the Civil
Service Law, all employees of the office of the Mayor, and all heads
and assistant heads of departments of the city which may be provided
for by law or by ordinance; and, at any time, for cause, he may suspend
any such officer or employee thus appointed for a period not exceeding
ten days, which suspension may continue for a longer period if approved
by the Department Head; and by and with the consent of the Department
Head may discharge any such officer or employee.
(h) He shall cause to be instituted judicial
proceedings to recover property and funds of the city wherever found or
otherwise to protect its interests, and shall cause to be defended all
suits against the same.
(i) He shall, on or before the first day of December
of each year, prepare and present to the Department Head and the City
Council, in itemized form and in detail: (1) an inventory of lands,
buildings, and other property, real and personal, belonging to the
city, including cash in the treasury; (2) a statement of the
liabilities of the city; (3) an estimate of the revenues of the city
from all sources for the ensuing year, with a statement opposite each
item of the amount realized from such sources during the current year;
(4) an estimate of the ordinary expenses for the ensuing year, with a
statement opposite each item of the corresponding expenses during the
current year; (5) an estimate of such extraordinary expenditures as may
be necessary for any purpose, the approximate total expenditures
recommended, and the amount which the city is expected to spend during
the ensuing year, also an itemized statement of the extraordinary
expenditure during the current year.
(j) He shall, as soon as practicable after the first
day of January of each year, prepare and present to the Department Head
an annual report covering the operation, of the city government during
the preceding year.
Section 10. The Vice-Mayor. — There shall be a
vice-mayor who shall be a member of the City Council, and who shall,
during the absence of the Mayor from the city or his disability for any
reason, discharge the duties of his office and exercise all his powers,
except that of removing any officer from office.
Section 11. The City Council — Meetings —
Ordinances. —There shall be a City Council composed of the Mayor,
vice-mayor, and three other members. The Council shall fix the time and
places for its regular meetings, which shall be held once in each week,
and shall hold special meetings when called by the Mayor. Any meeting,
regular or special, may, in case the amount of business shall require,
be adjourned from day to day until the business is completed, but such
meetings shall not be held more than once a week, unless so authorized
by the Department Head. The meetings of the Council shall be open to
the public, unless otherwise ordered by affirmative vote of a majority
of its members. It shall keep a record of its proceedings and determine
its rules of procedure not herein set forth. A majority of the Council
shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, but a
smaller number may adjourn from time to time. 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 motion or
resolution. The affirmative vote of a majority of all the members of
the City Council shall be necessary for the passage of any ordinance,
resolution, or motion directing the payment of money or creating
liability. Each ordinance shall be sealed with the city seal, signed by
the Mayor and the city secretary, and recorded in a book kept for that
purpose. Each ordinance shall, on the day after its passage, be posted
by the city secretary at the main entrance of the municipal building,
and shall take effect and be in force on and after the tenth day
following its passage, if no date is fixed in the ordinance.
Section 12. The City Council — Powers. — The
City Council shall have power by ordinance or resolution.
(a) To make all appropriations for the expenses of
the government of the city, and establish and fix the salaries of city
officers and employees, except teachers in the public schools, subject
to approval by the Department Head.
(b) To provide for the levy and collection of taxes
and other city revenues, as provided by law, and apply the same to the
payment of city expenses in accordance with appropriations.
(c) To issue licenses fixing the amount of the
license fee for the following: hawkers, peddlers, hucksters, not
including hucksters or peddlers who sell only native vegetables, fruits
or foods, personally carried by the huckster or peddler, auctioneers,
plumbers, barbers, embalmers, collecting agencies, mercantile agencies,
transportation companies and agencies, advertising agents, tattooers,
hotels, clubs, restaurants, lodging houses, boarding houses livery
stables, boarding stables, laundries, cleaning and dyeing
establishments, establishments for the storage of highly combustible or
explosive materials, public warehouses, dance halls, circus, and all
other performances and places of amusement, public vehicles, horse
races, bowling alleys, pawnbrokers, dealers in second-hand merchandise
junk dealers, billiard tables, theaters, theatrical performances, and
all other performances and places of amusement, shooting galleries,
slot machines not used for gaming and merry-go-rounds; to license,
regulate, or prohibit the selling, giving away, or disposing in any
manner of any intoxicating, spirituous, vinous, or fermented liquors,
and determine the amount to be paid for such licenses, to regulate and
license signs, signboards, and billboards displayed or maintained in
any place exposed to public view, except those displayed at the place
or places where the professions or business advertised thereby is in
whole or in part conducted.
If, after due investigation, the Mayor shall decide that any person
licensed under the provisions of this sub-section is abusing his
license and privilege to the injury of the public morals or peace or
that any place so licensed has been or is conducted in a disorderly or
unlawful manner, or is a nuisance, or is permitted to be used as a
resort for disorderly characters, criminals, or women of ill repute, he
may by order summarily revoke such license, subject to appeal to the
Department Head, whose action on the appeal shall be final. Such
revocation shall operate to forfeit to the city all sums which may have
been paid for said license and to prohibit the issuance to the person
whose license is so revoked of any other license for a term which may
be fixed in said order.
(d) To make regulations for the conducting of the
business of the persons and places named in sub-section (c) of this
section. To regulate the business and fix the location of blacksmith
shops, foundries, steam boilers, steam engines, lumber yards, sawmills,
and other establishments likely to endanger the public safety by giving
rise to conflagrations or explosions; to regulate 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.
(e) To regulate the use of the streets and public
places by vehicles; to regulate garages and stables and the keeping of
carriages, carts, and other conveyances for hire; and to designate
stands to be occupied by public vehicles when not in use.
(f) To provide for the erection or rental and care of
buildings necessary for the use of the city.
(g) To establish and maintain public schools, subject
to the limitations of law.
(h) To establish fire limits and regulate the kinds
of buildings and structures that may be erected within said limits, and
the manner of constructing and repairing the same.
(i) To erect engine houses, and provide fire engines,
hose carts, hooks and ladders, and other equipment for the prevention
and extinguishment of fires, and to provide for the management and use
of the same. Until further provision is made, the law providing for
fire protection in municipalities having no paid fire department, shall
apply to the city.
(j) To regulate the use of lights in stables, shops,
and other buildings and places, and to regulate or restrain the
building of bonfires and the use of firecrackers, fireworks, torpedoes,
and pyrotechnic displays.
(k) To make suitable provisions to insure the public
safety from conflagrations and the effects of storms and other public
calamities, and to provide relief for persons suffering from the same.
(l) To provide for laying out, opening, extending,
widening, straightening, closing up, constructing, or regulating in
part, any public plaza, square, street, sidewalk, trail, park,
waterworks, or water mains, or any cemetery, sewer, sewer connection or
connections, either on, in, or upon public or private property; to
provide for ascertaining whether any, and what amount in value of,
damage will be caused, or benefit will accrue to the owner or possessor
of any land, premises, or improvements, whether public or private, by
reason of any such work and for which the owner or possessor should be
compensated, or should pay a compensation, and provide for assessing,
levying, and collecting, either generally on the whole assessable
property within the city especially on the property benefited, or on
all the property within any stated area or district within the bounds
of said city which it may create and establish for any such purpose,
the whole, or any part of the amount of damages and expenses which, as
so ascertained, will be incurred in and about any such work or
construction as aforesaid within the bounds of said city; to provide
for the payment of such compensation as may be found to be due to any
person or persons entitled thereto; to provide, when the owners or
possessors of such lands, premises or improvements shall not properly
and fully pay to such official and at such time or times and manner as
it shall fix therefor any amount or amounts which may be found and
declared to be due as and for such assessment as aforesaid, for filing
in the proper and appropriate registers or records of property
declarations of such amounts so found due, which amounts shall, in each
and all cases and upon and after such filing, be and become liens upon
and against such lands, premises, or improvements; that said liens
shall have and take precedence over and all other liens of every kind
and nature whatsoever whether antecedent or subsequent in point of
time, save and except annual or other regular tax liens; and that said
liens shall be enforced and collected by the same officials, in the
same manner and under the same penalties as to time and interest as
annual or other regular tax liens, and shall, when so paid or
collected, be paid in and credited to the appropriate assessment fund,
whether general or special, and be disbursed therefrom in such and no
other manner as shall be provided in the ordinance creating such
assessment and fund; to carry into effect by ordinance the powers
hereinbefore granted in this subsection, but no ordinance shall provide
for more than one project of any of the kinds named herein, nor create
more than one district, assessment, and fund necessary and appropriate
therefore, and in each and every such ordinance, provision shall be
made for notice to any and all persons interested, giving them and each
of them not less than two weeks from and after the date of depositing a
notice in the post office at the city in a securely sealed post-paid
wrapper addressed to each person affected thereby and assessed
thereunder at his last known place of residence, or at the city if no
place of residence is known, or to an agent who may be or may have been
appointed by such person in writing, in which to appear and file
objection to either the work itself, the method or manner of
assessment, the time or times and method of payment therefor, or to all
thereof, and such other and further objection or objections as may seem
to any such person or persons reasonable and proper in the premises;
such notice shall set forth the nature of the proposed improvement, the
estimated cost thereof, the total amount of the assessment to be levied
therefor, and the amount to be levied upon each parcel of the property
or possession of the addressee; any and every such appearance and
objection shall be made and heard only before the City Council, which
may, at any such hearing, alter, modify, or increase the area of such
district, the total assessment thereof or any individual area of
assessment objected to therein, and shall decide any and every such
objection within ten days after the filing thereof and give notice of
such decision to the person or persons interested in the manner
hereinbefore provided for notice of such assessment within five days
thereafter. And all assessments levied by virtue of this subsection
shall be levied only upon the basis of the value of the land benefited
and not upon improvements thereon, and all valuations of any and all
lands and premises made under the provisions hereof and for the
purposes herein stated shall be the valuations thereof, last regularly
made for the purposes of annual taxation.
(m) To provide for the lighting, cleaning, and
sprinkling of streets and public places; to prevent and remove
encroachments and obstructions upon the same; to regulate or prevent
the use of the same for processions, signs, signposts, awnings, and
awning posts; to prohibit the throwing or depositing of offal, garbage,
refuse, or other offensive matter in the same, and to provide for its
collection and disposition; to regulate the openings therein for the
laying of gas, water sewer, and other pipes therein, the building and
repair of tunnels, sewers, and drains, and all structures therein and
thereunder, and the erecting of poles and stringing of wires therein;
to provide for and regulate crosswalks, curbs, and gutters therein; to
name and change the names of the same, and provide for and regulate the
numbering of houses and lots fronting thereon; to regulate traffic and
sales upon the same; to abate nuisances in the same, and punish the
authors or owners thereof; to construct, maintain, and regulate the use
of bridges viaducts and culverts; to prevent and regulate amusements
having a tendency to annoy persons using the streets or public places,
or to frighten horses and other animals; to regulate the speed of
horses and other animals vehicles, and locomotives within the limits of
the city.
(n) To provide for the inspection of all gas,
electric and telephone wires, conduits, meters, and other apparatus and
the condemnation and correction or removal of the same when dangerous
or defective.
(o) To maintain waterworks for the purposes of
supplying water to the inhabitants of the city, to purify the sources
of supply, to regulate the control and use of the water, and to fix and
collect rents therefor; to regulate the construction, repair, and use
of hydrants, pumps, cisterns, and reservoirs, and to prevent the waste
of water and for the purpose of protecting and insuring the purity and
quantity of the water supply of the city to extend its ordinance over
all territories within the drainage area of such water supply, and
within one hundred meters of any reservoir, conduit, canal, aqueduct,
pumping station, or watershed used in connection with the water service.
(p) To establish and maintain a city pound and fix
the fees for poundage; regulate, restrict, or prohibit the running at
large of domestic animals and dogs unlicensed, and provide for the
distraining, impounding, and killing or sale of the same for the
penalty incurred and the cost of the proceedings; also impose penalties
upon the owners of said animals for the violation of any ordinance in
relation thereto. But carabaos, horses, mules, asses, and all members
of the bovine family shall be disposed of in accordance with general
law.
(q) To regulate the keeping and use of animals, in so
far as the same affects the public health and the health of domestic
animals.
(r) To require any land or building which is in an
unsanitary condition to be cleansed at the expense of the owner or
tenant, and, upon failure to comply with such an order, have the work
done, and assess the expense upon the land or buildings.
(s) To fill up or require to be filled upon to a
grade necessary for proper sanitation any and all lands and premises
which may be declared and duly reported by the Bureau of Health as
being unsanitary by reason of being below such grade or which, in the
opinion of the Council, the public health or welfare may require.
(t) To construct and keep in repair public drains,
sewers, and cesspools, and regulate the construction and use of private
water-closets, privies, sewers, drains, and cesspools.
(u) To prohibit the burial of the dead within the
center of population of the city and provide for their burial in such
proper place and in such manner as the Council may determine, subject
to the provisions of the general law regulating burial grounds and
cemeteries and governing funerals and the disposal of the dead.
(v) To establish or authorize the establishment of
slaughterhouses and markets, and inspect and regulate the use of the
same; to provide for and regulate the keeping, preparation, and sale of
meat, fruits, poultry, milk, fish, vegetables, and all other provisions
or articles of food offered for sale.
(w) To enforce the regulations of the Bureau of
Health, and by ordinance to provide fines and penalties for violations
of such regulations; and to adopt such other measures to prevent the
introduction and spread of disease as may, from time to time, be deemed
desirable or necessary.
(x) To declare, prevent, and abate nuisances.
(y) To provide for the recording of births,
marriages, and deaths.
(z) To establish, maintain, and regulate a police
force and prescribe the powers and duties of its members.
(aa) To establish, maintain, and regulate a city
prison.
(bb) To prohibit and provide for the punishment of
cruelty to animals.
(cc) To suppress gambling houses, houses of ill fame
and other disorderly houses; and to prohibit the printing, sale, or
exhibition of immoral pictures, books, or publications of any
description.
(dd) To prevent and suppress riots, affrays,
disturbances, and disorderly assemblies; to punish and prevent
intoxication, fighting, quarrelling, and all disorderly conduct; and to
make and enforce all necessary police ordinances, with the view to the
confinement and reformation of vagrants, disorderly persons,
mendicants, and prostitutes, and persons convicted of violating any
city ordinance.
(ee) To establish, regulate, and maintain city
departments, and prescribe the powers and duties thereof and readjust
the same.
(ff) To construct, erect, and establish a public
light, heat, and power supply and installation system, and to that end
to purchase, expropriate, or otherwise acquire all lands which may be
necessary, and to build, erect, and construct any and all buildings,
stations, and other structures and to purchase any or all such
machinery, poles, wires, wagons, trucks, or other vehicles, supplies,
and equipment as may now or hereafter be necessary to the successful
operation of such system, as may be provided by law.
(gg) To maintain and operate any electric light, heat
or power supply and installation system, however acquired; to keep the
same in repair; to alter, increase, extend, improve, enlarge or modify
the same or any part thereof; to replace worn or useless parts,
machinery, poles, animals, vehicles, trucks, wires and other equipment;
and to operate, control, and manage the same.
(hh) For any and all the purposes contemplated in the
last two preceding subsections, to enter, if necessary, into contracts
for partial or deferred payment; to appoint and employ such officers,
clerks, employees, and laborers as may be necessary; and to appropriate
funds of the city for all the purposes aforesaid.
(ii) To enter into contracts with, and to supply
electric light, heat, current, and other service to residents,
merchants, businessmen, and manufacturers in and about the city at
rates and for prices not less than sufficient properly to maintain and
operate any such plant or system and to pay for depreciations in the
same and for renewals and replacements of any and all parts thereof and
for all extensions, improvements, enlargements, alterations, or changes
thereof and therein.
(jj) To enter into a contract of lease, and to rent
or lease any electric light, heat, or power supply or installation
system whether erected, constructed, and established by the City
Council, or acquired by it through purchase, grant, or conveyance or in
any other manner, to any person or persons, or to any corporation for
proper and sufficient consideration and subject to the right of
supervision and control by the City Council over the operation of such
system and over the amount of heat, light, power and current delivered,
and the character of other services rendered and of the rates and
amounts charged therefor.
(kk) To fix penalties for violation of ordinances,
but no single penalty shall exceed a fine of two hundred pesos or
imprisonment for six months, or both, but imprisonment shall be imposed
in lieu of unpaid fines at the rate of one day's imprisonment for each
peso of the fine. Persons undergoing imprisonment for violation of
ordinances may be required to labor for the period of imprisonment upon
public works of the city in such manner as may be directed by the City
Council. Whenever a person is imprisoned for nonpayment of a fine he
shall be released upon payment of such fine, less one peso per day for
each day that he has been confined. Pending appeal the defendant shall
remain in custody unless released upon sufficient bail, in accordance
with the general provisions of law, to await the judgment of the
appellate court.
(ll) To make such further ordinances and regulations
not repugnant to law as may be necessary to carry into effect and
discharge the powers and duties conferred by this Act and such as it
shall deem necessary and proper to provide for the health and safety,
promote the prosperity, improve the morals, peace, good order, comfort,
and convenience of the city and the inhabitants thereof, and for the
protection of property therein; and enforce obedience thereto with such
lawful fines or penalties as the City council may prescribe under the
provisions of subsection (kk) of this section.
Section 13. 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
same is not removed within ten days after he has issued such order, he
may himself cause its removal, and the sign, signboard, or billboard
shall thereupon be forfeited to the city, and the expenses incident to
the removal of the same shall become lawful charge against any person
or property liable for the erection or display thereof.
Section 14. The City Secretary. — There shall be
a city secretary who shall have the following general powers and duties:
(a) He shall act as secretary of the City Council,
the board of tax appeals, and such other boards or committees as may
hereafter be created, and shall keep a journal of their proceedings.
(b) He shall record in a book kept for that purpose
all ordinances passed by the City Council, with the dates of passage
and publication of the same.
(c) He shall keep the corporate seal and affix the
same with his signature to all ordinances and other official acts of
the Mayor or council.
(d) He shall cause each ordinance passed to be posted
as herein provided.
(e) He shall have charge of all records and documents
of the city for which provision is not otherwise made and shall, on
demand, furnish certified copies of a records and documents, and
collect and receive therefor such fees as the council may prescribe,
for the use of the city.
(f) He shall perform such other duties as the Mayor
or council may direct.
Section 15. The City Health Officer. — There
shall be a city health officer who shall have the following general
powers and duties:
(a) He shall have general supervision over the health
and sanitary condition 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 City Council the
passage of ordinances as he may deem necessary for the preservation of
the public health.
(d) He shall cause to be prosecuted all violation 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 of the
Philippine Army as shall be designated as sanitary police by the chief
of police or proper Army officer and by such sanitary inspectors as may
be authorized by law.
(f) He shall perform such other duties, not repugnant
to law, with reference to the health and sanitation of the city as the
Director of Health shall direct.
Section 16. The City Engineer. — There shall be
a city engineer who shall be under the supervision and control of the
Director of Public Works and shall have the following general 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
projected by the city, 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
Director of Public Works; shall make such tests and inspection of
engineering materials used in construction and repair as may be
necessary to protect the city from the use of materials of a poor or
dangerous quality; shall inspect and report upon the condition of
public property and public works whenever required by the Mayor; shall
have the care and custody of all public buildings, including markets
and slaughterhouses, and of any system established for lighting the
streets, public places, and public buildings; shall prevent the
encroachment of private buildings and fences on the streets and public
places of the city; shall inspect and supervise the construction,
repair, removal, and safety of private buildings; shall regulate and
enforce the numbering of houses in accordance with the ordinances of
the city; shall have the care of all public streets, parks, cemeteries,
and bridges; shall maintain, clean, sprinkle, and regulate the use of
the same for all purposes as provided by ordinance; shall collect and
dispose of all garbage, refuse, the contents of closets, and cesspools,
and all other offensive and dangerous substances within the city, in
accordance with ordinance; shall prepare plans and have charge of the
construction of any sewer and water supply system of the city hereafter
authorized; shall have the care and custody of any such public system
of water works 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, subject to
the approval of the Mayor, the use of all private systems for supplying
water to the city and its inhabitants, and all private sewers and their
connection with the public sewer system; and shall prepare plans, maps,
specifications, and estimates for building, streets, bridges, and other
public works, and supervise the construction and repair of the same.
But no construction involving public buildings, laying out of streets
or parks or change of existing buildings, streets, or parks shall be
begun without first having obtained plans therefor approved by the
Director of Public Works, and it shall be the duty of the Director of
Public Works to advise the Mayor, the Council, and the city engineer on
all matters pertaining to the architectural features of construction,
repair or alterations of a material nature of public buildings and
monuments of a permanent character, or any construction involving a
modification of the development plans, including the laying out or
alteration of public streets and parks, and, upon request, to prepare
plans, specifications, estimates, and other information for public
building or works of a permanent character for the city.
(c) He shall file and preserve all maps, plans,
notes, surveys, and other papers and documents pertaining to his office.
(d) He shall have power, subject to the approval of
the Mayor, to cause buildings dangerous to the public to be made secure
or torn down, and shall supervise and regulate the locations and use of
engines, boilers, forges, and other manufacturing and heating
appliances in accordance with the law and ordinances relating thereto.
Section 17. Contracts. — All repair or
construction of any work or public improvement, except road or trail,
involving an estimated cost of three thousand pesos or more, shall be
awarded by the city engineer to the lowest responsible bidder after
publication extending over a period of at least ten days.
Publication in such case shall be effected by advertisement in the
Official Gazette, and by posting notice at the main entrance of the
municipal building of the city.
A plan or profile of the work to be done, accompanied by specifications
for the performance of the same, shall, before advertisement, be placed
on file in the offices of the city engineer and of the Director of
Public Works in the City of Manila, which plan, profile, and
specifications shall, at all proper times, be open for public
inspection. Each bid shall be accompanied by a deposit the amount and
character of which shall be fixed by the city engineer and named in the
advertisement. Such deposit shall be forfeited to the city if the
bidder shall neglect or refuse to enter into a contract, with approved
sureties, to execute the work for the price mentioned in his bid and
according to the plans and specifications, in case the contract shall
be awarded to him. Bonds, to be approved by the city engineer, shall be
required for the faithful performance of the contracts. The city
engineer, may, in his discretion, reject any and all bids, and, if such
bids are too high, may purchase the materials, hire the laborers, and
supervise the work. In the repair or construction of city roads, work
may be done by day labor and there need be no advertising or bidding.
Public works of all kinds costing less than three thousand pesos may be
undertaken either by day labor or by contract, and may be let without
advertisement under such rules as may be prescribed by the city
engineer. Such contracts may be signed, on written order of the Mayor,
by the city engineer.
Section 18. Purchases for City. — The Purchasing
Agent shall purchase all supplies, equipment, material and property of
every kind, except real estate, for the use of the city or any
department or office thereof, and shall supply the same to the city or
any department or office thereof in accordance with law. Provided, That
the city shall make its purchases without the intervention of the
Purchasing Agent when the needed supplies are obtainable at reasonable
prices in the locality or neighboring places. But contracts for
complete work of any kind for the use of the city, or any department or
office thereof, involving both labor and materials, where the materials
are furnished by the contractor and not by the city, shall not be
deemed to be within the provisions of this section.
Section 19. The City Attorney. — There shall be
a city attorney who shall be the chief legal adviser of the city, and
who shall have the following general powers and duties:
(a) He shall represent the city in all civil cases
wherein the city or any officer thereof, in his official capacity, is a
party.
(b) He shall, when required, draw ordinances,
contracts, bonds, leases, and other instruments involving any interest
of the city and inspect and pass upon any such instruments already
drawn.
(c) He shall give his opinion in writing, when
requested by the Mayor or the Council, upon any question relating to
the city or the rights or duties of any city officer.
(d) He shall, whenever it is brought to his knowledge
that any city officer 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.
(e) He shall have charge of the prosecution of all
crimes and misdemeanors and violations of city ordinances.
(f) He shall investigate all charges of crimes,
misdemeanors, and violations of city ordinances and prepare the
necessary informations or make the necessary complaints against the
person accused, and discharge all other duties in respect to criminal
prosecutions enjoyed upon provincial fiscals generally.
(g) He may conduct investigations in respect to
crimes, misdemeanors, and violations of ordinances by taking oral
evidence of reputable witnesses, and for this purpose may, by subpoena,
summon witnesses to appear and testify under oath before him, and the
attendance and evidence of an absent or recalcitrant witness may be
enforced by application to the justice of the peace court of the city
or the Court of First Instance of the Province of Rizal.
(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 causes 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 they are deemed necessary, and shall
be entitled fees imposed and collected, whether by the justice of the
to demand and receive for the purposes of such investigations or
autopsies the aid of the city health officer.
(i) 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.
Section 20. The Assistant City Attorney. — There
shall be an assistant city attorney who shall assist the city attorney
as he shall direct.
Section 21. The Justice of the Peace Court. —
There shall be a justice of the peace and an auxiliary justice of the
peace for the city, who shall be appointed and have the powers, duties,
and jurisdiction that generally belong to justices of the peace and
auxiliary justices of the peace; and in addition thereto, territorial
jurisdiction over the entire police zone of the city. Any other officer
authorized by law to act as justice of the peace in the city shall have
peace authorized by this section. All fines, forfeiture, and like and
concurrent jurisdiction with the justice of the peace authorized by
this section or by any other officer authorized by law to act as
justice of the peace within the city, shall accrue to the benefit of
the treasury thereof.
Section 22. The Chief of Police. — There shall be a
chief of police who shall have the following general powers and duties:
(a) He shall have charge of the organization,
government, discipline, and disposition of the city police and
detective force.
(b) He shall quell riots, disorders, disturbances of
the peace, and shall arrest and prosecute violators of any law or
ordinance; shall exercise police supervision over all land and water
within the police jurisdiction of the city; shall be charged with the
protection of the rights of persons and property wherever found within
the jurisdiction of the city, and shall arrest without warrant when
necessary to prevent the escape of the offender violators of any law or
ordinance, and all who obstruct or interfere with him in the discharge
of his duty; shall have charge of the city prison; and shall be
responsible for the safe-keeping of all prisoners until they shall be
released from custody, in accordance with law, or delivered to the
warden of the proper prison or penitentiary.
(c) He may take good and sufficient bail for the
appearance before the justice of the peace court of any person arrested
for violation of any city ordinance.
(d) He shall have authority, within the police limits
of the city, to serve and execute criminal processes of any court;
shall, either in person or by deputy, attend all sessions of the
justice of the peace court; and shall promptly and faithfully execute
all orders of the Mayor and all writs and processes of the justice of
the peace court when placed in his hands for that purpose.
Section 23. Peace Officers. — The chief of
police, all city officers, and all members of the police force and
secret service shall be peace officers; and all peace officers created
by this Act, or authorized by law or ordinance, and authorized to serve
and execute all processes of the justice of the peace court and
criminal processes of other courts to whomsoever directed, within the
jurisdiction or police limits of the city; and within the same
territory they may pursue arrest, without warrant, any person found in
suspicious places or under suspicious circumstances reasonably tending
to show that such person has committed or is about to commit any crime
or breach of the peace; may 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 may
enter any building or take into custody any person therein suspected of
being concerned in such crime or breach of the peace, and any property
suspected of having been stolen; they shall detain such person only
until he can be brought before the proper magistrate; and shall have
such other powers and perform such other duties as peace officers as
may be prescribed by law or ordinance. 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 violation of law and order, he shall have power to swear in special
police, in such numbers as the occasion may demand, who shall have the
same powers while on duty as members of the regular force.
Section 24. The City Treasurer. — There shall be
a city treasurer who 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 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 fines, forfeitures, fees, and costs imposed by the justice of
the peace court.
(b) He shall receive and safely keep all moneys
arising from the revenues of the city, and shall spend and disburse the
same upon lawful warrants.
(c) He shall perform in the city the duties
prescribed by the Internal Revenue Code and section one thousand eight
hundred and forty-seven of the Revised Administrative Code for
provincial treasurers and their deputies, such further duties
prescribed by law for provincial treasurers as are not inconsistent
with the provisions of this Act; and the duties prescribed by the Land
Registration Act, the laws on mortgages, and other laws for registers
of deeds.
(d) He shall, when so directed or designated by the
Department Head, perform the duties of the city assessor.
(e) He shall discharge his duties in accordance with
the provisions of laws relating to Government accounts and accounting.
(f) He shall render his accounts in such manner as
the Auditor General may prescribe. The Auditor General shall receive
and audit all accounts of the city in accordance with the provisions of
laws relating to Government accounts and accounting.
Section 25. The City Assessor. — There shall be
a city assessor who shall have the following general powers and duties:
(a) He shall annually assess and value for taxation
the real estate of the city, and for this purpose is empowered to
administer any oath authorized to be administered the assessment or
collection of taxes.
(b) He shall make a list of all taxable real estate
in the city and the names of the owners thereof, with a brief
description opposite their names of the property owned by them and the
cash value thereof. In making this list the city assessor shall take
into consideration any sworn statement made by the owners of the
property, but shall not be prevented thereby from considering other
evidence on the subject, and exercising his own judgment in respect
thereto. For the purpose of completing this list he is authorized to
summon witnesses, administer oaths to them and subject them to
examination concerning the amount of real estate, its ownership, and
cash value. If the city assessor is unable to discover the owner of any
real estate, he shall nevertheless list the same for taxation and
charge the same against an unknown owner. In case of doubt or dispute
as to ownership of real estate, the taxes shall be levied against the
possessor or possessors thereof. Where it shall appear that there are
separate owners of the land and the improvements thereon, a separate
assessment of the property of each shall be made. If it shall be
discovered by the city assessor, or brought to his attention that any
taxable real estate in the city has escaped listing, it shall be his
duty at once to list and value the same and it shall be the duty of the
city treasurer forthwith to charge against the owner thereof the taxes
due for the current year and for all other years since the original
assessment, and the taxes thus assessed shall be legal and collectible,
and penalties shall be added to the back taxes as if they were assessed
at the time when they should have been assessed.
(c) He shall complete the listing and valuation of
all real estate situated within the city on or before the thirty-first
day of December of each year, and when completed shall authenticate the
same by signing the following certificate at the foot of the list:
"I hereby certify that the
foregoing list contains a true statement of the piece or pieces of
taxable real estate belonging to each person named in the list, and its
true case value, and that no real estate taxable by law in Quezon City
has been omitted from the list, according to the best of my knowledge
and belief.
_________________
"City Assessor"
(d) He shall, when the list is completed, inform the
public notice for seven days in a newspaper of general circulation in
the city, if any, and by notice posted for seven days at the main
entrance of the municipal building, that the list is on file in his
office, and may be examined by any person interested therein, and that
upon the date fixed in the notice, which shall not be later than the
tenth day of January, the city assessor will be in his office for the
purpose of hearing complaints as to the accuracy of the listing of the
property and the assessed value thereof. It shall be his duty carefully
to preserve and record in his office copies of said notices. On the day
fixed in the notice, and for five days thereafter, he shall be present
in his office to hear all complaints filed within that period by
persons against whom taxes have been assessed as owners of real estate,
and he shall make his decision forthwith and enter the same in a
well-bound book, to be kept by him for that purpose, and if he shall
determine that injustice has been done or errors have been committed he
is authorized to amend the list in accordance with his
findings.
(e) He shall attend all meetings of the board of tax
appeals and furnish it with all written evidence in his possession
relating to assessment and valuation. He shall likewise furnish the
city treasurer with a list of taxable real estate, the respective
assessments thereof and against whom assessed, and such other
information as the city treasurer may require for the collection of
taxes.
Section 26. The Board of Tax Appeals. — There
shall be a board of tax appeals, which shall be composed of the members
of the City Council, the Mayor to be chairman thereof.
(a) The members of the board of tax appeals shall,
before organizing as such, take the following oath before the justice
of the peace or some other officer authorized to administer oath:
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm)
that I will well and truly hear and determine all matters and issues
between the city assessor and taxpayer submitted for my decision. So
help me God. (In case of affirmation the last four words to be stricken
out.)
"________________"
(Signature)
"Subscribed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me _________ this
________ day of _______, 19 ____
"___________________________________"
(Signature and title of officer administering oath)
(b) The board of appeals shall meet on the first
Monday after the fifteenth day of January of each year and shall bear
all appeals duly transmitted to it by the filing of written notice, and
shall decide the same forthwith. It shall have authority to cause to be
amended the listing and valuation of the property in respect to which
any complaint is made on order signed by the board or a majority
thereof, and transmit it to the city assessor, who shall amend the tax
list in conformity with said order.
Section 27. Exemptions from Taxation. — Lands or
buildings owned by the United States of America the Commonwealth of the
Philippines, the Quezon City the Province of Rizal, and burying
grounds, churches, and their adjacent parsonages and convents, and
lands or buildings used exclusively for religious, charitable,
scientific, or educational purposes, and not for profit, shall be
exempt from taxation; but such exemption shall not extend to lands or
buildings held for investment, though the income therefrom be devoted
to religious, charitable, scientific, or educational purposes.
Section 28. Taxes on Real Estate. — A tax, the
rate per centum of ad valorem taxation not to exceed two per centum, to
be determined by the city council, shall be levied annually on or
before the second Monday of February on the assessed value of all real
estate in the city subject to taxation. Taxes shall be due and payable
annually on and after the first day of March. If any taxpayer shall
fail to pay the taxes assessed against him on or before the thirtieth
day of June he shall be deemed to be delinquent in such payment and
shall be subject to an additional tax as penalty for such delinquency
graduated as follows: Five per centum on the original amount of the
tax, if the tax remain unpaid after the thirtieth day of June; ten per
centum of the original amount of the tax, if the tax remain unpaid
after the fifteenth day of August following delinquency; and fifteen
per centum of the original amount of the tax it the tax remain unpaid
after the thirtieth day of September following delinquency. The
penalties thus imposed shall be collected and accounted for by the city
treasurer at the same time and in the same manner as the original tax.
Section 29. Taxes on Real Estate — Sale of
Personal Property. — In the event that such tax and penalty shall
remain unpaid on or after the first day of October after the tax has
become delinquent, the city treasurer shall prepare and sign a
certified copy of the records of his office, showing the persons
delinquent in the payment of their taxes and the amounts of tax and
penalty respectively due from them. He shall proceed at once to seize
the personal property of each delinquent, and unless redeemed as
hereinafter provided, to sell at public auction, either at the main
entrance of the municipal building or at the place where such property
is seized, as he shall determine, so much of the same as shall satisfy
the tax, penalty, and cost of seizure and sale, to the highest bidder
for cash, after due advertisement by notice posted stating the time,
place, and cause of sale. The certified copy of the city treasurer's
record of delinquents shall be his warrant for his proceedings, and the
purchaser at such sale shall acquire an indefeasible title to the
property sold. Within two days after the sale the city treasurer shall
make return of his proceedings and spread it upon his records. Any
surplus resulting from the sale, over and above the tax, penalty, and
costs, shall be returned to the taxpayer on account of whose
delinquency the sale has been made. It shall not be essential to the
validity of tax sales of real estate hereunder that the city treasurer
shall have attempted to awake out of the personal property of the
taxpayer the tax due upon his real estate. The remedy provided herein
for the collection of taxes upon real estate by levying upon the
personal property of the taxpayer shall be deemed to be cumulative
only. The owner of the personal property seized may redeem the same
from the collecting officer at any time after seizure and before sale
by tendering to him the amount of the tax, the penalty, and costs
incurred up to the time of tender. The costs to be charged in making
such seizure and sale shall only embrace the actual expense of seizure
and preservation of the property pending the sale, and no charge shall
be imposed for the services of the collecting officer or his deputy.
Section 30. Taxes on Real Estate — Liens — Sale
of Real property. — Taxes and penalties assessed against real property
shall constitute a lien thereon, which lien shall be superior to all
other liens, mortgages, or encumbrances of any kind whatsoever; shall
be enforceable against the property whether in the possession of the
delinquent or any subsequent owner, and can only be removed by the
payment of the tax and penalty. The lien for the taxes shall attach to
the real property from the first day of March of the year in which the
taxes are due. In addition to the last-mentioned procedure the city
treasurer may, upon the warrant of the certified record required in the
last preceding section, on or after the first day of October following
the date of delinquent for sale, or so much thereof as may be necessary
to satisfy all public taxes upon said property as above, and costs of
sale, for a period of thirty days.
The advertisement shall be by posting a notice at the main entrance of
the municipal building and in a public and conspicuous place on or
adjacent to the real estate, and by publication once a week for three
consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation published in
the city, if any there be. The advertisement shall contain a statement
of the amount of the taxes and penalties so due and the time and place
of sale, the name of the taxpayer against whom the taxes are levied,
and a short description of the land to be sold. At any time before the
day fixed for the sale the taxpayer may discontinue all proceedings by
paying the taxes, penalties, and costs to the city treasurer. If he
does not do so the sale shall proceed and shall be held either at the
main entrance of the municipal building or on the premises to be sold,
as the city treasurer may determine. Within five days after the sale
the city treasurer shall make return of the proceedings and spread it
on his records. The purchaser at the sale shall receive a certificate
from the city treasurer from his records, showing the proceedings of
the sale, describing the property sold, stating the name of the
purchaser, and setting out the exact amount of all public taxes,
penalties, and costs. Any surplus remaining after paying all public
taxes, penalties, and costs due, shall be paid to the owner of the
property.
Section 31. Taxes on Real Estate — Redemption of
Reality. — Within one year from the date of sale the delinquent
taxpayer, or anyone for him, shall have the right of paying to the city
treasurer the amount of the public taxes, penalties, and costs together
with interest on said purchase price at the rate of fifteen per centum
per annum from the date of purchase to the date of redemption; and such
payment shall entitle the person paying to the delivery of the
certificate issued to the purchaser and a certificate from the city
treasurer that he has thus redeemed the real estate, and the city
treasurer shall forthwith pay over to the purchaser the amount by which
such land has thus been redeemed and the land thereafter shall be free
from the lien of such taxes and penalties.
In case the taxpayer shall not redeem the real estate sold as above
provided within one year from the date of sale, the city treasurer
shall, as grantor, execute a deed in form and effect sufficient under
the laws of the Commonwealth to convey to the purchaser so much of the
real estate against which the taxes have been assessed as has been
sold, free from all liens of any kind whatsoever, and the deed shall
succinctly recite all the proceedings upon which the validity of the
sale depends.
Section 32. Taxes on Real Estate — Forfeiture of Reality. — In case
there is no bidder at the public sale of such land who offers a sum
sufficient to pay the taxes, penalties, and costs, the city treasurer
shall declare the land forfeited to the city, and shall make, within
two days thereafter, a return of his proceedings and the forfeiture,
which shall be spread upon the records of his office.
Within one year from the date of such forfeiture thus declared the
taxpayer, or anyone for him, may redeem said real estate as above
provided in cases where the land is sold. But, if the land is not thus
redeemed within a year, the forfeiture shall become absolute and the
city treasurer shall execute a deed, similar in form and having the
same effect as the deed required to be made by him in case of a sale,
conveying the land to the city. The deed shall be recorded as required
by law for other land title and shall be filed with the city secretary,
who shall enter it in his record of municipal property.
Section 33. Taxes — Legal Procedure. — (a) The assessment of a tax shall
constitute a lawful indebtedness from the taxpayer to the city which
may be enforced by a civil action in any court of competent
jurisdiction, and this remedy shall be in addition to all other
remedies provided by law.
(b) No court shall entertain any suit assailing the
validity of a tax assessed under this Act until the taxpayer shall have
paid under protest, the taxes assessed against him; nor shall any court
declare any tax invalid by reason of irregularities or informalities in
the proceedings of the officers charged with the assessment or
collection of the taxes, or of a failure to perform their duties within
the time specified for their performance, unless such irregularities,
informalities, or failures shall have impaired the substantial rights
of the taxpayer; nor shall any court declare any tax assessed under the
provisions of this Act invalid except upon condition that the taxpayer
shall pay the just amount of his taxes determined by the court in the
pending proceeding.
(c) No court shall entertain any suit assailing the
validity of a tax sale of land under this Act until the taxpayer shall
have paid into the court the amount for which the land was sold,
together with interest at the rate of fifteen per centum per annum upon
that sum from the date of sale to the time of instituting suit. The
money so paid into court shall belong and shall be delivered to the
purchaser at the tax sale if the deed is declared invalid, and shall be
returned to the depositor, should he fail in his action.
(d) No court shall declare any such sale invalid by
reason of any irregularities or informalities in the proceedings of the
officer charged with the duty of making the sale or by reason of
failure by him to perform his duties within the time herein specified
for their performance, unless such irregularities, informalities, or
failure shall have impaired the substantial rights of the taxpayer.
Section 34. Assembly Districts. — Until
otherwise provided by law, the corresponding territories of Quezon City
belonging at the time of the approval of this Act to the First and
Second Assembly Districts of the Province of Rizal, shall continue to
remain parts of said districts.
Section 35. Effective Date. — This Act shall
take effect on its approval.
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