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REPUBLIC ACT NO. 5478 - AN
ACT CREATING THE CITY OF PAGADIAN
PRELIMINARY ARTICLE SECTION 1. Title of Act. — This Act shall be known as the Charter of the City of Pagadian. ARTICLE I Sec. 2. Corporate character of the City. — The City of Pagadian constitutes a political body corporate and is endowed with the attribute of perpetual succession and possessed of the powers which pertain to a municipal corporation, to be exercised in conformity with the provisions of this Charter. Sec. 3. Territory of the City of Pagadian. — The City of Pagadian, which is hereby created, shall comprise the present territorial jurisdiction of the Municipality of Pagadian in the Province of Zamboanga del Sur or as hereinafter changed in accordance with law. Sec. 4. Seal and general powers of the City. — The City shall have a common seal, which it may alter at will. It may take, purchase, receive, hold, lease, convey, and dispose of real and personal property within or without its corporate limits for the general interests of the city, condemn private property for public use, contract and be contracted with, sue and be sued, prosecute and defend, to final judgment and execution, all actions where its interests are involved, and exercise all the powers herein conferred, together with all the powers implied thereby or appropriate to the exercise thereof. The provisions of this Charter shall be liberally construed in favor of the city, to the end that it may have all the necessary powers for the efficient conduct of its municipal affairs. The specific mention of particular powers in other sections of this Charter shall not be construed as limiting the powers of the city in the premises to those thus mentioned. Sec. 5. Liability for damages. — The City shall not be liable or held for damages or injuries to persons or property arising from the failure of the City Board, the Mayor or any other city officer or employee, jointly or individually to enforce the provisions of this Charter or any other law or ordinance, or from the negligence of said City Board, Mayor or other city officers or employees while enforcing or attempting to enforce said provisions. Sec. 6. Jurisdiction of the city for police
purposes. — The jurisdiction of the City of Pagadian for police
purposes shall be co-extensive with its territorial jurisdiction, and
shall extend to three miles from the shore of the city; but for the
purpose of protecting and insuring the purity of the water supply of
the city, 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 service. Sec. 7. Income, receipts and profits derived from sale or administration of alienable and disposable lands of the public domain. — All incomes, receipts, and profits derived from the sale, deposit and or administration of alienable and disposable lands of the public domain within the City of Pagadian shall accrue to the City notwithstanding any provisions of law to the contrary. Sec. 8. Administrative Councilor Districts. — The
barrios and districts in the Municipality of Pagadian organized and
functioning as barrios in accordance with Republic Act Numbered
Thirty-five hundred ninety and comprising the Municipality of Pagadian
shall, upon the effectivity of this Charter, be called districts as
political subdivisions of the City of Pagadian and continue to retain
their corporate power and corresponding names or numerical designations
as such until changed or abolished by law or ordinance. Sec. 9. Duties, responsibilities and powers over
district governments. — The city government or its departments,
agencies, or the officers thereof, as the case may be, shall exercise
the duties and assume the responsibilities and powers over the district
governments within the jurisdiction of the city as are by law conferred
upon municipal and provincial governments, their departments, their
agencies or their officers, as the case may be, over barrio
governments; including the creation of new ones. ARTICLE II Sec. 20. Nature of Office. — The Mayor shall be the chief executive of the city and as such shall have immediate control over the executive functions of the different departments and agencies of the city, subject to the general supervision of the President as may be provided for by law. He shall receive a compensation in accordance with existing laws, and shall be entitled, in addition to his salary, to a commutable allowance of not exceeding six thousand pesos per annum. Sec. 21. General powers and duties of the Mayor. —
The Mayor shall have the following general powers and duties: Sec. 22. The Vice-Mayor. — The Vice-Mayor shall
perform the duties and exercise the powers of the Mayor in the event of
death, resignation or permanent incapacity of the Mayor for the
completion of the unexpired term of the latter. If, for any reason, the
Mayor is temporarily incapacitated to perform the duties of his office
because of absence on leave, sickness, or any temporary incapacity, the
Vice-Mayor shall perform the duties and exercise the powers that may be
delegated to him in writing by the Mayor, during the period of the
Mayor's temporary incapacity or absence. The Vice-Mayor shall ipso
facto be the presiding officer of the City Board. If the Vice-Mayor is
temporarily incapacitated for the performance of his official duties,
the councilor who received the highest number of votes in the last
elections shall serve as Acting Vice-Mayor. In the event of the
inability of the elected Mayor to assume office, and 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
councilor who received the highest number of votes in the last
elections shall serve as Acting Mayor and while so serving shall not
perform any duty as a member of the Board but shall continue to hold
the office of Councilor. In such event, the remaining members of the
Board shall elect from among themselves the presiding officer. For
service as Acting Mayor or Acting Vice-Mayor, the Vice-Mayor or
Councilor shall receive a total compensation equivalent to the salary
and other emoluments of the Mayor or Vice-Mayor, as the case may be,
during such period. Sec. 23. Secretary to the Mayor or the City
Secretary. — The Mayor, any provision of law to the contrary
notwithstanding, shall appoint one secretary who 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 regulations signed by the Mayor and all other official
documents and papers of the government of the City as may be required
by custom, in the discretion of the Mayor; shall attest all executive
orders, promulgations, ordinances and resolutions signed by the Mayor
and shall perform such other duties as the Mayor may require of him;
shall, on demand, furnish certified copies of all city records and
documents in his charge which are not a confidential character and
collect and receive such fees as may be prescribed by resolution of the
City Board, and pay over such fees collected by him to the City
Treasurer. He shall perform also such duties as are required of the
heads of the departments of the city government and for the purposes of
this section, the secretary shall be considered the head of a
department. The position of 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 al the benefits and privileges of classified employees,
except that he shall hold office only during the term of office of the
appointing Mayor and until a successor in the office of secretary is
appointed and qualified, unless sooner separated for or without cause
by the Mayor. ARTICLE III Sec. 24. Constitution and organization of the City Board; filling of vacancies. — The City Board shall be composed of the Vice-Mayor, who shall be its presiding officer and the eight elected councilors. The presiding officer of the Board shall have the right to vote only in case of a tie. He shall sign all ordinances, resolutions and motions directing the payment of money or creating liability enacted or adopted by the City Board. Should any member of the City Board be a candidate for office in any election, he shall be disqualified to act with the Board in the discharge of the duties conferred upon it relative to election matters, and in such case the other members of the Board shall discharge said duties without his assistance or they may choose a disinterested elector of the city to act with the Board in such matters in his stead. Should a member-elect die before assumption of office or such member-elect failed to qualify for any reason, the President may, at his discretion, either call a special election or fill the office by appointment. Permanent vacancies occurring after assumption of office shall be filled by appointment by the President of a suitable person belonging to the political party of the officer whom he is to replace, any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding. A city councilor shall receive a compensation in accordance with existing laws. Sec. 25. Appointment and duties of the Secretary
of the Board. — The Board shall have a secretary who shall be appointed
by the Mayor with the consent of the City Board and who shall serve at
the pleasure of the appointing power. Sec. 26. Legislative procedure and publication of
ordinances. — The first meeting of the newly elected City Board shall
be held at nine o'clock in the morning of the first business day of
January following its election, after which the Board shall meet
regularly in session at such times and on such days as may be
prescribed by resolution but not less frequently than once for three
days every first and third week of every month, and such extraordinary
session as may be called at the instance of the Mayor or at the request
of any three members of the Board and upon at least twelve hours notice
to each member. It shall keep a record of its proceedings and determine
its own order of business and rules of procedure not herein set forth.
It shall have the power to punish any member for disorderly conduct
with the concurrence of at least two-thirds vote of all its members;
may suspend for not more than sixty days any member and by the same
vote, but subject to the approval of the President, may expel a member.
Five members of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction
of business but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day and the
Vice-Mayor may compel the immediate attendance of any member absent
without good cause by issuing to the police of the city an order for
his arrest and production at the session under such penalties as shall
have been previously prescribed by ordinance. Five affirmative votes
shall be necessary for the passage of any ordinance, or of any
resolution directing the payment of money or creating liability. All
other acts of the City Board, unless provided for in its rules shall
prevail upon the majority vote of the members present at any meeting
duly called and held. Except in cases where the vote is unanimous, the
ayes and nays shall be taken and recorded upon the passage of any
ordinance and upon the request of any member, upon any other resolution
or motion. Except as may be otherwise expressly provided in this
Charter, all legislation including but not limited to, all acts
establishing a fine or other penalty or providing for the expenditure
of public funds or for the contracting of indebtedness or liability,
shall be by ordinance. Sec. 27. Procedures as to ordinance following
passage; mayor's veto. — Each ordinance and each resolution approved or
adopted by the Board after having been signed by the Secretary and the
presiding officer of the City Board shall be forwarded to the Mayor for
his approval. Within ten days after the receipt of the same,
non-working days excepted, the Mayor shall return it to the Board with
his approval or veto. If he does not return it within that time, it
shall be deemed to be approved. If he returns it with his veto, his
reason therefor in writing shall accompany it. It may then be again
enacted by a majority vote of all the members of the City Board, and
again forwarded to the Mayor for his approval and if within ten days
after its receipt, non-working days excepted, he does not return it
with his veto, it shall be deemed to be approved. If within said time
he again returns it with his veto, it may again be reenacted by the
affirmative vote of six members of the City Board and in such a case
the ordinance is deemed approved. Sec. 28. Legislative Powers. — Any provision of
law and executive order to the contrary notwithstanding, the City Board
shall have the following powers: Sec. 29. Power over subdivisions. — The City Board
shall have power by ordinance to require that no plat or plan or
subdivision of a residential estate within its jurisdiction will be
presented for approval or verification to the Bureau of Lands and/or
the Land Registration Commission until the same shall have been
approved by the City Engineer under such regulations as may be provided
by ordinance. Such regulations may provide for the proper arrangements,
design, and width of streets in relation to other existing or planned
streets; for adequate and convenient open spaces for traffic, public
services, access of fire-fighting apparatus, recreation, light, and
air, for the avoidance of congestion of population, including minimum
width and area of lots in the several districts or sections of the
city. Such regulations may also include provisions as to the extent to,
and methods by, which streets and other ways may be graded, or drained,
and improved and water and sewers and other public service mains,
piping or other facilities installed. Such regulations shall provide
for approval of the plat or plan within thirty days after the
submission to the City Engineer. ARTICLE IV Sec. 30. City Departments. — There shall be a finance department, a law department, an engineering department, a health department, a police department, a fire department and an assessment department. Any existing law to the contrary notwithstanding, the Mayor shall have direct control and supervision over all the city departments. Consistent with law, the City Council may, from time to time, make such readjustment of the duties of the several departments as the public interest may demand, and, with the approval of the City Mayor, may create, merge and/or consolidate any department, division or office of the city with any other department, division or office. Sec. 31. Powers and duties of heads of
departments. — Each head of department of the city government shall be
in control of such department and shall possess such powers as may be
prescribed herein or by ordinance. He shall certify to the correctness
of all payrolls and vouchers of his department covering the payment
except as herein otherwise expressly provided. At least three months
before the beginning of each fiscal year, he shall prepare, and present
to the Mayor for submission to the Board 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. Sec. 32. Appointments and removal of officials and
employees. — The President of the Philippines shall appoint, with the
consent of the Commission on Appointments, the judges of the court, the
city engineer, the city fiscal and his assistants, and the city
superintendent of schools. Said officers shall not be suspended nor
removed except in the manner and for cause provided by law. ARTICLE V Sec. 33. The City Treasurer — His powers and duties. — There shall be a city treasurer who shall have charge of the finance department and shall act as chief fiscal officer and financial adviser of the city and custodian of its funds. He shall have the following general powers and duties: (a) He shall collect all taxes due the city, all license fees authorized by law or ordinance, all rents due for lands, markets, and other property owned by the city, all further charges of whatever nature fixed by law or ordinance, and shall receive and issue receipt for all costs, fees, fines, and forfeitures, imposed by the city court from the clerk thereof, and the fees collected by the sheriff or his deputies. (b) He shall collect all miscellaneous charges made by the Engineering Department and by other departments of the city government, and all charges made by the city engineer for inspections, licenses, and the installations, maintenance, and services rendered in the operation of the private privy system. (c) Unless otherwise specifically provided by law or regulations, he shall perform in and for the city the duties imposed by law or regulation upon provincial treasurers generally as well as the other duties imposed upon him by law. (d) He shall purchase and issue all supplies, equipment or other property required by the city as may be authorized, subject to the general provisions of law relating thereto. (e) He shall be accountable for all funds and property of the city and shall render such accounts in connection therewith as may be prescribed by the Auditor General. (f) He shall deposit daily all municipal funds and collections in any bank duly designated as Government depository. (g) He shall disburse the funds of the city in accordance with duly authorized appropriations, upon properly executed vouchers bearing the approval of the chief of the department concerned, and on or before the twentieth day of each month he shall furnish the Mayor and the City Board for the administrative information a statement of the appropriation, expenditures and balances of all funds and accounts as of the last day of the month preceding. ARTICLE VI Sec. 34. The Chief of Police — His powers and duties. — There shall be a Chief of Police who shall have charge of the Police Department, and everything pertaining thereto, including the organization, administration, discipline and disposition and the transfer of members from and to the City Police and Secret Service Division and Traffic Division; shall investigate under the direction of the Mayor, any complaint filed against members of the police and report the result of his investigation to the Mayor making recommendation he may deem pertinent for such action as said officer may consider necessary. He shall have the following powers and duties: (a) He may issue supplementary regulations not incompatible with law or general regulations promulgated by the proper department head of the National Government, in accordance with law, for the governance of the city police and detective force. (b) He shall quell riots, disorders, disturbances, of the peace, and shall arrest and prosecute violators of any law or ordinance; shall exercise police supervision over all land and water within the police jurisdiction of the city; shall be charged with the protection of the rights of persons and property wherever found within the jurisdiction of the city, and shall arrest, without warrant when necessary to prevent the escape of the offender, violators of any law or ordinance, and all who obstruct or interfere with him in the discharge of his duty; shall exercise supervision, administration and control over the city jail and city prisoners; and shall be responsible for the safekeeping of all prisoners in the city jail until they shall be released from custody, in accordance with law or delivered to the warden of the proper prison or penitentiary upon order from the court of competent jurisdiction. (c) He may take good and sufficient bail for the appearance before the Judge of the City 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 recommend and fix the bail to be required, of the person arrested. (d) He shall have authority, within the police jurisdiction of the city, to serve and execute criminal processes of any court; shall be deputy sheriff of the city; and as such he shall, personally or by representative, attend the sessions of the City Court, and shall execute promptly and faithfully all orders of the Mayor, including assignments and transfer of personnel, and all writs and processes of the City Court. (e) He shall cause to be investigated the causes of sudden deaths which have not been satisfactorily explained and when there is suspicion that the cause arose from unlawful acts or omissions of other persons or from foul play and in general, victims of violence, sex crimes, accidents, self-inflicted injuries, intoxication, drug addiction, state of malingering and mental disorders which occur within the jurisdiction of the city and the examinations of evidences and tell-tale marks of crimes. For the purpose he may cause autopsies to be made and shall be entitled to demand and receive for the purpose of such investigations and/or autopsies the aid of the health authorities. (f) He shall have such other powers and perform such other duties as may be prescribed by law or ordinance. (g) He shall have such assistant and additional personnel as may be prescribed by law or ordinance. Sec. 35. Deputy Chief of Police. — There shall be a Deputy Chief of Police whose duties shall be to act as the Chief of Police in the absence or inability of the Chief of Police, and under the direction of such chief, 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. 36. The Secret Service — Traffic Division. — There shall be a secret service and a traffic division of the Police Department. The secret service division shall have charge of the detective work of the Police Department and of the detective force of the city, and shall perform such other duties as may be assigned to it by the Chief of Police or prescribed by law or ordinance. The traffic division shall have charge of the enforcement of traffic laws, regulations and ordinances. These divisions shall each be headed by police officers under the Chief of Police as the approved table of organization of the Police Department may provide. Sec. 37. 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 forces shall be peace officers. Such peace officers are
authorized to serve and execute all processes of the city court and
criminal processes of all other courts to whomsoever directed within
the jurisdictional limits of the city or within the police limits as
hereinbefore defined; within the same territory, to pursue and arrest
without warrant, any person found in suspicious places or under
suspicious circumstances reasonably tending to show that such person
has committed, or is about to commit, a crime or breach of peace; to
arrest or cause to be arrested, without warrant, any offender when the
offense is committed in the presence of a peace officer or within his
view; and in such pursuit or arrest, to enter any building, boat or
vessel or take into custody any person therein suspected of having
committed theft; and to exercise such other powers and perform such
other duties as may be prescribed by law or ordinance. They shall
detain an arrested person only in accordance with the provisions of
existing laws relative to such detention. Whenever the Mayor shall deem
it necessary to avert danger or to protect life and property, in case
of riot, disturbance, or public calamity, or when he has reason to fear
any serious violation of law and order, he may request the assistance
of the Philippine Constabulary or other members of the Armed Forces of
the Philippines and/or other police agencies. Except only in such cases
of specific requests made, police jurisdiction and supervision and the
preservation of peace and order shall pertain exclusively to the peace
officers herein mentioned, existing law to the contrary
notwithstanding. In such cases also, the Mayor shall have the power to
swear in special police, in such number as the occasion may demand.
Such special police shall have the same powers while on duty as members
of the regular force. ARTICLE VII Sec. 38. Chief of Fire Department — His powers and duties. — There shall be a chief of Fire Department who shall have the following general powers and duties: (a) He shall have the management and control of all matters relating to the administration of said department; and the organization, governance, discipline, and disposition of the fire force. He may issue supplementary regulations not incompatible with law or general regulations issued by the proper department head of the National Government in accordance with law, for the governance of the fire force. (b) He shall have charge of the fire engine houses, fire engines, hose carts, hooks and ladders, trucks, and all other fire fighting apparatus. (c) He shall have full police powers in the vicinity of fires and shall have authority to remove or demolish any building or other property whenever it shall become necessary to prevent spreading of fire or to protect adjacent property. (d) He shall investigate and report to the Mayor on the origin and cause of all fires occurring within the city. (e) He shall inspect all buildings erected or under construction or repair and determine whether they provide sufficient protection against fire and whether they comply with the ordinance relating thereto. (f) He shall have charge of the city fire alarm service. (g) He shall 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. (h) He shall supervise the manufacture, storage, and use of petroleum, gas, acetylene, gunpowder and other highly combustible matters and explosives; and shall see that all ordinances relating to the subject or any of them are enforced. (i) He shall have such other powers and perform such other duties as may be prescribed by law or ordinance. ARTICLE VIII Sec. 39. The City Engineer — His powers and duties. — There shall be a city engineer, who shall be in charge of the Engineering Department. The City Engineer shall have the following powers and duties: (a) He shall have charge of all the surveying and engineering work of the city; and shall perform such service 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 survey of the city, locate, establish, and survey all city property and also private property abutting on the same whenever directed by the Mayor. (c) He shall prepare and submit plans, maps, specifications, and estimates for buildings, streets, bridges, docks and other public works, and supervise the construction and repair of the same. (d) He shall make such tests and inspection of engineering materials used in construction and repair as may be necessary to protect the city from the use of materials of a poor or dangerous quality. (e) He shall have the care of all public buildings, when erected, including markets and slaughterhouses and all buildings rented for city purposes, and of any system now or hereafter established by the city for lighting the streets, public places, and public buildings. (f) He shall have the care of all public streets, parks and bridges, and shall maintain, clean, sprinkle, and regulate the use of the same for all purposes as provided by ordinance; shall collect and dispose of all garbage, refuse, the contents of closets, vaults, and cesspools, and all other offensive and dangerous substances within the city. (g) He shall have the care and custody of all public docks, wharves, piers, levees and landing places in the city, including all existing public wharves, piers and landing places in the city, and provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding. (h) He shall prevent the encroachment of private buildings and fences on the streets and public places on the city. (i) He shall have general supervision and inspection of all private docks, wharves, piers, levees, and landing places, and other property bordering on the harbor, river, esteros, and waterways of the city, and shall recommend to the Mayor for issuance of permits for the construction, repair and removal of the same, and enforce all ordinances in relation to the same. (j) He shall have the care and custody of existing public system of waterworks and sewers, and all sources of water supply, and shall control, maintain, and regulate the use of the same in accordance with the 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 sewer system. (k) He shall supervise the laying of the mains and connections for the purpose of supplying gas to the inhabitants of the city. (l) He shall inspect and render the report on the conditions of public property and public works whenever required by the Mayor. (m) He shall supervise and regulate the location and use of engines, boilers, forges, and other manufacturing and heating appliances in accordance with law and ordinances relating thereto. He is authorized to charge fees at rates to be fixed by the Board with the approval of the department head, for sanitation and transportation services and supplies furnished by his department. (n) He shall inspect and supervise the construction, repair, removal, and safety of private buildings, and regulate and enforce the numbering of houses in accordance with the ordinances of the city. (o) With the previous approval of the Mayor in each case, he shall order the removal of buildings and structures erected in violation of the ordinances; shall order the removal of the materials employed in the construction or repair of any building or structure made in violation of said ordinances; and shall cause buildings or structures dangerous to the public to be made secure or torn down. (p) He shall file and preserve all maps, plans, notes, surveys, and other papers and documents pertaining to his office. Sec. 40. Authority to execute public works projects and improvements. — The City of Pagadian shall have the authority to undertake and carry out any public works projects and improvement, financed by city funds or any other funds 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 plans and specifications thereof by the City Mayor and the City Engineer with the favorable recommendation of the City Board shall constitute sufficient warrant for the undertaking and execution of said projects. It may, however, consult if it so desires, the Department of Public Works and Communications in connection with the preparation of plans and specification for public works projects. The city shall likewise have the authority to execute city public works projects either by administration or by contracts under the usual bidding procedure of the government: Provided, That in case where expenditure of public funds is not involved, public bidding may be dispensed with. Sec. 41. Assistants and Employees. — To assist the
City Engineer in the discharge of his duties, there shall be such
assistant engineers, superintendents, and other employees as are from
time to time provided for in appropriation ordinances. ARTICLE IX Sec. 42. The City Fiscal — His powers and duties. — The City Fiscal shall be the Chief Legal Adviser of the city. 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. (b) He shall when requested, attend the meetings of the City Board, draw ordinances, contracts, bonds, leases, and other instruments involving any interest of the City and inspect and pass upon any such instrument already drawn. (c) 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. (d) He shall, whenever it is brought to his knowledge that any city officer or employee is guilty of neglect or misconduct in office or that any person, firm, or corporation holding or exercising any franchise or public privilege from the city, has failed to comply with any condition, or to pay any consideration mentioned in the grant of such franchise or privilege, investigate or cause to be investigated the same and report his findings and recommendations to the Mayor. (e) He shall, when directed by the Mayor, institute and prosecute in the city's interest a suit on any bond, lease, or other contract, and upon any breach or violation thereof; and shall prosecute and defend all civil actions related or connected with, any city office or interest. (f) He shall investigate all charges of crimes, misdemeanors and violation of laws and city ordinances and complaint against the person accused. He or any of his assistants may conduct such investigation by taking oral evidence of reputed witnesses and for this purpose may, by subpoena or subpoena duces tecum summon witnesses to appear and testify under oath before him or to produce documents and other evidence before him, and the attendance of, or the production of documents and other evidence of an absent or recalcitrant witness may be enforced by application to the City Court or the Court of First Instance. No witness summoned to testify under this section shall be under obligation to give testimony tending to incriminate himself. (g) He shall have charge of the prosecution of all crimes, misdemeanors and violations of laws and city ordinances triable in the Court of First Instance of Zamboanga del Sur, and City Court and shall discharge all the duties in respect to criminal prosecution enjoined by law upon provincial fiscals. (h) He shall cause to be investigated the causes of sudden deaths which have not been satisfactorily explained and when there is suspicion that the cause arose from unlawful acts or omissions of other persons or from foul play and in general, victims of violence, sex crimes, accidents, self-inflicted injuries, intoxication, drug addiction, state of malingering and mental disorders which occur within the jurisdiction of the city and the examination of evidences and tell-tale marks of crimes. 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 and/or autopsies the aid of the health authorities. In case the City Fiscal deems it necessary to have further expert assistance for the satisfactory performance of his duties in relation with medico-legal matters or knowledge including the giving of medical testimony in the courts of justice, he shall request the same from the Head of the Department of Legal Medicine of the College of Medicine and Surgery of the University of the Philippines, or the aid of the Medico-Legal Section of the National Bureau of Investigation, which shall thereupon, furnish the assistance required in accordance with its power and facilities. (i) He shall at all times render such professional services as the Mayor or Board may require, and shall have such powers and perform such duties as may be prescribed by law or ordinance. Sec. 43. Assistants and employees. — To assist the
City Fiscal in the performance of his duties, he shall have such
assistants and clerks as may be provided for by the City Board. ARTICLE X Sec. 44. The City Health Officer — His powers and duties. — There shall be a City Health Officer who shall have charge of the Health Department. The Municipal Health Officer of the Pagadian Rural Health Unit shall be the ex-officio City Health Officer and he shall receive additional compensation as the Board may appropriate in accordance with law. The City Health Officer shall have the following general powers and duties: (a) He shall have general supervision and control over the health and sanitary conditions of the city including the cleaning of crematories, cemeteries and markets. (b) He shall execute and enforce all laws, ordinances and regulations relating to public health. (c) He shall recommend to the City Board the passage of such ordinance as he may deem necessary for the preservation of public health. (d) He shall cause to be prosecuted all violations of sanitary laws, ordinances, or regulations. (e) He shall make sanitary inspections and may be aided therein by such members of the police force of the city as shall be designated as sanitary police by the chief of police and by such sanitary inspectors as may be authorized by law or ordinance. (f) He shall keep a civil registry for the city and record therein all births, marriages and deaths with their respective dates. (g) He shall perform such other duties not repugnant to law or ordinance, with reference to the health and sanitation of the city as the Director of Health Services shall direct: Provided, That nothing in this law shall be interpreted as to curtail the powers and duties conferred by existing law to the Director of Health Services over the City of Pagadian as part of the Philippines, and that the Director of Health Services shall have technical control over the health work of the city. There shall be an assistant city health officer who shall assist the said city health officer and shall perform such other duties the city health officer may assign to him. The assistant city health officer shall be paid from city funds. ARTICLE XI Sec. 45. The City Assessor — His powers and duties. — There shall be a City Assessor who shall have charge of the Assessment Department. He and his authorized deputies who are empowered to administer any oath authorized to be administered in connection with the valuation of real estate for the assessment and collection of taxes shall appraise and value at their fair market value all the real estate in the city, and assess for taxation all such real estate not expressly exempt, including machines, mechanical contrivances, instruments, tools and implements, appliances, apparatus and paraphernalia used for industrial, agricultural or manufacturing purposes when attached to land or buildings. He shall prepare and file with the City Treasurer before April first of each year a list of the real estate, machines, mechanical contrivances, instruments, tools and implements, appliances, apparatus and paraphernalia so valued which are exempt from taxation, and a separate list of the taxable real estate, appliances, machines, apparatus, mechanical contrivances, instruments, tools, implements and paraphernalia: Provided, however, That if any taxpayer desires to pay his tax before April first, the City Assessor shall furnish the City Treasurer, upon request, with a certified list of the assessed value of the taxable properties of such taxpayer pertaining to the year for which the tax is offered to be paid. Sec. 46. List of taxable real estate, how made —
Examination of witnesses and register of deeds records. — The list of
the taxable real estate in the city and the names of the owners shall
be arranged in the order of the lot and block numbers, with a brief
description of the property opposite each such name and the cash value
thereof. In making the list, the City Assessor shall take into
consideration any sworn statement made by the owners of the property,
but shall not be prevented thereby from considering other evidence on
the subject and exercising his own judgment in respect thereto. For the
purpose of completing this list, he and his representative may enter
upon the real estate for the purpose of examining and measuring it, and
may summon witnesses, administer oaths to them and subject them to
examination concerning the ownership and the amount of real estate and
its cost value. He may, if necessary, examine the records of the office
of the Register of Deeds in the Province of Zamboanga del Sur showing
ownership of real estate in the City. Sec. 47. Real estate exemption from taxation. —
The following shall be exempted from taxation: Sec. 48. Declaration to be made by persons acquiring or improving real estate. — It shall be the duly of each person who, at any time, acquires real estate in the city, and of each person who constructs or adds to any improvement on real estate owned by him in the city, to prepare and present to the City Assessor within a period of sixty days, next succeeding such acquisition, construction or addition, a sworn declaration setting forth the value of the real estate acquired or the improvement constructed or addition made by him and a description of such property sufficient to enable the City Assessor readily to identify the same. Any person, having acquired real estate, who fails to make and present the declaration herein required within the said period of sixty days shall be deemed to have waived his right to notice of the assessment of such property and the assessment of the same in the name of its former owner shall, in all such cases, be valid and binding on all persons interested, and for all purposes, as though the same has been assessed in the name of its actual owner. Sec. 49. 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, upon discovery of such failure to declare, nevertheless, list the same for taxation, and charge the tax plus a compromise pay for late filing of return equivalent to twenty-five per centum of the annual tax exclusive of penalties provided in Section fifty hereof, against the true owner, if known, and if unknown, then as against an unknown owner. In case of doubt or dispute as to ownership of real estate, the taxes shall be levied against the possessor thereof. When it shall appear that there are separate owners of the land and the improvements thereon, a separate assessment of the property of each shall be made. Sec. 50. Action in case estate has escaped taxation. — If it shall come to the knowledge of the City Assessor that any taxable real estate in the city has escaped listing, it shall be his duty to list and value the same at the time and in the manner provided in the next succeeding section and to charge against the owner thereof the taxes due for the current year and for all others years since the original assessment under the city charter was made, and the taxes thus assessed shall be legal and collectible by all the remedies herein provided, and if the failure of the city assessor to assess such taxes at the time when they should have been assessed was due to any fault or negligence on the part of the owner of such property, the penalties shall be added to such back taxes as though they had been assessed. However, if the failure to assess was solely due to any fault or negligence of the City Assessor, penalty shall likewise be added if said taxes are not paid before the operation of the next tax collection period next ensuing or if the property had originally become delinquent after assessment in the usual course. Sec. 51. When assessment may be increased or reduced. — 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 each 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. 52. Publication of complete list and proceedings thereon. — The City Assessor shall, when the list shall be completed, inform the public by notice published once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the city, if any, and by notice posted for fourteen days at the main entrance of the city hall, that the list is on file in his office and may be examined by any person interested therein, and that upon the date fixed in the notice, which shall not be later than the tenth day of February and for five days thereafter, the City Assessor shall be present in his office to hear all complaints as to the accuracy of listing of the property and the assessed value thereof, filed within the specified 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 well-bound books, to be kept be him for that purpose, and if he believes that injustice had been done or errors have been committed he is authorized to amend the list in accordance with his findings. It shall be his duty to carefully preserve and record in his office copies of said notices. Sec. 53. City Assessor to authenticate list of
real estate assessed. — The City Assessor shall authenticate each list
of real estate valued and assessed by him as soon as the same is
completed, by signing the following at the foot thereof: Sec. 54. Time and manner of appealing to Board of Assessment Appeals. — In case the City Board or 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, the City Board or such owner or agent may, within thirty days after the taxpayer receives notice of such decision, appeal to the Board of Assessment 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 Board of Assessment Appeals with all written evidence in his possession relating to such assessment and valuation. Sec. 55. Constitution and compensation of members of the Board of Assessment Appeals. — There shall be a Board of Assessment Appeals which shall be composed of the Mayor, to act as Chairman, and four members, two of whom shall be owners of real estate in the City, to be chosen by the City Board without or with compensation as the City Board. The Mayor shall have the power to designate any city official or employee to serve as the Secretary of the Board of Assessment Appeals without additional compensation. Sec. 56. Oath to be taken by members of the Board
of Assessment Appeals. — Before organizing as such, the members of the
Board of Assessment Appeals shall take the following oath before the
City Judge or any other officer authorized to administer oaths: Sec. 57. Proceedings before the Board of Assessment Appeals. — The Board of Assessment Appeals shall meet on the third Monday in January of each year, shall hear all appeals transmitted to it, shall decide the same forthwith, and shall complete its work and adjourn on or before the thirty-first day of March of each year unless its session for any given year are extended to a later date by the City Board. It shall have authority to cause to be amended the listing and valuation of the property in respect to which appeals has been perfected by order signed by the Board or 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 Department Head first had, any and all erroneous or unjust assessment and valuations for taxation, and make a correct and just assessment and state the true valuation, in each case where it decides that the assessments previously made are erroneous or unjust. The list when so corrected shall be as lawful and valid for all purposes as though the assessments had been made within the time herein prescribed. Such reassessments and revaluation shall be made on due notice to the individual concerned and he shall be entitled to be heard by the Board of Assessment Appeals before any reassessment or revaluation is made. The decision of the Board of Assessment 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 decision, approved by the President of the Philippines, shall be final. Sec. 58. Taxes on real estate — Extension and
remission of the payment of tax. — A tax, the annual rate of which
shall not exceed two per centum on the assessed value of all real
estate in the city subject to taxation as hereinabove provided may be
levied by the City Board. The tax for any year shall be due and payable
on the first day of January and from this date such taxes together with
all penalties accruing thereto shall constitute a lien on the property
subject to such taxation. Such lien shall be superior to all other
liens, mortgages or encumbrances of any kind whatsoever; and shall be
enforceable against the property whether in the possession of the
delinquent or any subsequent owner, and can only be removed by the
payment of the tax and penalty. Sec. 59. Seizure of delinquent's personal property to satisfy tax, penalty and costs. — After a property shall have become delinquent in the payment of taxes and the corresponding penalties shall remain unpaid ninety days after payment thereof shall have become due, the City Treasurer, or his deputy, if he desires to compel payment through seizure of any personal property of any delinquent person or persons, shall issue a fully authenticated certificate, based on the records 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 proceedings. Sec. 60. Personal property exempt from seizure and
sale for Sec. 61. The owner may redeem personal property before sale. — The owner of the personal property seized may redeem the same from the collecting officer at any time after seizure and before sale by tendering to him the amount of the tax, the penalty, and the cost incurred up to the time of tender. The cost to be charged in making such seizure and sale shall only embrace the actual expenses of seizure the preservation of the property pending the sale, and no charge shall be imposed for the services of the collecting officer or his deputy. Sec. 62. Sale of seized personal property. —
Unless redeemed as hereinabove provided, the property seized through
proceedings under Section fifty-nine 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
shall acquire an indefeasible title to the property sold. Sec. 63. 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 upon his records. Any surplus resulting from the sale over and above the tax, penalty and 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. 64. Vesting title to real estate of the city government. — Upon the expiration of two years from the date on which the taxpayer has been delinquent, and in the event of continued default in the payment of the tax and penalty, all private rights, titles and interest in and to the real estate on which said tax is delinquent shall be indefeasibly vested in the city government subject only to the rights of redemption and repurchase provided for hereinbelow: Provided, That the title acquired by said city government to real estate shall not be superior to the title thereto of the original owner prior to the seizure thereof. Sec. 65. Redemption of real estate before seizure. — At any time after the delinquency shall have occurred, but not after the expiration of ninety days from the date of sale, the owner or his lawful representative or any person having any lien, right, or any other legal or equitable interest in said property, may pay the taxes and penalties accrued and thus redeem the property. Such redemption shall operate to divest the city government of its title to the property in question and to revert the same to the original owner, but when such redemption shall made by a person other than owner, the payment shall constitute a lien on the property, and the person making such payment shall be entitled to recover the same from the original owner, or if he be a lessee, he may retain the amount of said payment from the proceeds of any income due to the owner of such property: Provided, That the person exercising the right of redemption shall not acquire a title to said property better than that of the original owner prior to the seizure. Sec. 66. Notice of seizure of real estate. — Notice of seizure of the real estate shall be given by posting notices at the main entrance of the city hall, the provincial building and all the municipal buildings in the Province of Zamboanga del Sur, in English or Pilipino language and in the dialect commonly used in the locality. Three copies of said notice shall be posted on the property subject to seizure, and a copy shall be sent by registered mail to the delinquent owner. Such notices shall state the names of the delinquent persons, the date on which such delinquency commenced, the amount of the taxes and penalties then due from each, and shall state that unless such taxes and penalties are paid within ninety days from the date of the publication of such notice, the forfeiture of the delinquent real estate to the city government shall become absolute. Sec. 67. Ejectment of occupants of seized property. — After the expiration of ninety days from the date of sale, the City Treasurer, or his deputy, may issue to the Mayor or to other officers authorized by law to execute and enforce the laws a certificate describing the parcel of real estate on which the taxes have been declared delinquent, stating the amount of taxes due, and the penalties and costs accrued by reason of delinquency, and requesting him to eject from said property all the tenants or occupants thereon. Upon receiving such certificate, the Mayor or any other officer authorized to enforce the law shall forthwith have all the tenants and occupants who refuse to recognize the title of the city expelled from the property in question, and to that end he may use the police force: Provided, however, That if the property so seized is or includes a residential house, the occupant thereof shall be given sufficient time, not exceeding ten days from the date of the notice of ejectment, to vacate premises. Sec. 68. Redemption of real property before sale. — After the title to the property shall have become vested in the city government in the manner above provided and at any time prior to the sale or contract of sale by the City Treasurer to a third party, the original owner or his legal representative or any person having any lien, right, or other legal interest or equity in said property shall have the right to redeem the entire property in question, by paying the full amount of taxes and penalties due herein at the time of the seizure, and if the City Treasurer shall have entered into a lease of the property, the redemption shall be made subject to said lease: Provided, That the payment of the prices of sale, may at the discretion of the purchaser, be made in installments, extending over a period of not exceeding twelve months, but the initial payment, which must be made on the date of the filing of the application for redemption, and every subsequent payment, shall not be less than twenty-five per centum of the entire sum due, and shall in no case be less than two pesos, unless the total or the balance of the amount due on all seized property in the name of the taxpayer is less than two pesos. The purchaser may occupy the property after paying the first installment and the usual taxes on the property shall be payable in the year after that in which the application for redemption was approved. Any failure of the delinquent taxpayer to pay an installment on the date it is due shall have the effect of a forfeiture to the city government of any partial payment made by said taxpayer, and in case he has take possession of the property, he shall forthwith surrender the same to the city government. In case the purchaser should fail to relinquish possession of said property, the city treasurer or his deputy shall forthwith adopt measures to eject therefrom all the tenants or occupants thereof as provided for in this Act: Provided, however, That the original owner of any real estate seized prior to the approval of this Act, who redeems the same within six months subsequent to its approval, is hereby released from any obligation he may have to the government for rent for the use of such property: Provided, finally, That the provisions of this section shall apply to redemption of real estate seized for delinquency in the payment of taxes thereon and not redeemed up to the date of the effectivity of this Act. Sec. 69. Notice of sale of real estate at public auction. — At any time after the forfeiture of any real estate shall have become absolute, the treasurer, pursuant to the rules of procedure to be promulgated by the Department Head, may announce the sale of the real estate seized on account of delinquency in the payment of taxes thereon, for the redemption of which no application has been filed. Such announcement shall be made by posting a notice for three consecutive weeks at the main entrance of the city hall and of all the municipal buildings of the province, in either English or Pilipino language and in the dialect commonly used in the locality, and by publishing the same once a week during three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the city. Copies of such notice shall be sent immediately by registered mail to the delinquent taxpayer at the latter's home address, if known. The notice shall state the amount of the taxes and penalties so due, the time and place of sale, the name of the taxpayer against whom the taxes are levied, and the approximate area, the lot number and the location by district and street and the street number and district where the real estate to be sold is located. Sec. 70. Sale of real estate — Conditions. — At
the time of the sale or prior thereto, the taxpayer may stay the
proceedings by paying the taxes and penalties to the City Treasurer or
his deputy. Otherwise the sale shall proceed and shall be held either
at the main entrance of the city hall or on the premises of the real
estate to be sold as the City Treasurer or his deputy may determine,
the payment of the sale price may, at the option of the purchaser, be
made in installments covering a period not exceeding twelve months, but
the initial payment shall be made at the time of the sale, and each
subsequent payment shall not be less than twenty-five per centum of the
sale price. The purchaser may occupy the property after paying the
first installment, and usual taxes on the property shall be payable in
the year following that in which the sale took place. Any failure of
the purchaser to pay the total price of the sale within twelve months
from the date thereof, shall be sufficient ground for its cancellation,
and any part payment made shall revert to the city government and if
the purchaser has taken possession of the property he shall forthwith
surrender the same to the city government. In case the purchaser fails
to relinquish possession of the property, the City Treasurer or his
deputy shall immediately take steps to eject the tenants or occupants
of the property, in accordance with the procedure in sections sixty-six
and sixty-seven of this Act. Sec. 71. Redemption of real estate after sale. — Within one year from and after the date of 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 or his deputy the amount of the taxes, penalties, costs and interest at the rate of twelve per centum per annum on the purchase price, from the date of purchase to date of redemption; and such payment shall invalidate the certificate of sale issued to the purchaser, if any, and shall entitle the person making such payment to a certificate to be issued by the City Treasurer or his deputy, stating that he has thus redeemed the property, and the City Treasurer or his deputy, upon the return by the purchaser of the Certificate of sale previously issued to him shall forthwith refund to the purchaser the entire sum paid by him with interest at twelve per centum, as provided for herein, and such property shall thereafter be free from the lien of such taxes and penalties. Sec. 72. Execution of deed of final sale. — In case the delinquent taxpayer shall not redeem the property sold as herein provided within one year from the date of the sale, and the purchaser shall then have paid the total purchase price, the City Treasurer, as grantor, shall 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 had been sold, free from all liens or encumbrances of any kind whatsoever and said deed shall succinctly recite all the proceedings upon which the validity of the sale depends. All balance remaining from the proceeds of the sale after deducting the amount of taxes and penalties due, and the cost, if any, shall be returned to the original owner or his representatives. Sec. 73. Taxes and penalties which shall be paid upon redemption or purchase. — The taxes and penalties to be paid by way of redemption or repurchase shall comprise in all cases only the original tax by virtue of the failure to pay for which the seizure was made, and its incidental penalties up to the date of forfeiture of the real estate to the government. Sec. 74. Taxes — Legal procedure. — (a) The
assessment of a tax shall constitute a lawful indebtedness of the
taxpayer to the city which may be enforced by an action in any court of
competent jurisdiction, and this remedy shall be in addition to all
remedies provided by law. Sec. 75. Power to levy special assessment for
certain purposes. — The City Board may, by ordinance, provide for the
levying and collection by special assessment of the land comprised
within the district or section of the city specially benefited, 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, piers,
docks, levees, reservoirs, waterworks, watermains, water courses,
esteros, canals, drains, and sewers, including the cost of acquiring
the necessary land and public improvement thereon, as hereinafter
provided. Sec. 76. Property subject to special assessment. — All lands comprised within the district, or section benefited, except those owned by the Republic of the Philippines, the Province of Zamboanga del Sur and the City of Pagadian, shall be subject to the payment of the special assessment. Sec. 77. Base of apportionment. — The amount of special assessment shall be apportioned and computed according to the assessed valuations of such lands as shown in the books of the City Treasurer. If the property has not been declared for taxation purposes, the City Assessor shall immediately declared it for the owner and assess its value, and such value shall be the basis of the apportionment and computation of the special assessment due thereon. Sec. 78. Ordinance levying special assessment. —
The ordinance 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, delimiting the same by metes and bounds, if
practicable, and by other 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. Sec. 79. Publication of proposed ordinance levying
special Sec. 80. Protest against special assessment. — Not later than ten days after the last publication of the ordinance and list of landowners, as provided in the preceding section, the landowners affected, if they composed a majority and represent more than half of the total assessed value of said land may file with the City 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 signatories 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 under the conditions above specified, the ordinance shall be considered approved as published. Sec. 81. Hearing of protest. — The City 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 shall order the publication once a week, during 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 interested or their attorneys shall be appended to the proper records. After the hearing, the City 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. 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 Act shall be observed. Sec. 82. Proceeds from special assessments. — The proceeds of the special assessments and the penalties thereon shall be exclusive 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 assessments and levies for national public works. Sec. 83. When ordinance is to take effect. — The
ordinance levying special assessment shall take effect not later than
thirty days after its approval and same shall be effective in all
respects. ARTICLE XII Sec. 84. Annual budget. — The City Board shall make all appropriations for the expenses of the government of the city. At least two months before the beginning of each fiscal year, the City Treasurer shall present to the Mayor a certified detailed statement by department of all receipts and expenditures of the city pertaining to the preceding fiscal year, and to the first nine months of the current fiscal year, together with an estimate of the receipts 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 as required by Section thirty-one of this Charter, the Mayor shall formulate and submit to the City Board at least one month 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 appropriations ordinance: Provided, however, That in no case shall the aggregate amount such appropriation exceed the estimate of revenues and receipts submitted by the City Treasurer as provided above. Sec. 85. Supplemental budget. — Supplemental budget formulated in the same manner as the annual budget may be adopted at any time when special or unforeseen circumstances make such action necessary. Sec. 86. Failure to enact an appropriation
ordinance. — Whenever the Board fails to enact an appropriation
ordinance for any fiscal year before the end of the current fiscal
year, the several sums appropriated in the last appropriation ordinance
for the objects and purposes therein specified, so far as they may be
done, shall be deemed to be reappropriated for the several objects and
purposes specified in said last appropriation ordinance, and shall go
into effect on the first day of the new fiscal year as the
appropriation ordinance for that year, until a new appropriation
ordinance is duly enacted. ARTICLE XIII Sec. 87. Regular and Acting Judges of the City Court. — There shall be a city court for the City of Pagadian consisting of two branches, for which a presiding judge and another judge shall be appointed, to be known as judges of the first and second branches. The city judges shall receive each a salary in accordance with existing law from national funds. One judge shall be designated by the Secretary of Justice to try traffic cases and cases of juvenile delinquency in addition to such ordinary civil and criminal cases as may be assigned to him in the ordinary functions of the court. The City court shall have the same jurisdiction in civil and criminal cases and the same incidental powers as are at present conferred by law upon municipal courts and such additional jurisdiction and powers as may hereafter be conferred upon them by law. In case of absence, sickness or incapacity of any of the judges of the city and in case of any vacancies in such offices, the Secretary of Justice may designate and assistant fiscal in the Office of the Provincial Fiscal of Zamboanga del Sur to act as judge of the city court of the City of Pagadian with all the powers of a regular judge of said court, but such acting judge shall not receive any additional compensation during the time he is acting as such. Sec. 88. Clerks and employees of the City Court. — The clerk of court and deputy, stenographers and other employees of city court shall receive salary in accordance with existing law from national funds. There shall be a clerk of court of the City Court and a deputy clerk of court who shall be appointed by the executive city judge in accordance with the Civil Service Law, rules and regulations. There shall also be stenographers and other employees as may be necessary in each branch who shall be appointed by the respective city judge in accordance with the civil service law, rules and regulations. Sec. 89. Clerks and employees of the City Court. —
The City Court shall have such clerks of courts, stenographers and
other employees as may be necessary, to be appointed by the City Judge
of the First Branch and their salaries paid by the National Government. Sec. 90. Incidental powers of the City Court. — The City Court shall have power to administer oaths and to give certificates thereof: to issue summons, writs, warrants, executions and all other processes necessary to enforce its order and judgment; 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 behavior, 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. Sec. 91. Procedure in the City Courts in prosecution for violations of law and ordinances. — In a prosecution for the violation of any ordinance, the first process shall be 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 ordinances of the city in such case made and provided." All proceedings and prosecutions for offenses against the laws of the Philippines shall conform with the rules relating to process, pleading, practice, and procedure for the judiciary of the Philippines, and such rules shall govern the City Court and its officers, in all cases insofar as the same may be applicable. Sec. 92. Costs, fees, fines, and forfeitures in City Court. — There shall be taxed against, and collected from the defendant, in case of conviction, in the City Court, such costs and fees as may be prescribed by the City Board not exceeding the amount charged in municipal courts for criminal cases. 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 turn over the 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 therefrom. The City 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. 93. No person sentenced by the City Court can be confined without commitments. — No person shall be confined in prison by sentence of the City Court until the warden or officer in charge of prison shall receive a written commitment showing the offense for which the prisoner was tried, the date of the trial, the exact terms of judgment or sentence, and the date of the order of the commitment. The clerk shall, under seal of the Court, issue such a commitment in each case of sentence to imprisonment. Sec. 94. Procedure on appeal from the City Court.
— An appeal from the decision of the City Court shall proceed in the
manner as provided for by existing laws relating to appeals from
municipal courts. ARTICLE XIV Sec. 95. General Auditing Office — City Auditor. — The City Auditor, under the supervision of the Auditor General, shall receive and audit all accounts of the city, in accordance with the provision of law relating to government accounts and accounting. He shall be appointment by the Auditor General and shall receive a salary provided for under existing laws, fifty per centum of which shall be payable from the funds of the city and fifty per centum shall be payable from the funds of the National Government. Sec. 96. The City Register of Deeds. — The city
shall have a register of deeds who shall take charge of the
registration of real properties situated within the city and such
related activities connected therewith. In addition, he shall exercise
and perform such powers and duties as provided by law or ordinance. He
shall receive a salary fixed by existing law. Sec. 97. The Bureau of Public Schools —
Superintendent of City Schools. — The Director of the Bureau 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 schools of
their divisions. The city superintendent of schools shall receive a
salary fixed by existing law: Provided, That salaries of the city
superintendent, supervisors, principals, teachers and other operational
expenses of the primary, intermediate, secondary and other public
schools in the city shall be borne by the National Government. The
clerical force and assistants and laborers in the office of the city
superintendent of schools shall be appointed by the City Mayor in
accordance with the Civil Service Law, and their salaries shall be paid
by the city as well as the expenses for supplies and materials incident
to the operation of said office. Sec. 98. The Motor Vehicle Registrar. — The City
shall have a motor vehicle registrar who shall take charge of the
registration of motor vehicles within the city and such related
activities connected therewith. In addition, he shall exercise and
perform such powers and duties as provided by law or ordinance. He
shall receive a salary in accordance with existing law which shall be
borne by the National Government. ARTICLE XV Sec. 99. Restrictive provisions. — No commercial sign, signboard, or billboard shall be erected or displayed on public land, premises, or buildings. If after due investigation and having given the owners an opportunity to be heard, the Mayor of the city decides that any sign, signboard, or billboard displayed or exposed to the public view is offensive to the sight or is otherwise, a nuisance, he may order the removal of such sign, signboard or billboard, and if same is not removed within ten days after he has issued such order, he may himself cause its removal, and the sign, signboard, or billboard shall there upon be forfeited to the city, and the expenses incident to the removal of the same shall become a lawful charge against any person or property liable for the erection or display thereof. SECTION 100. Allotments of internal revenue and other taxes. — Of the internal revenue accruing to the National Treasurer under Chapter II, Title XII of Commonwealth Act Numbered Four hundred sixty-six, as amended, and other taxes collected by the National Government and allotted to the various provinces, as well as the national aid for schools, the city shall receive a share equal to what it would receive if it were a regularly organized province. SECTION 101. City acquisition and operation of utilities. — The city may own and operate any gas, water, heat, power, light, telephone or other public utility for supplying utility service to private consumers, or both. It may construct all facilities reasonably needed for the purpose and may acquire by purchase, condemnation or otherwise, any existing utility properties so needed; but no proceedings to acquire any public utility shall be consummated unless the city has the money in the treasury to pay for the acquisition or has made provisions for paying for the property proposed to be acquired. Subject to the provisions of any applicable law or Public Service Commission regulations the City Board may fix rates, fares, and prices for city-owned or operated utilities, but such rates, fares, and prices shall be just and reasonable. In like manner, the Board may prescribe the time and manner in which payments for all such services shall be made and may make such other regulations as may be necessary, and prescribe penalties for violation of such regulations. The City Board may, in lieu of providing for the local production of gas, electricity, water, and other utilities, purchase the same in bulk and resell them to local consumers at such rates as it may fix in accordance with law. The City Board may, if the public interest will be served thereby, contract with any responsible person, partnership, or corporation, for the operation of any utility owned by the city, upon the basis of the highest and best bid therefor, and upon such terms and conditions as the Board may provide; but the terms and conditions, other than the amount of the annual rental, shall be clearly set forth in an ordinance authorizing the taking of bids on the proposed lease, which ordinance shall not be adopted by the Board until thirty days after its construction and shall not in the meantime be amended or modified. SECTION 102. Engineering funds. — The engineering funds of the city shall be considered as city fund as well as all sums of money accruing to the city by virtue of any Public Works Act approved by Congress. SECTION 103. Ownership of existing waterworks, wharves and piers in the city. — Any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, all existing public waterworks, piers and wharves within the city shall be owned by the City, and revenues therefrom shall accrue to the general fund of the city. SECTION 104. Transitory Provisions. — The incumbent elective officials of the Municipality of Pagadian shall, upon the effectivity of this Charter, continue to hold their corresponding offices in the City of Pagadian for the full term for which they were elected or until their successors shall have been elected and qualified, unless sooner removed for cause. The officers and employees of the Municipality of Pagadian occupying position in the classified service, shall continue in the service and hold their corresponding offices or positions in the City of Pagadian upon the effectivity of this Act unless removed for cause as provided by law, or transferred. SECTION 105. Change of government. — The city government provided for in this Charter shall be organized upon the effectivity of this Act. All assets and liabilities of the Municipality of Pagadian, Province of Zamboanga del Sur, shall pass to the new city upon its organization. All ordinances, resolutions, orders or other regulations of the city on the date of the effectivity of this Act shall continue to be in full force and effect until repealed, modified or superseded by the City Board by ordinances. SECTION 106. Participation of voters in provincial elections. — The qualified voters of the City of Pagadian shall be entitled to vote in any election for the offices of the Provincial Governor, Vice-Governor, and Members of Provincial Board of the Province of Zamboanga del Sur and that any of such qualified voters can be a candidate for any provincial office. SECTION 107. Conduct of elections in the City of Pagadian. — To carry out the purposes of the Revised Election Code in the election of public officers in the City of Pagadian the duties which are by said law made incumbent upon provincial boards and municipal councils shall be performed by the City Board and the duties imposed by said law upon provincial treasurers and municipal secretaries shall be performed by the City Treasurers and the Secretary to the Mayor, respectively. SECTION 108. Congressional district — Provincial capital. — Until otherwise provided by law, the City of Pagadian shall continue as part of the Congressional District of Zamboanga del Sur. It shall continue to be the capital of the Province of Zamboanga del Sur and as such enjoy all rights and privileges granted by law to capitals of provinces. SECTION 109. Application of other Acts. — The provisions of Republic Acts Numbered Twenty-two hundred sixty- four and Fifty-one hundred eighty-five, insofar as they are consistent with the provisions of this Act, shall apply to the City of Pagadian. SECTION 110. Repealing Clause. — All laws or parts of laws, executive orders and proclamation or parts thereof inconsistent with any of the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly. SECTION 111. Construction of this Act. — If any part or section of this Act shall be declared unconstitutional such declaration shall not invalidate the other provisions thereof. SECTION 112. Effectivity of this Act. — This Act shall take effect upon its approval. Approved: June 21, 1969 |
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