REPUBLIC ACT NO. 3278 - AN ACT
CREATING THE CITY OF CALOOCAN
Section 1. This Act shall be known as the Charter of the City
of Caloocan.
ARTICLE I
General Provisions
Sec. 2. Territory of the City of Caloocan. — The City
of Caloocan, which is hereby created, shall comprise the present
territorial jurisdiction of the Municipality of Caloocan, in the
Province of Rizal.
Sec. 3. Corporate Character of the City. — The City
of Caloocan constitutes a political body corporate and as such is
endowed with the attribute of perpetual succession and possessed of the
powers which pertain to a municipal corporation, to be exercised in
conformity with the provisions of this Charter.
Sec. 4. Seal and General Powers of the City. — The
city shall have a common seal, and may alter the same at pleasure. It
may take, purchase, receive, hold, lease, convey, and dispose of real
and personal property for the general interest of the city, condemn
private property for public use, contract and be contracted with, sue
and be sued, prosecute and defend to final judgment and execution suits
wherein said city is a party, and exercise all the powers hereinafter
conferred.
Sec. 5. The City not liable for damages. — The city
shall not be liable or held for damages or injuries to persons or
property arising from the failure of the Municipal Board, the Mayor or
any other city officer or employee to enforce the provisions of this
Charter, or of any other law or ordinance, or from the negligence of
said Municipal Board, Mayor or other city officers or employees while
enforcing or attempting to enforce the provisions thereof.
Sec. 6. Jurisdiction of the City. — The jurisdiction
of the City of Caloocan for police purposes only shall be co-extensive
with its territorial jurisdiction and for the purpose of protecting and
insuring the purity of the water supply of the city, such police
jurisdiction shall also extend over all territory within the drainage
area of such water supply, or within one hundred meters of any
reservoir, conduit, canal, aqueduct or pumping station used in
connection with the city water service. The Municipal Court of the city
shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the justice of the peace courts
or municipal court of the respective municipalities or cities, or try
crimes and misdemeanors committed within said drainage area, or within
said spaces of one hundred meters. The court first taking jurisdiction
of such an offense shall thereafter retain exclusive jurisdiction
thereof. The police force 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.
ARTICLE II
The Mayor and the Vice-Mayor
Sec. 7. The Mayor. — The Mayor shall be the chief
executive of the city. He shall be elected at large by the qualified
voters of the city. No person shall be eligible for the position of
Mayor unless at the time of the election he is at least twenty-five
years of age, a resident of the city for at least two years prior to
his election, and a qualified voter therein. He shall hold office for
four years, unless sooner removed, and shall receive a salary of nine
thousand six hundred pesos per annum. The Municipal Board may
appropriate such sum of money as may be necessary for the house
allowance of the Mayor, not to exceed two hundred pesos monthly, or
commute the same in addition to his salary.
Sec. 8. The Vice-Mayor. — There shall be elected a
Vice-Mayor who shall be the presiding officer of the Municipal Board.
The Vice-Mayor shall be elected in the same manner as the Mayor and
shall at the time of his election possess the same qualifications as
the Mayor. He shall receive a salary of six thousand pesos per annum.
The Vice-Mayor shall perform the duties and exercise the powers of the
Mayor in the event of the latter's sickness, absence or other temporary
incapacity to discharge the powers and duties of his office. In the
event of a permanent vacancy in the office of the Mayor, the Vice-Mayor
shall become Mayor for the completion of the unexpired term. If the
Vice-Mayor is temporarily incapacitated for the performance of his
official duties, or is serving as Acting Mayor, the member of the
Municipal Board who received the highest number of votes in the last
election shall serve as Acting Vice-Mayor; and in the event of such
inability of the elected Mayor, the Vice-Mayor is, for any reason,
temporarily incapacitated for the performance of the duties of the
Mayor, or the office of the Vice-Mayor is vacant, the member of the
Board who received the highest number of votes in the last election,
shall serve as Acting Mayor and while so serving shall not perform any
duty as members of the Board. In such event, the remaining members of
the Board shall elect from among themselves the presiding officer.
Whenever the Vice-Mayor performs the duties and exercises the powers of
the Mayor, he automatically ceases to be the presiding officer of the
Municipal Board. Where a member of the Municipal Board exercises the
functions of the Vice-Mayor, said member ceases to take part in the
deliberations of the Board except to preside. For service as Acting
Mayor or Acting Vice-Mayor, the Vice-Mayor or member of the Board shall
receive a total compensation equivalent to the salary of the Mayor or
Vice-Mayor as the case may be, during the period of such service.
The Vice-Mayor shall perform such other duties as may be assigned to
him by the Mayor or prescribed by law or ordinance.
Sec. 9. General powers and duties of the Mayor. — The
Mayor shall have immediate control over the executive and
administrative functions of the different departments of the city,
subject to the supervision of the President of the Philippines. He
shall have the following general powers and duties:
(a) To comply with and enforce and give the necessary
orders for the faithful enforcement and execution of the provisions of
this Charter and other laws and ordinances in effect within the
jurisdiction of the city;
(b) To safeguard all the lands, buildings, records,
moneys, credits, and other properties and rights of the city, and,
subject to the provisions of this Charter, have control over all its
property;
(c) To see that all taxes and other revenues of the
city are collected, and applied in accordance with appropriations to
the payment of the municipal expenses;
(d) To cause to be instituted judicial proceedings to
recover property and funds of the city wherever found, to cause to be
defended all suits against the city, and otherwise to protect the
interests of the city;
(e) To see that the executive officers and employees
of the city properly discharge their respective duties;
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 whenever occasion arises;
(g) To give such information and recommend such
measures to the Board as he shall deem advantageous to the city;
(h) To attend, if he wishes to do so, either in
person or by a duly authorized representative, the sessions of the
Board and participate in its discussions, but not to vote;
(i) To represent the city in all its business matters
and sign in its behalf all its bonds, contracts, and obligations made
in accordance with laws and ordinances;
( j ) To submit to the Municipal Board at least two
months before the beginning of the ensuing fiscal year a budget of
receipts and expenditures of the city;
(k) To receive, hear, and decide as he may deem
proper the petitions, complaints, and claims of the residents
concerning all classes of municipal matters of an administrative and
executive character;
(l) To grant or refuse municipal licenses or permits
of all classes and to revoke the same for violation of the conditions
upon which they were granted, or if acts prohibited by law or municipal
ordinance are being committed under the protection of such licenses or
in the premises in which the business for which the same has been
granted is carried on, or for any other good reason of general interest;
(m) To exempt, with the concurrence of the
superintendent of city schools, deserving poor pupils from the payment
of school fees or of any part thereof;
(n) To take such emergency measures as may be
necessary to avoid fires and floods and to mitigate the effects of
storms and other public calamities;
(o) The provisions of any existing law to the
contrary notwithstanding, to conduct administrative investigation of
members of the city police department: Provided, That the power to
conduct the investigation granted herein may be delegated to any
ranking official of the city, or to a special committee or board, the
members of which shall be designated by the Mayor;
(p) To request, if public interest and safety so
require, the assistance of the Philippine Constabulary and other police
agencies in maintaining peace and order in the city, and only in such
cases of specific request made can the Philippine Constabulary or other
police agencies intervene in the preservation of peace and order; and
(q) To perform such other duties and exercise such
other executive powers as may be prescribed by law or ordinance.
Sec. 10. Secretary to the Mayor. — The Mayor shall
appoint one secretary who shall hold office at the pleasure of the
Mayor and who shall receive a compensation of six thousand pesos per
annum.
The secretary shall have the rank of a department head and shall have
charge and custody of all records and documents of the city and of any
office or department thereof for which provision is not otherwise made,
shall keep the corporate seal and affix the same with 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 nature and
charge twenty centavos for each one hundred words including the
certificate, the fees to be paid directly to the city treasurer. He
shall also perform such duties as are required by the heads of
departments of the city government by Section eighteen hereof, and such
other duties as the mayor may require of him. The position of the
secretary shall be regarded as within the unclassified civil service
but may be filled in the manner in which classified positions are
filled, and if so filled, the appointee shall be entitled to all the
benefits and privileges of classified employees, except that he holds
office only during the term of the appointing Mayor and until a
successor in the office of the secretary is appointed and qualified,
unless sooner separated.
ARTICLE III
The Municipal Board
Sec. 11. Constitution and organization of the
Municipal Board — Compensation of members thereof . — The Municipal
Board shall be the legislative body of the city and shall be composed
of the Vice-Mayor, who shall be its presiding officer, and eight
councilors who shall be elected at large by the qualified voters of the
city during every election for provincial and municipal officials in
accordance with the provisions of the Revised Election Code. The
Vice-Mayor shall have no right to vote except in case of a tie.
In case of sickness, absence, suspension or other temporary disability
of any member of the Board, or if necessary to maintain quorum, the
President of the Philippines may appoint a temporary substitute, who
shall possess all the rights and perform all the duties of a member of
the Board until the return to duty of the regular incumbent.
The members of the Municipal Board shall receive a salary of four
thousand eight hundred pesos each per annum.
Sec. 12. Qualifications, election, suspension and
removal of members. — The members of the Municipal Board shall at the
time of their election, be qualified electors of the city, residents
thereof for at least two years immediately prior to their election and
not less than twenty-three years of age. Such members may be suspended
or removed from office under the same circumstances, in the same
manner, and with the same effect, as elective provincial officers, and
the provisions of law governing the suspension or removal of elective
provincial officers are hereby made applicable in the suspension or
removal of said members.
Elections for members of the Board shall be held on the date of the
regular election for provincial and municipal offices, and elected
members shall assume office on the first day of January next following
their election, upon qualifying, and shall hold office for four years
and until their successors shall have been duly elected and qualified.
The eight candidates receiving the greatest number of votes shall be
declared elected.
A vacancy in the Municipal Board shall be filled in accordance with the
provisions of the Revised Election Code.
Sec. 13. Secretary of the Board. — The Board shall
have a secretary, who shall be elected by it to serve during the term
of office of the members. A vacancy in the office of secretary shall be
filled temporarily or for the unexpired term in like manner.
The secretary shall be in charge of the records of the Municipal Board.
He shall keep a full record of the proceedings of the Board, and file
all documents relating thereto; shall record, in a book kept for that
purpose, all ordinances, and all resolutions and motions directing the
payment of money or creating liability enacted or adopted by the Board,
with the dates of passage of the same and of the publication of
ordinances; shall keep a seal, circular in form with the inscription
"Municipal Board — City of Caloocan," in the center of which shall be
placed the arms of the city, and affix the same, with his signature, to
all ordinances and other official acts of the Board, and shall present
the same for signature to the presiding officer; and 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 and charge twenty centavos for
each one hundred words including the certificate, the fees to be paid
directly to the city treasurer; and shall keep his office and all
records therein which are not of a confidential nature open to public
inspection during usual business hours. The compensation of the
secretary shall be fixed by the Board at not exceeding four thousand
eight hundred pesos per annum.
Sec. 14. Method of transacting business by the Board
— Veto — Authentication and publication of ordinances. — The Board
shall hold two ordinary sessions for the transaction of business during
each week on days which it shall fix by resolution, and such
extraordinary sessions, as may be called by the Mayor or upon request
of four members of the Board. It shall sit with open doors, unless
otherwise ordered by the affirmative vote of a majority of all the
members. It shall keep a record of all its proceedings and determine
its rule of procedure not herein set forth. A majority of all the
members of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of
business, but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day and may
compel the immediate attendance of any member who is absent without
good cause by issuing to the police of the city an order for his arrest
and production at the session under such penalties as shall have been
previously prescribed by ordinance. The affirmative vote of a majority
of all the members shall be necessary for the passage of any ordinance,
or of any resolution or motion directing the payment of money or
creating liability, but any other measure shall prevail upon the
majority vote of the members present at any session duly called and
held. The ayes and nays shall be taken and recorded upon the passage of
all ordinances, upon all resolutions or motions directing the payment
of money or creating liability, and at the request of any member, upon
any other resolution or motion. Each approved ordinance, resolution or
motion shall be sealed with the seal of the Municipal Board, signed by
the presiding officer and the secretary of the Board and recorded in a
book kept for the purpose, and shall, on the day following its passage,
be posted by the secretary at the main entrance of the city hall, and
in at least two other public places, and shall take effect and be in
force on and after the tenth day following its passage unless otherwise
stated in said ordinance, resolution or motion, or vetoed by the Mayor
as hereinafter provided. A vetoed ordinance, if repassed, shall take
effect ten days after the veto is overridden by the required votes
unless otherwise stated in the ordinance, resolution or motion or again
disapproved by the Mayor within said time.
Each ordinance enacted by the Board, and each resolution or motion
directing the payment of money or creating liability, shall be
forwarded to the Mayor for his approval. Within ten days after the
receipt of the ordinance, resolution or motion, the Mayor shall return
it with his approval or veto. If he does not return it within that
time, it shall be deemed to be approved. If the returns it with his
veto, his reasons therefor in writing shall accompany it. It may then
again be enacted by a two-thirds vote of all the members of the Board,
and again forwarded to the Mayor for his approval, and if within ten
days after its receipt he does not again return it with his veto, it
shall be deemed to be approved. If within said time he again returns it
with his veto, it shall be forwarded forthwith to the President of the
Philippines for his approval or disapproval, which shall be
final.
The Mayor shall have the power to veto any particular item or items of
an appropriation ordinance, or of an ordinance, resolution or motion
directing the payment of money or creating liability, but the veto
shall not affect the item or items to which he does not object. The
item or items objected to shall not take effect except in the manner
heretofore provided in this section as to ordinances, resolutions or
motions returned to the Board with his veto; but should an item or
items in an appropriation ordinance be disapproved by the Mayor, the
corresponding item or items in the appropriation ordinance of the
previous year shall be deemed reenacted unless otherwise expressly
directed in the veto.
Sec. 15. General powers and duties of the Board. —
Except as otherwise provided by law, and subject to the conditions and
limitations thereof, the Municipal Board shall have the following
legislative powers:
(a) To provide for the levy and collection of taxes
for general and special purposes in accordance with law including
specifically the power to levy real property tax not to exceed two per
centum ad valorem;
(b) To make all appropriations for the expenses of
the government of the city;
(c) To fix the number and salaries of officials and
employees of the city not otherwise provided for in this Act: Provided,
That the rate thereof shall not exceed the maximum salary provided by
subsisting salary laws and orders issued by the President;
(d) To authorize the free distribution of medicine to
the employees and laborers of the city whose salary or wage does not
exceed one hundred and twenty pesos per month or four 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;
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
instruction therein and to acquire sites for school houses for primary
and intermediate classes through purchases or conditional or absolute
donation;
(h) To establish or 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, to fix reasonable tuition fees for instruction in the
vocational schools and in the institutions of higher learning supported
by the city;
(i) To provide for and maintain an efficient police
force for the maintenance of law and order in the city, and make all
necessary police ordinances, with a view to the confinement and
reformation of vagrants, disorderly persons, mendicants, prostitutes
and persons convicted of violating any of the ordinances of the city;
( j ) To maintain the municipal court established by
law which shall have jurisdiction of all criminal cases under the
ordinances of the city, and such further jurisdiction as may be herein
or hereafter conferred;
(k) To provide for and maintain a city fire
department and to establish and maintain engine houses, fire engines,
hose trucks, hooks and ladders, and other equipment for the prevention
and extinguishment of fires, and to regulate the management and use of
the same;
(l) To establish fire zones, determine the kinds of
buildings or structures that may be erected within their limits,
regulate the manner of constructing and repairing the same, 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 the
use of firecrackers, fireworks, torpedoes, candles, skyrockets, and
other pyrotechnic displays, and to fix the fees for such permits;
(n) To make regulations to protect the public from
conflagrations, to prevent and mitigate the effects of famine, flood
storms and other public calamities, and provide relief for victims
thereof;
(o) To tax, regulate and fix the amount of the
license fees for the following: hawkers, peddlers, hucksters, not
including hucksters or peddlers who sell only native vegetables,
fruits, or foods personally carried by the hucksters or peddlers;
barbers, collecting agencies, manicurists, hair dressers, tattooers,
jugglers, acrobats, wrestlers, boxers, pelotaris and jockeys; shooting
galleries, slot machines, 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, medical practitioners, land surveyors, architects,
public accountants, civil, electrical, chemical, mechanical, or mining
engineers, radio engineers or technicians, veterinarians, dental
surgeons, opticians and optometrists, insurance agents and sub-agents,
business agents and business consultants, professional appraisers or
connoisseurs of tobacco or other domestic or foreign products, music
teachers, piano tuners, nurses and midwives, auctioneers, plumbers,
electrical contractors, building contractors, massagists, physical
culture instructors, chiropodists, money changers, real estate,
commercial and other brokers, and persons engaged in the transportation
of passengers or freight by hire, and/or transportation companies and
their agencies, including common carriers and transportation
contractors: Provided, That persons exercising their profession 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, boarding 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 sub-letting 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, circuses and other similar parades, public vehicles,
public ferries, race tracks, horse races, dog races, 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 conflagration or explosions, and, subject to the
provisions of rules and regulations issued by the Department of Health
in accordance with law, taneries, renderies, tallow chandleries, bone
factories, and soap factories; t
(q) To tax, regulate and fix the license fees on
printers bookbinders or both, tailor shops, milliners, manufacturers of
jewelry, embroideries, sail, or awnings or both, rope, paper, leather
goods, including shoes, slippers, sandals, harnesses, and valises or
bags, sporting goods, rubber goods, plastics and celluloid products,
hardware including glasswares and tinwares, ceramics, and cement
products, 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, and buttons. t
Manufacturers above-mentioned shall not be subject to the payment of
any municipal tax or license fee as retail dealers of their own
products;
(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 term "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 intoxicating liquor, whether imported
or locally manufactured, alcoholic or malt beverages, wines, and mixed
or fermented liquors, including tuba, basi, and tapuy 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 the 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 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, and for the
maintenance and preservation of peace and good 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 the penalty incurred, and the cost of the proceedings; and to
impose penalties upon the owners of said animals for the violation of
any ordinance in relation thereto;
(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 quality, width and grade, and subject to his
supervision and approval, providing 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 Caloocan 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 non-payment of said annual tax;
(bb) To regulate the inspection, weighing, and
measuring of brick, lumber, coal and other articles or
merchandise;
(cc) Subject to the provisions of existing law, to
provide for the laying out, construction and improvement, and to
regulate the use of streets, avenues, alleys, sidewalks, wharves,
piers, parks, cemeteries, and other public places; to provide for
lighting, cleaning, and sprinkling of streets and public places; to
regulate, fix license fees for and prohibit the use of the same for
processions, signs, signposts, awnings, awning posts, and the carrying
or displaying of banners, placards, advertisements, or hand bills, or
the flying of signs, flags, or banners whether along, across, over or
from 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 street
and other public places an to provide for the collection and
disposition thereof; to provide for the inspection of, fix the license
fees for and regulate the openings in the same for the laying of gas,
water, sewer and other pipes, the building and repair of tunnels,
sewers, and drains, and all structures in and under the same and the
erecting of poles and the stringing of wires therein; to provide for
and regulate cross-walks, curbs, and gutters therein; to name streets
without a name and provide for and regulate the numbering of houses and
lots fronting thereon or in the interior of the blocks; to regulate
traffic and sales upon the streets and other public places; to provide
for the abatement of nuisances in the same and punish the authors or
owners thereof; to provide for the construction and maintenance, and
regulate the use, of bridges, viaducts, and culverts; to prohibit and
regulate ball playing, kite-flying, hoop rolling, and other amusements
which may annoy persons using the streets and public places, or
frighten horses or other animals; to prohibit and regulate the
operation of human powered vehicles; to regulate the speed of horse and
other animal driven vehicles, and locomotives within the limits of the
city; to regulate the lights used on all such vehicles and locomotives;
to regulate the locating, constructing, and laying of the track of
horse, electric, and other forms of railroad in the streets or other
public places of the city authorized by law; to provide for and change
the location, grade and crossing of railroad, and compel any such
railroad to raise or lower its tracks to conform to such provisions or
changes; and to require railroad companies to fence their property, or
any part thereof, to provide suitable protection against injury to
persons or property, and to construct and repair ditches, drains,
sewers, and culverts along and under their tracks, so that the natural
drainage of the streets and adjacent property shall not be obstructed;
(dd) To provide for the construction and maintenance
of, and regulate the navigation on canals and watercourses within the
city and provide for the cleansing and purification of the same; 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;
(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 Department of Health in accordance with law, to provided for the
establishment and maintenance and to fix the fees for the use of, and
regulate public stables, laundries, and baths, and public markets and
to prohibit or permit by license granted upon such terms as shall be
fixed by the Board, the establishment or operation within the city
limits of 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 other 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 and 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 have not been fixed by national law; to
regulate and provide for the inspection of all gas, electric and
telephone conduits, mains, meters, and other apparatus, and provide for
the condemnation, substitution or removal of the same when defective or
dangerous;
( jj) To declare, prevent, and provide for the
abatement of nuisances; to regulate the ringing of bells and the making
of loud or unusual noises; to provide that owners, agents, or tenants
of buildings or premises keep and maintain the same in sanitary
condition, and that, in case of failure to do so within sixty days from
the date of written notice is served, the city health officer shall
cause the same to be kept in a sanitary condition, and the cost thereof
to be assessed against the owner to the extent of not to exceed sixty
per centum of the assessed value, which 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, for display by electric signs
or the erection or maintenance of billboards or structures of whatever
materials erected, maintained, or used for the display of posters,
signs, or other pictorial or reading matter, except sings 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 the rules and
regulations issued by the Department of Health, and by ordinance to
prescribe penalties for violation of such rules and regulations;
(ll) For the purpose of protecting and insuring the
purity of the water supply of the city, to extend its ordinances over
all territory within the drainage area of such water supply, and within
one hundred meters of any reservoir, 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
lights 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 fix the date of the holding of a fiesta in
the city not oftener than once a year and to alter, not oftener than
once in three years, the date fixed for the celebration thereof; and
(pp) To enact all ordinances it may deem necessary
and proper for the sanitation and safety, the furtherance of the
prosperity, and the promotion of the morality, peace, good order,
comfort, convenience, and general welfare of the city and its
inhabitants, and such other as may be necessary to carry into effect
and discharge the powers and duties conferred by this Charter; and to
fix penalties for the violation of ordinances, which shall not exceed a
two hundred-peso fine or six months imprisonment, or both such fine and
imprisonment for a single offense.
Sec. 16. 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 should consider
any sign, signboard or billboard displayed or exposed to public views
as offensive to the sight or is otherwise a nuisance, he may order the
removal of such sign, signboard or billboard, and if same is not
removed within ten days after he has issued such order, he may himself
cause its removal, and the sign, signboard, or billboard shall
thereupon be forfeited to the city and the expense incident to the
removal of the same shall become a lawful charge against any person or
property liable for the erection or display thereof.
ARTICLE IV
Department and Offices of the City
Sec. 17. City Departments. — There shall be the
following city departments over which the Mayor shall have direct
control and supervision, any existing law to the contrary
notwithstanding:
1. Department of Finance
2. Department of Engineering and Public Works
3. Law Department
4. Department of Health
5. Police Department
6. Fire Department
7. Department of Assessment
The Municipal Board may from time to time make such readjustment of the
duties of the several departments as the public interest may demand,
and, with the approval of the President, may consolidate any
department, division or office of the city with any other department,
division or office.
Sec. 18. Powers and duties of heads of departments. —
Each head of department of the city government shall have 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 opening of each fiscal year, he shall prepare
and present to the Mayor an estimate of the appropriation necessary for
the operation of his department during the ensuing fiscal year, and
shall submit therewith such information for purposes of comparison as
the Mayor may desire. He shall submit to the Mayor as often as required
reports covering the operation of his department.
In case of the absence or sickness, or inability to act for any other
reason, of the head of one of the city departments, or in case of
temporary vacancy, the officer next in rank of that department shall
perform the duties of the department head concerned.
Sec. 19. Appointment and removal of officials and
employees. — The President of the Philippines shall appoint, with the
consent of the Commission on Appointments, the judges and auxiliary
judges of the municipal court, the city treasurer, the city engineer,
the city fiscal and his assistants, the city health officer, the chief
of police, the chief of the fire department, the city assessor, the
city superintendent of schools, 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 cause provided by law.
All other officers and employees of the city whose appointments are not
otherwise provided for by law shall be appointed by the Mayor upon
recommendation of the corresponding city department head in accordance
with the Civil Service Law, and they shall be suspended or removed in
accordance with said law.
Sec. 20. Full time duty. — Each city officer, except
members of the Municipal Board, shall devote his time and attention
exclusively during the usual office hours to the
duties of this office, and such members shall attend the regular
sessions of the Board. No city officer shall hold more than one office
unless expressly so provided by law. But this section shall not apply
to other persons discharging public duties in the city under the
National Government who receive no compensation for their services.
Sec. 21. Officers not to engaged 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, or which shall be sold for taxes or assessment, or by virtue
of legal process at the suit of the city; or to be surety for any
person having a contract or doing business with the city, for the
performance of which security may be required; or to be surety on the
official bond of any officer of the city, and shall not be financially
interested in any transaction or contract in which the National
Government or any subdivision or instrumentality thereof is an
interested party.
ARTICLE V
Relation to Bureaus and Offices
Sec. 22. The General Auditing Office. — The Auditor
General shall receive and audit all accounts of the city, in accordance
with the provisions of law relating to Government accounts and
accounting. The city auditor shall be appointed by the Auditor General
and shall receive a salary of seven thousand two hundred pesos per
annum, one-half of which is to be paid by the National Government and
the other half by the city.
Sec. 23. The Bureaus of Public Schools. — The
Director of Public Schools shall exercise the same jurisdiction and
powers in the city as elsewhere in the Philippines, and the city
superintendent of schools shall have all the powers and duties in
respect to the schools of the city as are vested in division
superintendents in respect to the schools of their division: Provided,
That the operational expenses of primary and intermediate schools shall
be borne by the National Government.
Sec. 24. Reports to the Mayor concerning schools. —
The city superintendent of schools shall make a quarterly report of the
conditions of the schools and school buildings of the city to the
Mayor, and such recommendations as seem to him wise relative to
improving the schools or school buildings in the city.
ARTICLE VI
Department of Finance
Sec. 25. The City Treasurer — His powers and duties.
— There shall be a city treasurer who shall have charge of the
department of finance and shall act as chief fiscal officer and
financial adviser of the city and custodian of its funds. He shall
receive a salary of seven thousand two hundred pesos per annum. He
shall have the following general powers and duties:
(a) He shall collect all taxes due the city, all
licenses authorized by law or ordinance, all rents due for lands,
markets and other property owned by the city, and all further charges
or fees of whatever nature fixed by law or ordinance; shall administer
public markets and slaughterhouses, and shall receive and issue
receipts for all costs, fees, fines and forfeitures imposed by the
municipal court;
(b) He shall collect all miscellaneous charges made
by the engineering department and by the other departments of the city
government, and all charges made by the city engineer for inspections,
permits, licenses, and the installations, maintenance, and services
rendered in the operation of the private privy system;
(c) He shall, any provision of existing law to the
contrary notwithstanding, be a deputy of the Commissioner of Internal
Revenue, and as such, he shall, by himself or deputies, collect and
receive, and issue receipts for, all taxes and charges imposed by the
Government of the Republic of the Philippines upon persons or property
in the city, and shall, in accordance with law and regulations, deposit
such collections in any depository of the Government, and dispose of
the same as provided by law: Provided, That the duty and responsibility
of collecting the delinquent national internal revenue taxes in the
city and the enforcement therein of all laws falling within the
jurisdiction of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, including in particular
the provisions of Chapter II, Title IX, of Commonwealth Act Numbered
Four hundred sixty-six, shall devolve exclusively on the collection
agent and/or other internal revenue officers of the said Bureau.
As deputy of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, the city treasurer
and his deputies shall have power to administer oaths and to take
testimony in any official matter or investigation conducted by them
touching any matter within the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Internal
Revenue;
(d) Unless otherwise specifically provided by law or
resolution, he shall perform in and for the city the duties imposed by
law or resolution upon provincial treasurers in general as well as
other duties imposed upon him by law;
(e) He shall purchase and issue all supplies,
materials, equipment or other property required by the city, through
the purchasing agent, or otherwise, as may be authorized, subject to
the general provisions of law relating thereto: Provided, That the city
treasurer may effect in the city or elsewhere the purchase, without
public bidding, of supplies and materials in an amount not exceeding
five hundred pesos, or of equipment in the value of not exceeding one
thousand pesos, after a canvass of the market is made by him or his
representative to obtain the lowest available price therefor, or a
similar purchase of supplies and materials in an amount exceeding five
hundred pesos, or of equipment in the value of more than one thousand
pesos, but not exceeding five thousand pesos in each case, after a
canvass of the prices is made by the City Mayor and the city treasurer
or their representatives: And provided, further, That where the needed
equipment costs more than five thousand pesos per unit, and the same is
procurable only from a sole dealer, distributor or importer, or other
source, the purchase thereof by the city without public bidding is also
hereby authorized, the provision of existing law or order to the
contrary notwithstanding, provided that the price to be paid therefor
is approved by the City Committee on Award created under Republic Act
Numbered Twenty-two hundred and sixty-four, and certified by the Bureau
of Supply Coordination as the lowest and most advantageous to the city;
He shall be accountable for all funds and
property of the city and shall render such accounts in connection
therewith as may be prescribed by the Auditor General;
(g) He shall deposit daily all city funds and
collections, as are not needed in the current transactions in his
office, in any bank duly designated as Government depository;
(h) He shall disburse the funds of the city in
accordance with duly authorized appropriations, upon properly executed
vouchers bearing the approval of the chief of the department concerned,
and on or before the twenty-fifth day of each month he shall furnish
the Mayor and the Municipal Board, for their information, a statement
of the appropriations, expenditures, and balances of all funds and
accounts as of the last day of month preceding; and
(i) He shall be the ex-officio local civil register
of the city in charge of the issuance of the marriage license required
by law to be issued before the solemnization of marriage. In this
capacity, it shall be the duty of the city treasurer or his authorized
deputy to (1) prepare the documents as are required by law in
connection with the issuance of the marriage license and (2) administer
oaths, free of charge, to all interested parties.
Sec. 26. The Assistant City Treasurer. — There shall
be an assistant city treasurer who shall assist the city treasurer in
the discharge of his official duties. He shall perform such other
duties as may be imposed upon him by the city treasurer or prescribed
by law or ordinance. He shall be appointed by the Mayor upon the
recommendation of the city treasurer and subject to the approval of the
Secretary of Finance.
The assistant city treasurer shall have authority to administer oaths
concerning notices and notifications to those delinquent in the payment
of the real estate taxes and concerning official matters relating the
city treasury or otherwise arising in the offices of the city treasurer
and the city assessor.
ARTICLE VII
Department of Engineering and Public Works
Sec. 27. The City Engineer — His powers and duties. —
There shall be a city engineer who shall have charge of the department
of engineering and public works. He shall receive a salary of seven
thousand two hundred pesos per annum. He shall have the following
powers and duties:
(a) He shall have charge of all the surveying and
engineering works of the city, care, cleaning and sprinkling of
streets, canals and esteros, parks and public grounds, bridges,
recreation and playgrounds, and shall perform such services in
connection with public improvements, or any work entered upon or
projected by the city, or any department thereof, as may require the
skill and experience of a civil engineer;
(b) He shall ascertain, record, and establish
monuments of the city survey and from thence extend the surveys of the
city, and locate, establish, and survey all city property, and also
private property abutting on the same, whenever directed by the Mayor;
(c) He shall prepare and submit plans, maps,
specifications and estimates for buildings, streets, bridges, docks,
and other public works, and supervise the construction and repair of
the same;
(d) He shall make such tests and inspection of
engineering materials used in construction and repair as may be
necessary to protect the city from the use of materials of a poor or
dangerous quality;
(e) He shall have the care of all public buildings,
when erected, including markets and slaughterhouses and all buildings
rented for city purposes, and of any system nor or hereafter
established by the city for lighting the streets, public places, or
public buildings;
He shall have the care of all public streets,
parks, and bridges, and shall maintain and regulate the use of the same
for all purposes as provided for by ordinance;
(g) He shall prevent the encroachment of private
buildings and fences on the streets and public places of the city;
(h) He shall have the care and custody of the public
systems of waterworks and sewers, and all sources of water supply, and
shall control, maintain, and regulate the use of the same, in
accordance with the ordinance relating thereto; shall inspect and
regulate the use of all private systems for supplying water to the city
and its inhabitants, and all private sewers and their connections with
the public sewers systems;
(i) He shall supervise the laying of mains and
connections for the purpose of supplying gas to the inhabitants of the
city;
( j) He shall inspect and report upon the conditions
of public property and public works whenever required by the Mayor;
(k) He shall supervise and regulate the location and
use of engines, boilers, forges, and other manufacturing and heating
appliances in accordance with the law and ordinance relating thereto.
He is authorized to charge fees, at rates to be fixed by the Municipal
Board, for the sanitation and transportation services and supplies
furnished by his department;
(l) He shall inspect and supervise the construction,
repair, removal, and safety of private buildings, and regulated and
enforce the numbering of houses in accordance with the ordinances of
the city;
(m) With the previous approval of the Mayor in each
case, he shall order the removal of buildings and structures erected in
violation of the ordinances; shall order the removal of materials
employed in the construction or repair of any building or structure
made in violation of said ordinances; and shall cause buildings and
structures dangerous to the public to be made secure or torn down; and
(n) He shall file and preserve all maps, plans,
notes, surveys ad other papers and documents pertaining to his
office.
Sec. 28. Execution of authorized public works and
improvements. — The city is hereby authorized to undertake and carry
out any public works projects or improvements, financed by the city
funds or any other fund borrowed from or advanced by private third
parties under the supervision of the city engineer, without the
intervention of the Department of Public Works and Communications. The
approval of the plans and specifications thereof by the City Mayor and
the city engineer, with the favorable recommendation of the Municipal
Board, shall constitute sufficient warrant for the undertaking and
execution of said projects or improvements. The city may, however,
consult if it so desires, the Department of Public Works and
Communications in connection with the preparation of the plans and
specifications for the city public works projects. The city is likewise
authorized to execute public works projects either by administration or
by contracts under the usual bidding procedure of the government:
Provided, That in the case where expenditure of public funds is not
involved, public bidding may be dispensed with.
ARTICLE VIII
Law Department
Sec. 29. The City Fiscal — His powers and duties. —
There shall be a city fiscal who shall be the chief of the law
department of the city, an assistant city fiscal who shall be the
assistant chief, and two assistant fiscal who shall discharge their
duties under the general supervision of the Secretary of Justice. The
city fiscal shall be the chief legal adviser of the city and all
offices and departments thereof. He shall have the following powers and
duties:
(a) He shall, personally or through any assistant,
represent the city in all civil cases wherein the city or any officer
thereof, in his official capacity, is a party; and shall prosecute and
defend all civil actions related to or connected with any city office
or interest;
(b) He shall, when directed by the Mayor, institute,
and prosecute in the city's interest a suit on any bond, lease, or
contract, and upon any breach or violation thereof.
(c) He shall, when requested, attend meetings of the
Board, draw ordinances, contracts, bonds, leases, and other instruments
involving any interest of the city, and inspect and pass upon any such
instruments already drawn;
(d) He shall give his opinion in writing, when
requested by the Mayor or the Board or any of the heads of the city
departments, upon any question relating to the city or the rights, or
duties of any city officer thereof;
(e) He shall, whenever it is brought to his knowledge
that any city officer or employee is guilty of neglect or misconduct in
office, or that any person, firm, or corporation holding or exercising
any franchise or public privilege from the city, has failed to comply
with any condition, or to pay consideration mentioned in the grant of
such franchise or privilege, investigate or cause to be investigated
the same and report to the Mayor; t
He shall have charge of the prosecution of all
crimes, misdemeanors, and violations of the laws and city ordinances,
triable in the municipal court of the city or the Court of First
Instance and shall discharge all the duties in respect to criminal
prosecutions as are enjoined by law upon provincial fiscals;
(g) He shall cause to be investigated all charges of
crimes, misdemeanors, and violations of laws and city ordinances
brought to his knowledge, and have the necessary informations or
complaints prepared or made against the accused. He or any of his
assistants may conduct such investigations by taking oral evidence of
reputed witnesses, and for this purpose may issue subpoena to summon
witnesses to appear and testify under oath before him, and subpoena
duces tecum for the production of documents and other evidence. The
attendance of an absent or recalcitrant witness may be enforced by
application for a warrant of arrest to the municipal court or to the
Court of First Instance;
(h) He shall also cause to be investigated the cause
of sudden deaths which have not been satisfactorily explained and when
there is suspicion that the cause arose from the unlawful acts or
omissions of other persons, or from foul play. For that purpose, he may
cause autopsies to be made in case it is deemed necessary and shall be
entitled to demand and receive for the purpose of such investigations
or autopsies the aid of the city health officer, or, subject to the
rules and conditions previously established by the Secretary of
Justice, that of the medico-legal section of the National Bureau of
Investigation. In case the city fiscal deems it necessary to have
further expert assistance for the satisfactory performance of his
duties in relation which medico-legal matters or knowledge, including
the giving of medical testimony in the courts of justice, he shall
request the same, in the same manner and subject to the same rules and
conditions as above specified, from the medico-legal officer of the
said Bureau who shall thereupon furnish the assistance required, in
accordance with his powers and facilities;
(i) He shall at all times render such official
services as the Mayor or the Municipal Board may require, and shall
have such powers and perform such duties as may be prescribed by law or
ordinance; and
( j) He shall perform the duties prescribed by law
for register of deeds, until a regular register of deeds shall have
been appointed, or another official designated by the Secretary of
Justice to act temporarily as register of deeds for the city.
Sec. 30. Compensation of City Fiscal and his
Assistants. — The city fiscal and his assistants shall receive the
salaries hereinafter set forth, which shall be paid by the City of
Caloocan:
(a) City Fiscal, seven thousand two hundred pesos per
annum;
(b) Assistant city fiscal, six thousand pesos per
annum;
(c) One assistant fiscal, five thousand four hundred
pesos per annum; and
(d) One assistant fiscal, four thousand eight hundred
pesos per annum.
ARTICLE IX
Department of Health
Sec. 31. 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 of seven thousand
two hundred pesos per annum. 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 the public health;
(c) He shall recommend to the Municipal Board the
passage of such ordinances as he may deem necessary for the
preservation of the public health;
(d) He shall cause to be prosecuted all violations of
sanitary laws, ordinances, or regulations;
(e) He shall make sanitary inspections and may be
aided therein by such 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;
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
puriculture centers and social services of the city;
(i) He shall keep a civil register for the city for
recording the civil status of persons, in which shall be entered: (a)
births, (b) deaths, (c) marriages, (d) annulments of marriages, (e)
legitimations, (f) adoptions, (g) 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;" and
( 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
Sec. 32. 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 of seven thousand two hundred
pesos per annum. He shall have the following powers and duties:
(a) He may issue supplementary regulations not
incompatible with law or general regulations promulgated by the proper
department of 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 law 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 escape of offenders and
violators of any law or ordinance, and all who obstruct or interfere
with him in the discharge of his duty; shall have charge of the city
prison; and shall be responsible for the safekeeping of all prisoners
until they shall be released from custody, in accordance with law, or
delivered to the warden of the proper prison 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 of the person arrested;
(d) He shall have authority, within the police limits
of the city, to serve and execute criminal processes of any
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; and
He shall have such further powers and perform
such further duties as may be prescribed by law or ordinance.
Sec. 33. 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.
Sec. 34. Chief of Secret Service. — There shall be a
chief of the secret service who shall, under the chief of police, have
charge of the detective work of the department and of the detective
force of the city, and shall perform such other duties as may be
assigned to him by the chief of police or prescribed by law or
ordinance.
Sec. 35. Peace Officers — their powers and duties. —
The Mayor, the chief of police, the deputy chief of police, the chief
of the secret service, and all officers and members of the city police
and detective force shall be peace officers. Such peace officers are
authorized to serve and execute all processes of the municipal court
and criminal processes of all other courts to whomsoever directed
within the jurisdictional limits of the city or within the police
limits as hereinbefore defined; within the same territory, to pursue
and arrest, 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,
ship, boat, or vessel or take into custody any person therein suspected
of being concerned in such crime or breach of the peace, and any
property suspected of having been stolen; and to exercise such other
powers and perform such other duties as may be prescribed by law or
ordinance. They shall detain an arrested person only 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 police agencies. Except
only in such cases of specific request made, police jurisdiction and
supervision and the preservation of peace and order shall pertain
exclusively to the peace officers herein mentioned, existing law to the
contrary notwithstanding.
ARTICLE XI
Fire Department
Sec. 36. Chief of Fire Department. — There shall be a
chief or fire department who shall have the management and control of
all matter relating to the administration, organization, government,
discipline, and disposition of the fire forces. He shall receive a
salary of six thousand pesos per annum and shall have the following
powers and duties:
(a) He shall issue supplementary regulations not
incompatible with law or general regulations issued by the proper
department head of the National Government in accordance with law, for
the governance of the fire force;
(b) He shall have charge of the fire-engine houses,
the fire engines, hose trucks, hooks and ladders, trucks and all other
fire apparatus;
(c) He shall have full police powers in the vicinity
of fires;
(d) He shall have authority to remove or demolish any
building or other property whenever it shall become necessary to
prevent the spreading of fire or to protect adjacent property;
(e) He shall investigate and report to the Mayor upon
the origin and cause of all fires occurring within the city;
( f) He shall inspect all buildings erected or under
construction or repair with 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; and
(l) He shall have such powers and perform such duties
as may further be prescribed by law or ordinance.
Sec. 37. Deputy chief of the Fire Department. — There
shall be a deputy chief of the fire department whose duties shall be to
act as chief in the absence or incapacity of the chief of the fire
department, and, under the direction of the chief of the fire
department, to look after the discipline of the fire force and perform
such duties as may be imposed upon him by the chief or prescribed by
law or ordinance.
ARTICLE XII
Department of Assessment
Sec. 38. The City Assessor — His powers and duties. —
There shall be a city assessor who shall have charge of the department
of assessment and who shall receive a salary of six thousand pesos per
annum. The city treasurer shall act as city assessor ex-officio with an
additional compensation of seven hundred and twenty pesos per annum,
until the Municipal Board, by ordinance, provides otherwise, at which
time the city assessor shall be appointed as heretofore provided. The
city assessor shall have the following powers and duties:
(a) The city assessor or his duly authorized deputies
shall assess all lands, buildings and other real properties subject to
taxation within the jurisdiction of the city, and for this purpose he
and his authorized deputies are empowered to administer oaths
authorized to be administered in connection with the valuation of real
estate for the assessment and collection of taxes;
(b) He shall make a list of the taxable real estate
in the city and the names of the owners thereof, with a brief
description of the property opposite each such names and the cash value
thereof. In making this list, the city assessor shall take into
consideration any sworn statement made by the owners of the property,
but shall not be prevented thereby from considering any other evidence
on the subject and exercising his own judgment in respect thereto. For
the purpose of completing this list he and his representatives may
enter upon the real estate for the purpose of examining and measuring
it, and may summon witnesses, administer oaths to them, and subject
them to examination concerning the amount of real estate, its ownership
and cash value; and
(c) He may, if necessary, examine the records of the
register of deeds of the Province of Rizal showing the ownership of
real estate in the city.
Sec. 39. Real estate exempt from taxation. — The
following shall be exempted from taxation:
(a) Lands or buildings owned by the Republic of the
Philippines, the Province of Rizal or the City of Caloocan, and burying
grounds, churches, and adjacent parsonages and convents, and lands or
buildings used exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, or
educational purposes, and not for profit; but such exemption shall not
extend to lands or buildings held for investment, though income
therefrom be devoted to religious, charitable, scientific, or
educational purposes;
(b) When the entire assessed valuation of real
property belonging to a single owner is not in excess of two hundred
pesos or when the assessed value of a house, used as residence of the
owner thereof, together with the lot on which the same is built, does
not exceed four hundred pesos and such owner has no other real
property, the tax thereon shall not be collected, nor shall the tax be
collected on a dwelling house built on the field, on an adjacent
orchard if any, as improvement, if the assessed value of each, assessed
separately, is not in excess of two hundred pesos, though in any event
the property shall be valued for the purposes of assessment and record
shall be kept thereof as in other cases; and
(c) Machinery, which term shall embrace machines,
mechanical contrivances, instruments, appliances, and apparatus
attached to the real estate, used for industrial, agricultural or
manufacturing purposes, during the first five years of the operation of
the machinery.
Sec. 40. Declaration to be made by persons acquiring
or improving real estate. — It shall be the duty of each person who, at
any time, acquires real estate in the city, and of each person who
constructs or adds to any improvements on real estate owned by him in
the city, to prepare and present to the city assessor within a period
of sixty days next following such acquisition, construction or
addition, a sworn declaration setting forth the value of the real
estate acquired or the improvement constructed or addition made by him
and a description of such property sufficient to enable the city
assessor readily to identify the same. Any person having acquired real
estate who fails to make and present the declaration herein required
within the period of sixty days shall be deemed to have waived his
right to notice of the assessment of such property and the assessment
of the same in the name of its former owner shall in all such cases, be
valid and binding on all persons interested, and for purposes, as
though the same has been assessed in the name of its present
owner.
Sec. 41. Action when owner makes no returns, or is
unknown, or ownership is in dispute or in doubt, or when land and
improvements are separately owned. — If the owner of any parcel of real
estate shall fail to make a return thereof, or if the city assessor is
unable to discover the owner of any real estate, he shall nevertheless
list the same for taxation, and charge the tax against the true owner,
if known, and if unknown, then as against an unknown owner. In case of
doubt or dispute as to the 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 land and the improvements
thereon, a separate assessment of the property of each shall be made.
Sec. 42. Action in case estate has escaped taxation.
— If it shall come to the knowledge of the city assessor that any
taxable real estate in the city has escaped listing, it shall be his
duty to list and value the same at the time and in the manner provided
in the next succeeding section and to charge against the owner thereof
the taxes for the current year and for all other years during which it
would have been liable if assessed from the first in proper course but
in no case for more than four years prior to the year of the initial
assessment, and the taxes thus assessed shall be legal and collectible
by all the remedies herein provided, and if they are not paid before
the expiration of the tax collection period next ensuing, all the
penalties shall be added to such back taxes as though they have been
assessed at the time when they should have been assessed.
Sec. 43. When assessment may be increased or
decreased. — The city assessor shall, during the first fifteen days of
December of each year, add to his list of taxable real estate in the
city the value of the improvements placed upon such property during the
preceding year, and any property which is taxable and which has
theretofore escaped taxation. He may during the same period, revise and
correct the assessed value of any or all parcels of real estate in the
city which are not assessed at their true money value, by reducing or
increasing the existing assessment as the case may be.
Sec. 44. City Assessor to authenticate list of real
estate assessed. — The city assessor 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 cash value, and that no real estate
taxable by law in the City of Caloocan has been omitted from the list,
according to the best of my knowledge and belief.
_______________________
(Signature of City Assessor)
Sec. 45. Publication of complete list and proceedings
thereon. — The city assessor shall, after the list shall have been
completed, inform the public by notice published for seven days in a
newspaper of general circulation in the city, if any, and by notice
posted seven days at the main entrance of city hall, that the list is
on file in his office an may be examined by any person interested
therein, and that upon the date fixed in the notice, which shall not be
later than the tenth day of February, the city assessor will be in his
office for the purpose of hearing complaints as to the accuracy of the
listing of the property and the assessed value thereof.
It shall be his duty carefully to preserve and record in his office
copies of said notice. On the day fixed in the notice, and for five
days thereafter, he shall be present in his office to hear complaints
filed within the period by persons against whom taxes have been
assessed as owners of real estate, and he shall make his decision
forthwith and enter the same in a well-bound book, to be kept by him
for that purpose, and if he shall determine that injustice had been
done or errors have been committed he is authorized to amend the list
in accordance with his findings.
Sec. 46. Time and manner of appealing to City Board
of Tax Appeals. — In case any owner of real estate or his authorized
agent, shall feel aggrieved by any decision of the city assessor under
the preceding sections of this Article, such owner or agent may, within
thirty days after the entry of such decision, appeal to the City Board
of Tax Appeals. The appeal shall be perfected by filing a written
notice of the same with the city assessor and it shall be the duty of
that officer forthwith to transmit the appeal to the City Board of Tax
Appeals with all the written evidence in his possession relating to
such assessment and valuation.
Sec. 47. Constitution and compensation of City Board
of Tax Appeals. — There shall be a City Board of Tax Appeals which
shall be composed of five members to be appointed by the President of
the Philippines with the consent of the Commission on Appointments.
Three members of the Board shall be selected from among government
officials in the city other than those in charge of assessment and they
shall serve without additional compensation.
The two other members shall be selected from among property owners in
the city and they shall each receive a compensation of twenty pesos for
each day of session actually attended. The chairman of the Board shall
be designated in the appointment and shall have the power to designate
any city official or employee to serve as the Secretary of the Board
without additional compensation.
The members of the City Board of Tax Appeals shall hold office for a
term of two years unless sooner removed by the President of the
Philippines.
Sec. 48. Oath to be taken by members of the City
Board of Tax Appeals. — Before organizing as such, the members of the
City Board of Tax Appeals shall take the following oath before the
municipal judge or any other officer authorized to administer oaths:
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will hear and determine well
and truly all matters and issue between taxpayers and the city assessor
submitted for my decision. t
So help me God. (In case of affirmative the last four words are to be
stricken out.)
________________________
(Signature)
"Subscribed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me this ________ day of
________, 19 ________.
______________________________________
(Signature and title of Officer Administering Oath)
Sec. 49. Proceedings before the City Board of Tax
Appeals and the Department Head. — The City Board of Tax Appeals shall
hold such number of sessions as may be authorized by the Secretary of
Finance, and shall hear and decide all appeals duly transmitted to it.
It shall have authority to cause to be amended the listing and
valuation of the property in respect to which any appeal has been
perfected by order signed by the Board or a majority thereof, and
transmit it to the city assessor who shall amend the tax list in
conformity with said order. It shall also have power to revise and
correct, with the approval of the Secretary of Finance first had, any
and all erroneous or unjust assessments and valuations for taxation,
and make a correct and just assessment and state the true valuation, in
each case when it decides that the assessment when so corrected shall
be as lawful and valid for all purposes as though the assessment had
been made within the time herein prescribed. Such reassessment and
revaluation shall be made on due notice to the individual concerned who
shall be entitled to be heard by the City Board of Tax Appeals before
any reassessment or revaluation is made. The decision of the City Board
of Tax Appeals shall be final unless the Secretary of Finance forthwith
declares the decision reopened for review by him, in which case he may
make such revision or revaluation as in his opinion the circumstances
justify. Such revision when approved by the President of the
Philippines shall be final.
Sec. 50. Taxes on real estate — Extension and
remission of the tax. — An annual tax, the rate of which shall not
exceed two per centum ad valorem, shall be levied by the Municipal
Board on the assessed value of all real estate in the city subject to
taxation. Until otherwise determined by the Municipal Board, the rate
of such tax for the City of Caloocan is hereby fixed at one per centum
ad valorem. An existing annual ad valorem tax on real estate shall be
subject to change only by ordinance enacted on or before the fifteenth
day of December of any year for the next succeeding year.
The real estate tax for any year shall be due on the first day of
January and becomes payable on or before the thirty-first day of May of
each year, and if any taxpayer shall fail to pay the taxes assessed
against him on or before the thirty-first day of May of the year for
which such taxes are due, he shall be delinquent in such payment and
shall be subject to a penalty of seven per centum of the amount of the
original tax due, if payment is made during the first and second months
of delinquency, and thereafter, to an additional penalty of one per
centum for each month or fraction thereof, of delinquency, but in no
case shall the total penalty on each annual tax shall exceed twelve per
centum of the original tax. The penalty shall be collected at the same
time and in the same manner as the original tax.
At the option of the taxpayer, the tax due for any year may be paid in
two installments, the first of such installments to consist of seventy
per centum of the annual tax due on the property and the second to
consist of the remainder of the tax for the year. In such cases, the
first installment shall be paid on or before the thirty-first day of
May of the year for which the tax is due, and the second shall be paid
not later than the thirtieth day of November of the same year, but if
the first installment of the tax for any year is not paid on or before
the thirty-first day of May of such year, then the whole of the year's
tax shall be delinquent and shall be subject to the penalty due thereon
as hereinbefore provided. If any taxpayer, having paid the first
installment of his tax for any year, shall fail to pay the second
installment thereof on or before the thirtieth day of November of the
same year, he shall be subject to a penalty of seven per centum of such
delinquent installment, if payment is made during the first and second
months of delinquency, and thereafter, to an additional penalty of one
per centum for each month or fraction thereof of delinquency; but in no
case shall the total penalty on such unpaid tax exceed twelve per
centum of the amount due.
The penalties thus imposed shall be accounted for by the city treasurer
in the same manner as the tax. In the event that such tax and penalty
shall remain unpaid for ninety days after the tax becomes delinquent
the city treasurer shall proceed to make collection thereof in the
manner hereinafter prescribed.
The words "paid under protest" shall be written on the face of the real
estate tax receipt upon the request of any person willing to pay the
tax under protest. Confirmation in writing of an oral protest shall be
made within thirty days.
The Municipal Board may extend the time for the collection of the tax
on real estate in the city for a period not to exceed three months. It
may also remit all or part of the tax on real estate or the penalties
thereon during the ensuing year in case there are good and sufficient
reasons for it. The resolution in any such case shall take effect until
it shall have been approved by the President of the Philippines.
The President may, in his discretion, extend the time for the
collection of the tax on real estate in the city to a date within the
same calendar year and may also remit or reduce the tax on real estate
during any year if he deems it to be in the public interest.
Sec. 51. Seizure of the personal property for
delinquency in payment of the tax. — After a property shall have become
delinquent in the payment of taxes and said taxes and the corresponding
penalty or penalties shall remain unpaid ninety days after payment
thereof shall have become due, the city treasurer, if he desires to
compel payment through seizure of any personal property of any
delinquent person or persons, shall issue a duly authenticated
certificate, based on the record of his office, showing the fact of
delinquency and the amount of the tax and penalty due from said
delinquent person or persons or from each of them. Such certificate
shall be sufficient warrant for the seizure of the personal property
belonging to the delinquent person or persons in question not exempt
from seizure; and these proceedings may be carried out by the city
treasurer, his deputy, or any other officer authorized to carry out
legal processes.
Sec. 52. Personal property exempt from seizure and
sale for delinquency. — The following personal property shall be exempt
from seizure, sale and execution for delinquency in the payment of the
real estate tax:
(a) The tools and implements necessarily used by the
delinquent in his trade or employment;
(b) One horse, cow or carabao, or other beast of
burden, such as the delinquent may select, and necessarily used by him
in his ordinary occupation;
(c) His necessary clothing and that of his family;
(d) Such household furniture and utensils necessary
for housekeeping, and used for that purpose by the delinquent, as he
may select, of a value not exceeding two hundred pesos; t
(e) Provisions actually provided for individual or
family use sufficient for three months;
The professional libraries of lawyers, judges,
physicians, pharmacists, engineers, surveyors, clergymen, school
teachers, and music teachers, not exceeding five hundred pesos in value;
(g) One fishing boat and net, not exceeding the total
value of two hundred pesos, the property of any fisherman, by lawful
use of which he earns a livelihood;
(h) So much earnings of the delinquent for his
personal services within the month preceding the levy as are necessary
for the support of his family;
(i) Lettered gravestones;
( j) All moneys, benefits, privileges, or annuities
accruing or in any manner growing out of any life insurance, if the
annual premiums paid do not exceed five hundred pesos, and if they
exceed that sum, a like exception shall exist which shall bear the same
proportion to the moneys, benefits, privileges, and annuities so
accruing or growing out of such insurance that said five hundred pesos
bears to the whole annual premiums paid; and t
(k) Any article or material which forms part of a
home or of any improvement on any real estate.
Sec. 53. Redemption of personal property seized. —
The owner of the personal property may redeem the same from the
collecting officer at any time after seizure and before sale by
tendering to him the amount of the tax, the penalty, and the costs
incurred up to the time of tender. The costs to be charged in making
such seizure and sale 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.
Sec. 54. Sale of seized personal property. — Unless
redeemed as hereinbefore provided, the property seized through
proceedings under Section fifty-one hereof, shall, after due
advertisement, be exhibited for sale at public auction and so much of
the same as shall satisfy the tax, penalty and cost of seizure and
sale, shall be sold to the highest bidder. The purchaser at such sale
acquires an indefeasible title to the property sold.
The advertisement shall state the time, place and cause of sale, and be
posted for ten days prior to the date of the auction, at the main
entrance of the city hall and at a public and conspicuous place in the
barrio or district where the property was seized.
The sale shall take place at the discretion of the city treasurer
either at the main entrance of the city hall or at the barrio or
district where the property was seized. If no satisfactory bid is
offered in the aforementioned places, another auction shall be had upon
notice published anew.
Sec. 55. Return of officer — Disposal of surplus. —
The officer directing the sale under the preceding section shall
forthwith make return of his proceedings, and note thereof shall be
made by the city treasurer in his records. Any surplus resulting from
the sale, over and above the tax, penalty or cost, and any property
remaining in possession of the officer shall be returned to the
taxpayer on account of whose delinquency the sale has been made.
Sec. 56. Tax Lien. — Taxes and penalties assessed
against realty shall constitute a lien tax thereon, which 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 or possessor, and
shall be removed only by the payment of the delinquent tax and penalty.
A lien upon real estate for taxes levied for each year shall attach on
the first day of January of such year.
Sec. 57. Tax Sale. — In addition to the procedure
prescribed in Section fifty-one hereof, the city treasurer may, upon
the warrant of the certified record required in said section and after
the expiration of the year for which the tax is due, advertise for a
period of thirty days the sale at public auction of the delinquent real
property to satisfy all public taxes and penalties due and the costs of
sale.
The advertisement shall be made by posting a notice at the main
entrance of the city hall and in a public and conspicuous place in the
district in which the real estate lies, and, in the discretion of the
city treasurer, by publication once a week for three consecutive weeks
in a newspaper of general circulation in the city. Publication in the
Official Gazette shall not be required for such notice. The
advertisement shall state the amount of the taxes and penalties due,
the time and place of sale, the names of the taxpayers against whom the
taxes are levied, and the approximate area, the lot and block number
the location by district and street, and the street number if the
property has a street number, of the real estate be sold. At any time
during the sale or prior thereto, the taxpayer may stay the 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 city hall or on the premises to be sold, as the
city treasurer may determine: Provided, That no such sale shall proceed
unless the delinquent taxpayer shall have been notified thereof by
registered mail or by messenger at least sixty days before the date
fixed for the sale. Within five days after the sale the city treasurer
shall make a return of the proceedings and spread it in his records.
The purchaser at the sale shall receive from the city treasurer a
certificate 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.
It shall be essential to the validity of a sale of real estate for
delinquent taxes hereunder that the city treasurer shall have attempted
to make the amount due out of the personal property of the delinquent
taxpayer, and the remedy provided in Section fifty-one hereof shall be
deemed cumulative only.
Sec. 58. Redemption of real estate. — Within one year
from and after the date of the sale, the delinquent taxpayer, or any
other person in his behalf, shall have the right to redeem the property
sold by paying to the city treasurer the amount of the public taxes,
penalties, and costs together with interest on the purchase price at
the rate of fifteen per centum per annum from the date of purchase to
the date of the redemption; and such payment shall invalidate the
certificate of sale issued to the purchaser, and shall entitle the
person making such payment to a certificate to be issued by the city
treasurer, stating that he has thus redeemed the property, and the city
treasurer, upon the return by the purchaser of the certificate of sale
previously issued to him, shall forthwith pay over to the purchaser the
amount by which such real estate has thus been redeemed and the same
shall thereafter be free from the lien of such taxes and
penalties.
Sec. 59. Tax deed. — In case the delinquent taxpayer
shall not redeem the property sold as herein provided within one year
from the date of the sale, the city treasurer shall, as grantor,
execute a deed in form and effect sufficient 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 said
deed shall succinctly recite all the proceeding upon which the validity
of the sale depends.
Sec. 60. Forfeiture of real estate. — In case there
is no bidder at the public sale of such realty or if the highest bid is
for an amount not sufficient to pay the taxes, penalties, and costs,
the city treasurer shall declare the real estate forfeited to the city,
and shall make, within two days thereafter, a return of his proceedings
and the forfeiture which shall be agreed upon the records of his office.
Sec. 61. Conveyance to City. — Within one year from
the date of such forfeiture, the taxpayer, or anyone for him, may
redeem said realty as above provided in cases where the same is sold.
But, if the realty 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 real estate to the city.
The deed shall be recorded as required by law for other real estate
titles and shall then be forwarded to the Mayor for notation and return
to the city treasurer who shall file the same and enter it in his
records of city property.
Sec. 62. Repurchase by owner after absolute
forfeiture. — After the title to the property shall have become
absolutely vested in the Government of the City of Caloocan in the
manner above provided, and at any time before a sale or contract of
sale shall have been made by the city treasurer to a third party in the
manner provided for by law, the original owner or his legal
representative shall have further right to repurchase the property in
question by paying therefor the full amount then due for taxes,
penalties, and costs, together with an additional penalty of fifteen
per centum upon the whole, and if the City Mayor has made a contract
for the lease of the property the repurchase may be made subject to
such contract. t
Sec. 63. Civil action to collect tax debt. — The
assessment of tax shall constitute a lawful indebtedness of 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 the other remedies provided by law.
Sec. 64. Suits assailing validity of tax. — No court
shall entertain any suit assailing the validity of a tax assessed under
this Article 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 herein 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 Article invalid except upon condition that the taxpayer shall pay
the just amount of his tax as determined by the court in the pending
proceeding.
Sec. 65. Suits assailing validity of tax sale. — No
court shall entertain any suit assailing the validity of a tax sale of
real estate under this Article until the taxpayer shall have paid into
the court the amount for which the real estate was sold, together with
the interest at the rate of fifteen per centum per annum upon the sum
from the date of sale to the time instituting the suit. The money so
paid into court shall belong 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. Nor shall any court 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 failures shall have impaired the substantial rights
of the taxpayers.
Sec. 66. Application of proceeds from the real estate
tax. — Ninety per centum of the gross proceeds from the real estate tax
herein provided shall accrue to the general fund of the city, and the
remaining ten per centum thereof shall, any provision of existing law
to the contrary notwithstanding, accrue to its streets and bridges
fund. The portion accruing to the latter fund shall be used exclusively
for the repair, maintenance, improvement, and/or construction of city
streets and bridges.
ARTICLE XIII
Tax Allotments and Special Assessment for Public Improvements
Sec. 67. Allotment of internal revenue and other
taxes. — On the internal revenue accruing to the National Treasury
under Chapter II, Title XII of Commonwealth Act Numbered Four hundred
sixty-six, and other taxes collected by the National Government and
allotted to the various provinces and municipalities, as well as the
national aid for schools, the city shall receive the shares which it
would receive if it were both a municipality and a regularly organized
province, and for the purposes hereof shall be deemed to be both the
one and the other.
Sec. 68. Power to levy special assessments for
certain purposes. — The Municipal Board may by ordinance provide for
the levying and collection, by special assessment of the lands
comprised within the district or section of the city specifically
benefited, of the cost or a part not to exceed sixty per centum of the
cost of laying out, opening, constructing, straightening, widening,
extending, grading, paving, curbing, walling, deepening, or otherwise
establishing, repairing, enlarging, or improving public avenues, roads,
streets, alleys, sidewalks, parks, plazas, bridges, landing places,
wharves, piers, docks, levees, reservoirs, waterworks, water mains,
watercourses, esteros, canals, drains and sewers, including the cost of
acquiring the necessary land and public improvements, thereon, as
hereinafter provided.
In case of national public works, the Municipal Board, as an agency of
the National Government, shall, when the President of the Philippine so
directs it, provide for the levying and collection by special
assessment of the lands within the section or district of the city
specially benefited of the cost, or a part thereof to be determined by
the President, of laying out, opening, constructing, straightening,
widening, extending, grading, paving, curbing, walling or deepening, or
otherwise repairing, enlarging, or improving national roads and other
national public works within the city, including the cost of acquiring
the necessary land improvements thereon.
Sec. 69. Basis of apportionment. — The amount of the
special assessment shall be apportioned and computed according to the
assessed valuations of such lands as shown in the books of the city
assessor. If the property has not been declared for taxation purposes,
the city assessor shall immediately declare it for the owner and assess
its value, such value shall be the basis of the apportionment and
computation of the special assessment due thereon.
Sec. 70. Property subject to special assessment. —
All lands comprised within the section or district benefited, except
those owned by the Republic of the Philippines, shall be subject to the
payment of the special assessment.
Sec. 71. Ordinance levying special assessment. — The
ordinance providing for the levying and collection of a special
assessment shall describe with reasonable accuracy the nature, extent,
and location of the work to be undertaken; the probable cost of the
work; the percentage of the cost to be defrayed by special assessment;
the district or section which shall be subject to the payment of the
special assessment describe with reasonable accuracy the metes and
bounds if practicable, and by other reasonable accurate means if
otherwise, and the period, which shall not be less than five nor more
than ten years, in which said special assessment shall be payable
without interest. One uniform rate per centum for all lands in the
entire district or section subject to the payment of all the special
assessment need not be established, but different rates for different
parts or sections of the city according as said property will derive
greater or less benefit from the proposed work may be fixed.
It should be the duty of the city engineer to make the plans,
specifications, and estimates of the public works contemplated to be
undertaken.
Sec. 72. Publication of proposed ordinance levying
special assessment. — The proposed special assessment ordinance shall
be published, with a list of the owners of the lands affected thereby,
once a week for four consecutive weeks in two newspapers of general
circulation in the city, one in English and one in Spanish or Tagalog
language, before its adoption by the Board. The said ordinance in
English, Spanish and Tagalog language shall also be posted in places
where public notices are generally posted in the city and also in the
district or section where the public improvement is constructed or
contemplated to be constructed.
The Secretary of the Municipal Board shall, on application, furnish a
copy of the proposed ordinance to each landowner affected, or his agent
and shall, if possible, send to all of them a copy of said proposed
ordinance by ordinary mail or otherwise.
Sec. 73. Protest against special assessment. — Not
later than thirty days after the last publication of the ordinance and
the list of landowners, as provided in the preceding section, the
landowners affected may file with the Municipal Board a protest against
the enactment of the ordinance. The protest shall be duly signed by
them and shall set forth the addresses of the signers and the arguments
in support of their objection or protest against the special assessment
established in the ordinance. If no protest is filed within the time
and under the condition above specified, the ordinance shall be
considered approved as published.
Sec. 74. Hearing of protest. — The Municipal Board
shall designate a date and place for the hearing of the protest filed
in accordance with the next preceding section and shall give reasonable
time to all protestants who have given their addresses and to all
landowners affected by any protest or protests, and shall order the
publication once a week for two consecutive weeks, of a notice of the
place and date of the hearing in the same manner herein provided for
the publication of the proposed special assessment ordinance. All
pertinent arguments and evidences presented by the landowners' interest
or their attorney shall be attached to the proper records. After the
hearing of the Municipal Board shall either modify its ordinance or
approve it in toto and send notice of its decision to all interested
parties who have given their addresses, and shall order the publication
of the ordinance as approved finally together with a list of the owners
of the parcels of land affected by the special assessment, three times
weekly, for three consecutive weeks in the same manner hereinabove
prescribed. The ordinance finally passed by said body shall be sent to
the Mayor with all the papers pertaining thereto, for his approval or
veto as in the case of other city ordinances. If the Mayor approves it,
the ordinance shall be published as above provided, but if he vetoes
it, the procedure in similar cases provided in this Chapter shall be
observed.
Sec. 75. When ordinance is to take effect. — Upon the
expiration of thirty days from the date of the last publication of the
ordinance as finally approved, the same shall be effective in all
respects, if no appeal therefrom is taken to the proper authorities in
the manner hereinafter prescribed.
Sec. 76. Appeals. — Any time before the ordinance
providing for the levying and collection of special assessments becomes
effective in accordance with the preceding section, appeals from such
assessment may be filed with the President of the Philippines in the
case of public works undertaken or contemplated to be undertaken by the
National Government, and with the Secretary of Finance in the case of
public works, undertaken or contemplated to be taken undertaken by the
city. In all cases, the appeal shall be in writing and signed by at
least a majority of the owners of the lands situated in the special
assessment zone whose holdings represent more than one-half of the
total assessed value of the lands affected. The appellant or appellants
shall immediately give the Municipal Board a written notice of the
appeal, and the Secretary of the Municipal Board shall, within thirty
days after receipt of the notice of appeal, forward to the officer who
has jurisdiction to decide the appeal an excerpt from the minutes of
the Board relative to the proposed special assessment and all the
documents in connection therewith.
Sec. 77. Decision of the appeal. — Only appeals made
within the time and in the manner prescribed in this Act shall be
entertained, and the officer to whom the appeal is made may call for
further hearing or decide the same in accordance with its merits as
shown in the papers or documents submitted to him. All appeals shall be
decided within sixty days after receipts by the appellate officer of
the docket of the case, and such decision shall be final.
Sec. 78. Fixing of amount of special assessment. — As
soon as the ordinance is in full force and effect, the city treasurer
shall determine the amount of the special assessment which the owner of
each parcel of land comprised within the zone described in the
ordinance levying the same is to pay each year during the prescribed
period, and shall send to each landowner a notice thereof by ordinary
mail. If upon completion of the public works it should appear that the
actual cost thereof is smaller or greater than the estimated cost, the
city treasurer shall without delay proceed to correct the assessment,
by increasing or decreasing, as the case may be, the special tax on
each parcel of land affected, for the balance of the unpaid annual
installments. If all annual installments have already been paid, the
city treasurer shall fix the amount of the credit to be allowed to, or
the additional special tax be levied upon, the land as the case may be.
In all cases, he shall give notice of such rectifications to the
parties interested.
Sec. 79. Payment of special assessment. — All sums
due from any landowner or owners as the result of any action taken
pursuant to this Article shall be payable to the city treasurer in the
same manner as the annual ordinary tax levied upon real property, and
shall be subject to the same penalties for delinquency and be enforced
in the same manner as said annual ordinary tax; and all said sums
together with any of said penalties shall, from the date on which they
were assessed, constitute special liens on said land, with the sole
exception of the lien for the non-payment of the ordinary real property
tax. If, upon recomputation of the amount of the special assessment in
accordance with the next preceding section, it appears that the
landowner has paid more than what is correctly due from him, the amount
paid in excess shall be refunded to him immediately upon demand; in the
other case, the landowner shall have one year within which to pay
without penalty the amount still due from him. Said period shall be
counted from the date the landowner received the proper notice.
Sec. 80. Disposition of proceeds. — The proceeds of
the special assessment and penalties thereon shall be applied
exclusively to the purpose or purposes for which the assessments were
levied. It shall be the duty of the city treasurer to turn over to the
National Treasury all collections made by him from special assessment
levies for national public works.
ARTICLE XIV
City Budget
Sec. 81. Annual Budget. — At least four months before
the beginning of each fiscal year, the city treasurer shall present to
the Mayor a certified detailed statement by the department of all
receipts and expenditures of the city pertaining to the preceding
fiscal year, and to the first seven months of the current fiscal year
together with an estimate of the receipt and expenditures for the
remainder of the current fiscal year, and he shall submit with this
statement a detailed estimate of the revenues and receipts of the city
from all sources for the ensuing fiscal year. Upon receipt of this
statement and estimate and the estimates of the department heads
required by Section eighteen of this Charter, the Mayor shall formulate
and submit to the Municipal Board at least two months before the
beginning of the ensuing fiscal year, a detailed budget covering the
estimated necessary expenditures for the said ensuing fiscal year,
which shall be the basis of the annual appropriation ordinance:
Provided, however, That in no case shall the aggregate amount of such
appropriation exceed the estimate of revenues and receipts submitted by
the city treasurer as provided above.
Sec. 82. Supplemental budget. — A supplemental budget
formulated in the same manner as the annual budget may be adopted when
special or unforeseen circumstances make such action necessary.
Sec. 83. Failure to enact an appropriation ordinance.
— Whenever the Municipal Board fails to enact an appropriation
ordinance for any fiscal year before the end of the current fiscal
year, the appropriation ordinance for such year shall be deemed
reenacted, and shall go into effect on the first day of July of the new
fiscal year as the appropriation ordinance for that year.
ARTICLE XV
The Municipal Court
Sec. 84. Regular, auxiliary, and acting judges of
municipal court. — There shall be a municipal court for the City of
Caloocan, for which there shall be appointed a municipal judge and an
auxiliary municipal judge. The Municipal Board may, when the
circumstances so warrant and subject to the approval of the Secretary
of Justice, appropriate an amount for the establishment of another
branch of the municipal court, the judge and auxiliary judge thereof to
be appointed as herein provided.
The municipal judge may, upon proper application to the Secretary of
Justice, be allowed a vacation of not more than thirty days every year
with salary. The auxiliary municipal judge in case of absence,
incapacity, or inability of the latter until he assumes his post, or
until a new judge shall have been appointed. During his incumbency, the
auxiliary municipal judge shall enjoy the powers, emoluments and
privileges of the municipal judge who shall not receive any
remuneration therefor except the salary to which he is entitled by
reason of his vacation provided for in this Charter.
In case of absence, incapacity or inability, of both the municipal
judge and the auxiliary municipal judge, the Secretary of Justice shall
designate the justice of the peace of any of the adjoining
municipalities to preside over the municipal court, and he shall hold
office temporarily until the regular incumbent or the auxiliary judge
thereof shall have resumed office, or until another judge shall have
been appointed in accordance with the provisions of this Charter. The
justice of the peace so designated shall receive his salary as justice
of the peace plus fifty per cent of the salary of the municipal judge
whose office he has temporarily assumed.
The municipal judge shall receive a salary of seven thousand two
hundred pesos per annum.
Sec. 85. Clerk and employees of the municipal court.
— There shall be a clerk of the municipal court who shall be appointed
by the municipal judge in accordance with the Civil Service Law, rules
and regulations, and who shall receive a compensation of not exceeding
four thousand two hundred pesos per annum. He shall keep the seal of
the court and affix it to all orders, judgments, certificates, records,
and other documents issued by the court. He shall keep a docket of the
trials in the court, in which he shall record in a summary manner the
names of the parties and the various proceedings in civil cases, and in
criminal case, the name of the defendant, the charge against him, the
names of the witnesses, the date of the arrest, the appearance of the
defendant, together with the fines and costs adjudged or collected in
accordance with the judgment. He shall have the power to administer
oaths.
Sec. 86. Jurisdiction of the Municipal Court. — The
municipal court shall have the same jurisdiction in civil and criminal
cases and the same incidental powers as are at present conferred upon
them by law. It shall have a current jurisdiction with the Court of
First Instance in all criminal cases arising under the laws relating to
the filing, and management of lotteries, to assaults where the intent
to kill is not charged or evident upon the trial to larceny,
embezzlement and estafa where the amount of money or property stolen,
embezzled or otherwise involved does not exceed the sum or value of the
two hundred pesos to the sale of intoxicating liquors, to falsely
impersonating an officer, to malicious mischief, to trespass on
Government or private property, and to threatening to take human life.
It may also conduct preliminary investigations for any offense without
regard to the limits of punishment, and may release, or commit and bind
over any person charged with such offense to secure his appearance
before the proper court.
Sec. 87. Incidental powers of municipal court. — The
municipal court shall have power to administer oaths and to give
certificate thereof; to issue summonses, writs, warrants, executions,
and all other processes necessary to enforce its orders and judgments;
to compel the attendance of witnesses; to punish contempts of court by
fine or imprisonment, or both, within the limitations imposed by the
Rules of Court; and to require of any person arrested a bond for good
behaviour or to keep the peace, or for the further appearance of such
person before a court of competent jurisdiction. But no such bond shall
be accepted unless it be executed by the person in whose behalf it is
made, with sufficient surety or sureties, to be approved by said court.
t
Sec. 88. Procedure in municipal court in prosecution
for violation of laws and ordinances. — In a prosecution for the
violation of any ordinance, the first process shall be a summons;
except that a warrant for the arrest of the offender may be issued in
the first instance upon the affidavit of any person that such ordinance
has been violated; and that the person making the complaint has
reasonable grounds to believe that the party charged is guilty thereof,
which warrant shall conclude: "Against the ordinance of the city in
such case made and provided." All proceedings and prosecutions for
offenses against the laws of the Philippines shall conform to the rules
relating to process, pleading, practice, and procedure for the
judiciary of the Philippines, and such rules shall govern the municipal
court and its officers in all cases insofar as the same may be
applicable. An appeal from the municipal court to the Court of First
Instance shall be governed by the provisions of the Rules of
Court.
Sec. 89. Preliminary examinations in the city
fiscal's office, municipal court and Court of First Instance. — Every
person arrested shall, without necessary delay, be brought before the
city fiscal, the municipal court or the Court of First Instance for
preliminary hearing, release on bail, or trial. In cases triable in the
municipal court for violation of city ordinances, the defendant shall
not be entitled as of right to a preliminary examination, except to
summary one to enable the court to fix the bail, in any case where the
prosecution announces itself ready and is ready for trial, within three
days, not including Sundays, after the request for an examination is
presented. In all cases brought to the office of the city fiscal
involving crimes cognizable by the Court of First Instance, where the
accused is not already in the legal custody of the police, no complaint
or information shall be filed without first giving the accused a chance
to be heard in a preliminary investigation, where such accused can be
subpoenaed and appears before the investigating fiscal, with the right
to cross-examine the complainant and his witnesses: Provided, That when
the accused is detained, he may ask for a preliminary investigation,
but he must sign a waiver of the provision of Article One hundred
twenty-five of the Revised Penal Code, as amended: And provided,
further, That if the case has already been filed in court, he may ask
for a reinvestigation thereof later on with the same right to
cross-examine the witnesses against him: Provided, finally, That
notwithstanding such waiver the said investigation must be terminated
within seven days from its inception.
Sec. 90. Costs, fees, fines and forfeitures in
municipal court. — There shall be taxed against and collected from the
defendant, in case of his conviction in the municipal court, such costs
and fees as may be prescribed by law in criminal cases in justice of
the peace courts. All costs, fees, fines and forfeitures shall be
collected by the clerk of court, who shall keep a docket of those
imposed and of those collected, and shall pay collections of the same
to the city treasurer, for the benefit of the city, on the next
business day after the same are collected, and take receipts therefor.
The municipal judge shall examine said docket each day, compare the
same with the amount receipted for by the city treasurer and satisfy
himself that all such costs, fees, fines and forfeitures have been duly
accounted for.
Sec. 91. Commitment to prison. — No person shall be
confined in the prison by sentence of the municipal court until the
warden or officer in charge of the prison shall receive a written
commitment showing the offense for which the prisoner was tried, the
date of the trial, the exact terms of the judgment or sentence, and the
date of the order of the commitment. The clerk shall, under seal of the
court, issue such commitment in each case of sentence to imprisonment.
ARTICLE XVI
Regulation of Places of Amusements and Sale of Intoxicating Liquors
Sec. 92. Power of Municipal Board over amusement
place. — All laws and executive orders existing at the time of the
approval of this Act referring to the regulation of night-clubs,
cabarets, dancing schools, pavilions, cockpits, bars, saloons, bowling
alleys, billiard pools and tables, boxing contests and other place of
amusements and the regulations for the sale of intoxicating liquors,
shall be inoperative within the City of Caloocan, and the power to
promulgate such regulations shall be vested in the Municipal Board and
the Mayor by ordinance.
ARTICLE XVII
Final and Transitory Provisions
Sec. 93. Municipal ordinances existing at the time of
approval of this Act. — All municipal ordinances of the Municipality of
Caloocan existing at the time of the approval of this Act shall
continue in force within the City of Caloocan until the Municipal Board
shall by ordinance provide otherwise.
Sec. 94. Tax delinquencies existing before this Act
takes effect. — All real property tax delinquencies existing in the
City of Caloocan before this Act takes effect shall be governed by the
provisions of law then in force: Provided, That all penalties due on
the delinquent realty taxes for the year or years preceding that in
which this Act is approved, shall be remitted if such taxes are paid
within one year from the approval hereof.
Sec. 95. Change of government. — The city government
provided for in this Chapter shall be organized on such a date as may
be fixed by the President of the Philippines. t
The incumbent Mayor, Vice-Mayor and members of the municipal council of
the Municipality of Caloocan shall continue in office as the Mayor,
Vice-Mayor, and members of the Municipal Board of the city,
respectively, until the expiration of their present terms of office.
Sec. 96. Representative District. — Until otherwise
provided by law, the City of Caloocan shall continue as part of the
first representative district of the Province of Rizal.
Sec. 97. This Act shall take effect on January
sixteen, nineteen hundred sixty-two, if a majority of the voters of the
Municipality of Caloocan vote in favor of the conversion of their
municipality into a city as provided in this Act in a plebiscite which
shall be held on the day of the general elections of nineteen hundred
sixty-one, and the Commission on Elections shall prescribe the form of
the ballot for this purpose.
Approved: June 17, 1961.
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