Question & AnswerQ&A (Act No. 1397)
Act No. 1397 provides for the establishment of local civil governments in the townships in the provinces of Nueva Vizcaya, Lepanto-Bontoc, Mindoro, Palawan, Ilocos Sur, Benguet, and settlements of non-Christian tribes in Philippine Islands not within Moro Province limits.
Townships organized under this Act are recognized as municipal corporations with the power to sue and be sued, contract, acquire and hold property for the township's interest, and exercise powers provided by the Act.
Electors must be male, at least 18 years of age, legal residents of the township for six months preceding the election, and not citizens or subjects of a foreign power, excluding U.S. military personnel stationed there.
Persons delinquent in public taxes, deprived of voting rights by court, those who violated the oath of allegiance, those who took arms against the U.S. after April 9, 1902, those who aided enemies after that date without amnesty, and insane or feeble-minded persons.
Each township government is vested in a president, vice-president, and a council composed of councilors, one from each barrio of the township.
The president is the chief executive, executes ordinances, supervises officials, inspects township records, issues police orders, assists in tax collection, presides over township court, recommends measures to council, and appoints certain officers with council consent.
Ecclesiastics, active soldiers, persons receiving government salaries, those delinquent in tax payments, and public works contractors in the province cannot hold township office.
The council includes elected councilors and the president as presiding officer; it fixes employee salaries, manages township property, enacts ordinances for health, safety, education, law enforcement, taxation, and regulates various local affairs subject to provincial board approval.
The council may levy taxes for local purposes excluding import/export taxes, impose fees for licenses and privileges, collect specific fees, and tax property owners with limits on tax types and amounts, with taxes collected primarily by the provincial treasurer or deputies.
Violations can lead to suspension, removal from office by council majority vote, fines, imprisonment of six months to two years, and for electoral non-compliance, imprisonment up to six months.