Amendments to Cebu City Charter Provisions

The Municipal Board is the legislative body of Cebu City with eight elective members serving three-year terms.
Members elect a president annually who presides over meetings; a temporary presiding officer may be elected in the president's absence.
The president signs ordinances, resolutions, and financial directives enacted by the Board.
Temporary appointments for absent or sick members may be made by the President of the Philippines, granting full member rights and duties.
Board members receive a per diem of ten pesos for attendance at sessions.

Municipal Board elections coincide with the general triennial election.
Elected members assume office on July 16 following the election and serve until successors qualify.
The top eight candidates by vote are declared elected; ties for the eighth position are resolved by the President of the Philippines.
Vacancies due to ineligibility or failure to elect are filled by Presidential appointment with the Commission on Appointments' approval.
Post-election vacancies are similarly filled for the unexpired term.

The Board holds two regular weekly sessions and may call up to thirty extraordinary sessions annually.
Sessions are generally open to the public unless closed by a four-member majority vote.
A quorum requires four members; passage of ordinances and financial resolutions needs four affirmative votes.
Voting outcomes are recorded, and ordinances must be published in two local newspapers before enactment after a three-day period.
Enacted ordinances and financial resolutions are submitted to the Mayor for approval or veto within ten days.
If the Mayor vetoes, the Board may override with five affirmative votes; persistent vetoes are submitted to the Secretary of the Interior for final decision.
The Mayor can veto specific items in appropriation ordinances without affecting others.
Approved ordinances are sealed, recorded, published, and take effect twenty days post-publication unless otherwise specified.
Ordinances not vetoed or veto overrides must be sent to the Provincial Board for approval; disapprovals may be appealed to the Department of the Interior.

The City has authority to tax vehicles and draft animals not subject to any insular tax.

Key city officials including the fiscal, municipal judge, city engineer, police and fire chiefs, treasurer, assessor, and superintendent of schools are appointed by the President with Commission on Appointments' approval.
The Mayor appoints other city officials subject to Civil Service Law provisions.
The Mayor may suspend or remove appointive city officers not appointed by the President and recommend suspension or removal of those appointed by the President.
Such suspensions or removals by the Mayor are appealable to the Department Head with a final decision.

A Municipal Court is established for Cebu City.
The Municipal Court judge is appointed with an annual salary of three thousand six hundred pesos.

The city assessor compiles the list of taxable real estate including owner names, property description, and cash value.
The assessor may rely on sworn owner statements but retains discretion to consider other evidence.
The assessor and authorized representatives may enter properties, summon witnesses, administer oaths, and examine records in the Register of Deeds for accurate listing.

The city assessor must list and value any real estate discovered to have escaped taxation.
Taxes for the current year and previous years since the original assessment are chargeable.
If the owner's fault or negligence caused the failure to assess timely, penalties are added to back taxes.

The Municipal Board or aggrieved real estate owners or agents may appeal the city assessor's decisions within twenty days of notice.
Appeals are filed by written notice with the city assessor, who forwards them with relevant evidence to the board of tax appeals.

The board consists of five members appointed by the President with Commission approval on September 1 each year.
Three members must own real estate in the city; two are selected from a list provided by the Asociacion de Propietarios de Cebu.
In case the association fails to submit the list timely, the President selects the members at discretion.

An annual tax of seven-eighths of one percent (0.875%) on assessed real estate value is levied.
Taxes are due January 1 annually, with delinquency penalties if unpaid by June 30.
Penalties include a 20% additional tax within the first six months of delinquency and 25% thereafter.
Taxpayers may pay in two installments: half by June 30 and the remainder by January 1 of the following year.
Failure to pay the first installment by June 30 renders the entire tax delinquent.
Late payment of the second installment incurs similar penalties as above.

The Municipal Board may levy special assessments on real estate within a specially benefited district.
Such assessments cover costs related to public infrastructure improvements including roads, sidewalks, parks, utilities, and acquisition of land.
Real estate owned by the US, Commonwealth, or City of Cebu is exempt from these special assessments.
Assessments are based on the city assessor’s valuation or current value if not on record.